Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-01-12
SCARCITY OF HOGS.

Tho Real Cause for tho Prevailing High
Prices for Pork Products h the Limited
Supply Of Live Hogs-A Profitable The
for Those who Have Hogs to Sell.
CHICAGO. Jan 6--Hogs and packing
products reached the highest point in
Chicago to-day for years, $10.65 for
lard, and Cudahy and Wright were free
sellers on the market The highest es-
tablished price was 1855 for May
pork, but some sales ran to the figure
given above. Many reasons are given
for these high prices. but they are all
traced to a simple lack of hogs-that Is
all. cit is only thst there are more
buyers than sellers. was the senten-
tious explanation given by Charles
Wright 1.-THE reasons are simple, vet
1t is due to an accident that prices are
skyrocketing as they are. There are
not enough hogs to supply the dema nd.
and the scarcity in the products has got
to be made up in price. The spring
OF 1892 was a phenomenal one in a
meteorological point It rained ninety
days in succession. just as q crop OF
young pigs was due, and as they are
the least cared for of farm animals,
they shifted for themselves, which was
quite often a very poor shift. Then it
rained so long that the farmers began
to think they would not have a chance
to plant any corn. What to do with
the hogs was a question, with no corn
to feed them on and big crop of hogs
to feed They concluded that it would
be better to take what they could get
for their pork products then than run
c chances of a lower price. The conse-
quence was that there was very free
movement in pork last summer, which
left slim home contingent.
''Then there is another reason for the
high price. When the upward move
ment commenced lots of brokers sold,
thinking that the top had been reached.
As the price went on up they cut in
again and sold, thinking as before. that
the high notch had been reached
Then came another bulge and another
cut in. and the folks are awfuily short
now"
Michael Cudahy said that the basis of
high prices for pork, ribs and lard was
simply a scarcity of the original article.
He would not give any anterior rea-
sons.
As long ago as last March John
Cudahy and Charles Wright commenced
buying pork and ribs, and continued to
buy in the face of extremely large
stocks Other packers laughed at what
was then deemed foolishness in buying,
and on every advance sold to Cudahy
and Wright, selling not only against
hogs bought from day to day, but also
selling short. 1t is now a case in which
the hogs have not put in an appearance
and some OF the packers are short.
The first big trouble arose when they
found that these two gentlemen had a
corner on October ribs and put the
price up to s12. T. j. Ryan was caught
in the squeeze and the trouble, or part
of it. is still in litigation. That was
supposed to be the elimination of the
deal. but for some time past the re-
ceipts of hogs at various points have
decreased one-half from the receipts
in the corresponding weeks of the
previous year, and it was in anticipa-
ton of such a state of affairs that these
two gentlemen sold.
Yesterday Cudahy and Wright were
free sellers, and it is thought that they
over 80, 600 barrels of pork
through their brokers. Schwartz-Du-
pee sold about &c. 900 barrels, and Cud-
ahy's brokers about half that amount.
Capt. Taylor and Mr.. Robson were
selling all day. Wright followed suit
in person.