The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1895-04-13
FIGURES WANTED.
The Secretary Of Agriculture In
vostigating Beef Prices.
THE BUTCHERS CHARGE A COMBINE.
Kansas city Butcher. Made ar Enort Re
Gently to Have Packers Indietsd-CoL
tavorIte, OF Armours. states
There Is No Combine.

wAsHISaroN, April IL. Secretary OF
Agriculture Morton yesterday beganan
inquiry into the recent increase in the
price OF meats, for the purpose OF as
certaining II any combination in viola
tiou Of law exists for the purpose OF
putting up prices. His letter Of in
structions for the inquiry is AS follows
Dr ID. T.. Salmon. chief oi bureau Of animal
industry Furnish at your earliest con-
venience a statement OF the number OF cattle
received at the stock yards In Omaha, In Kan
sas City = In East 81 Louis aud in Chicago dur
ing the months OF January. February and
March for the years 1894 and s95 II is impor-
tant Just at this time to ascertain as nearly as
may be from these sources what falling on
there Is Ia the cattle supply Of the United
states as compared with previous years.
In January. 1887. cattle sold for $40. In Feb
ruary, the same year, for B.dS, and in March
the same year for a'77iS per 100 weight at the
Kansas city stock yards. In 1892 they sold in
ihe same market. in January at g. in February
at atSO snd in March at $40 per 100 weight;
while Ia 1893 they sold In January Rt 90, in
February at s5.bi, In March at o. ~. In Janu-
ary. 1894 at the Kansas City stock yards, they
sold at Aj.25. in February at A.S0. aud Ia March
ateiSO. | wish now TO ascertain the prices
paid at kansas city aud Chicago during Jan
uary. February and March Of 1897. and also the
number Of cattle received at these points dur
ing that time.
The largest cattle receipts at Chicago ia any
one day occurred believe, April -, 1899, when
81 677 head we're received. and the largest cat
tie recei ipts in Chicago in a single week were
70 .52s head. received during the seven days
ending September 10. 1891. and the lPrgeSt re-
cepts for single month at Chicago we're in
September 1897. when 3s5 $50 head we're re
ceved
BE kind enough to instruct the agents OF the
UW..aN GNaNa
department OF agriculture wherever they may
be stationed to collect aud send in as rapidly
as possible all reliable data at their command
which may tend to truthfully show what dimi-
mutton, any, there is in the cattle supply OF the
United States for the year 1898, as compared
with previous years
Also instruct the agents Of the bureau OF
animal industry to make thorough inquiry as
to whether In their judgment there is any
| combination In violation OF law, by which a
cattle "tr,Nt' is putting up the price OF beet
products while 1t is putting down the per
| capita price OF cattle. Very respectfully yours
J. STERLING MORTON, Secretary.
This investigation is due to the fact
that i'm all of the cities OF the country
the prices OF beef have been raised ma
terially since March 1. Charges have
been freely made that the Big Four
packers com bine has been responsible
for the rise and that cattlemen have
not profted by it.
THE BUTCHERS CHARGE A COMBINE.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-, April II. The
butchers here have for a long time in
sisted that the local packers were mem
bers of combine. An effort to have
them indicted upon the charge Of vio
lating the antitrust law was made
some time ago, but the butchers were
not able to get enough evidence
to prove their claims. As a reason
for the belief that such combine ex
lists the butchers point to the fact
that there is practically no such thing
as business competition between tn,
local houses, as far as the home trad,
is concerned. All the meat is grade,
the same bv each house and the price
arc exactly the same. II the prices o
meat are advanced all of the house
advance at exactly the same hour. Al
the business rules governing the loca
trade are the same in every local pack
ing house. In fact, when at meeting
of butchers one of them said; "Whil,
we have not been able to have any in
dictments returned, every intelligen
.
that there is packing house combine
rs he knows he is alive" every butche
present echoed the sentiment
SAYS THERE Is NO COMBINE
CHICAGO. April l2.-"They will hay'
il that there is a combine, wont they?
exclaimed Col Favorite, OF the Armou
company, yesterday, when asked IN re
gard TO the statements of Secretar
Morton that an investigation woul
be made into the cause of hig
meat prices. There is no combine
Secretary Morton knows as well a
we do why it is, and as far as we ar
concerned we hope that he will inve'
tigate the matter thoroughly. He
now shipping grain to the destitut
farmers in Nebraska, and their condi
tion is about the same as all the cattle
q feeding districts OF the central west
, The shipping has fallen of One-hal
from there, and u glance at the stoc
wards statistics would show that near
ly BOO 900 head less have been receive
$ since January than was received las
z Vea. for these thraa months