The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-27
BEEF WILL STAY UP.
A Colorado Cattlemau Gives His Views
on the Situation, Past and
Present


Livestock company, has recently re-
turned to Denver after long visit east,
and was interviewed last week by the
Rocky Mountain News. In reply TO
question as to the causes and significance
of the recent advance in prices the colo
mel said;
$50 far as the advance in dressed beef
and butchers meat goes you have only
to look at it from butchers standpoint
to see that it is quite egitimate-indeed
quite unavoidable. In 1882 and 1858,
when top steers cost from S75 to $50 on
foot, 81 to $40 per hundred, the butcher
| fixed his prices for the various cuts.
We thought them high, yielding far
more than the average commercial prof
its, but we grumbled and paid A few
years later fat beeveS were selling
| thanks, largely, to the combination of
! few big butchers-at about ona-half to
two-thirds their former price, and have
continued so to sell till within the past
few months; in fact, the low
| est top price since 1879 was
reached last year; still at no butch
er's block, east or west, have the pricss
once indicated that the poor butcher was
not paying as much as ever for has cattle.
Then came the recent comparatively
slight but greatly magnified advance IN
live cattle. How could the modest. long
suffering butcher have justified his
strange conduct to himself and family If
he had not seized upon and trumpted
this advance and proceeded to mark up
his steak and roasts accordingly! You
see he could do it, and with seemingly
decent excuse. Why shouldn't hef He
would have broken all the traditions OF
his tribe if he hadn't"
"But what about the general advance
in values of all cattle-youngsters and
COWS, as well as beeves?'
"That, said the colonel, sis larger
matter, especially as regards stockers;
the rise in price of fat cattle Is explained
by the comparative scarcity OF stall
fed beeves for late winter and spring
consumption, due mainly to the scanti-
ness of last years corn crop Ia most OF
the cattle feeding districts. This scar
city will measurabiy disappear when
graSS-fat cattle begin to come freely to
market, but is liable to reappear again
later on.
"The advance in stock cattle, on the
other hand, is only just begun. 1t Is
due to many causes, but largely to
gradually widening recognition of the
fact that for several years past the III
crease of cattle in the United States has
not kept pace with the increase of popu-
lation. During the year ending Jan. /,
1891. there was practically no increase
less than one-thousandth of / per cent,
exclusive of dairy cows-while the aver
age increase for each of the five years
ending Jan. 1, 1885, was nearly 6 per
cent. That is, the met increase Of
that boom period averaged consider
ably over 100000 year as
against about 10000 for 1890. But a
much larger proportion than formerly
of last years increase were dairy cattle,
which don't count in our beef product,
the increase of all other cattle in the
United States for 1890 being but little
over 1000.
at is believed the present year will
show considerable decrease in num-
bers, exclusive of dairy cattle; and as
the price of cattle has hitherto conform
ed pretty closely to the ratio of their
numbers to the population, the existing
conditions seem to warrant the present
advance and to justify its continuance"
GLOW long has the ratio of cattle to
population been diminishing. and how
has it varied in former years"
"There have been fewer cattle to the
100 of population each year since 1857
possibly since 1SS6-but the decrease
has not been marked until within the
past two years. We saw similar state
of things in $780, There were then, as
in 1883 about eighty cattle (all classes)
to the 100 of population, and prices were
extremely low. Glut of markets and di-
minished production followed, as of late
wears, until 1870, there were only sixty
two cattle to the 100, and the average
price had reached the highest point In
our history. Cattle had decreased dur-J
ing the decade only per cent, but pop
ulation had increased % per cent. A
similar experience from 1890 to 1900
would not be surprising-many think it
may be reasonably expected and the
sanguine say tbs ineyitable-but you
must excuse me from prophesying."
But why may not the increase of
former years by kept up, especially if
prices improve"
Conditions have existed in the past
which permitted of a rapid increase of
cattle under the stimulus of high prices,
as from 1870 TO 1880, when the in
crease was 10 per cent, and from 1880 TO
1890, when the increase was nearly so
per cent in spite of the falling off during
the past three years. But the conditions
which favored this rapid increase no
longer exist to anything like the same
degree In 1870 nearly the whole region
between the Mississippi and the noun
tains was virgin pasture land, and the
cows paradise: the COWS were waiting in
Texas to stock it, and high prices stimu-
lated the movement; all of which con-
ditions are now reversed.
by 1880 the whole world had
"caught on" grossly exaggerated no.
tions were everywhere current of enor-
nous profits in the business, and the
world went in. Production was forced
TO it's uttermost and every female calf
was saved-only mature steers and
aged or barren cows being sent to mar
ket. The consequent overstecking of
the ranges, which were being curtaiIed
bv settlers at the rate of about 60, geo, 600
of acres per year soon brought on the
inevitable crash, since when there has
been one mad rush 20 sell, regardless of
age OF condition. Receipts at Chicago
alone for 1890 were nearly 3, 800 900, the
increase in receipts over 1889 being
greater than the total receipts of any
year previous to 1870. OF these millions
a large proportion were cows and heif-
ers. In 1883, out of over 2, SOC, 600 cattle
handled &C Chicago, more than one-third
were females, and it's likely the percent
age of cows was considerably greater
in 1890. There can be no doubt that
there has been an enormous reduction
in numbers Of breeding stock through
out the west since 1885, as, indeed, there
was need on account OF changed condi-