The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-04-12
1aE RISE IN BEEF.
secretary Morton to lnvesti-
gate the Cause.
.-,re THE "BIG FOUR" TRUST.
Armours say There Is No Trust,
and That the scarcity of Cattle
L. the Cause.

r..sing,on City. April ii-Secretary Of
..-s~g,ts,re Morton today began an In
a. into the recent increase IN the price
.rss,s. for the purpose OF ascertainlng
q - combination In violation of Law
a. The secretary's letter OF instruc-
a as follows: "Dr. u. r. Salmon,
ees :, Bureau o. Animal Industry
sa's' r,ruigh at your earliest convenience
el..-nens of the number of cattle re-
- !, the stock yards at Omaha. Kan
r,.v East ST. Louis and Chicago
80 The months OF January. February
u.reh. years 1894 and iss5. IL is i'm
80, inst at this time TO ascertain
v-.srsy as may be from these sources
=. falling off there Is ia the cattle sup
- the United States. as compared
- nreylous years. In January. 1886.
.a.ss so4d for $50; in February, the
-. year. for s5,s5, and In March OF
- x.ne year for s5-i7iz per hundred
-.seht al Kansas city STOCK yards
On 1872 they sold In the
=. market. in January. at =; In
s~,.rv 2se and I'm March. $40 per
sessrsd weight. While In 1880 they sold.
ss.uary, at $50: in February. $50;
: Mech $50. and In January. 1894. at
>. Eausas City stock yards they sold
.rx IN February so. and In March.
80 wish now to ascertain the prices
- :, Kansas city and Chicago during
t.sssry February and March OF 1885.
- ,lso the number OF cattle re-
- al these points during this
- The largest cattle receipts
chicago In any one day oc-
49, l believe. April p, 1S2. when
~r.ad were received. and the largest
80 receipts at Chicago In single
- we're ss,52s head. received during
= sven DAYS ending September y. 1891,
:. tie largest receipts OF cattle TOT
s.x.s month at Chicago were In Septem-
= 200 when ss5. as head were receiv-
:. ne kind enough to instruct agents
! ne bureau OF the animal Industry OF
:. United States department OF agri-
.sl,are wherever they may be stationed.
!. collect and send In az rapidly as posi-
=. al reliable data at their command
.arh NAV tend to truthfully snow what
<sntnutlon If any. there 10 IN the cattie
.sr,,v ~ the United States for the year
~ "a compared with previous years.
49, Ins.rt.c, agents of the bureau TO
r.ke thorough inquiry as 10 whether, IN
sheir Judgment. there IN any combination
I, yiolation OF law, by wnicn the cat'ic
trust Is putting up the price OF beer pro-
ducts while /; is putting down the per
capita price OF cattle
ch,eago. AnrIl u.--Col. Favorite. OF the
Armour Company. today. "heh asheu III
,egard to the statements OF Secretary
Nnrton that an investigation would be
roaaa into the cause OF the high meat
rriceg said: There IL no combine. Sec
rotary Morton knows as well as we DO
why II f., and as far as We are concerned
We hope that he will Investigate the mat
Ter thoroughly. He Is now shipping grain
20 the destitute farmers OF Nebraska. and
their condition is about the same as all
the cattle feeding district Of the central
west The shipping has fallen OFT one
half from there. and glance at the
stock yard statistics would show that
nearly 10000 head less have been re-
teivsd since January than was received
last year for these three months"
Concerning the inquiry. Secretary Nor
ton said 10 a reporter OF the Associated
Press: THE increase OF the price of
tattle has been quite remarkable. and
tsrtaln fluctuations seemed unaccounta-
Ne II would appear that the primary
uuse Of the increased price Is that the
rpply Is decreasing. while the demand
d constant or increasing, and the Tour
points. so-eaIled. Chicago. Kansas city.
s. Louis aud Omaha. where cattle are
Slaughtered. are falling OFF In their sup
Yg 10 the market. Inc ifAAtAseh h'NN
rear was 1881 head OF cattle. as com
pared with the year before. The reduc-
,lon naturally would bring an increase
'ef price 20 the consumer. Then. too. corn
"a cattle are preferred, and our sup
nv AZ corn fed fell of enormous
i last year. This in part ex-
,lalrs the falling OFF In produc-
,lon Of high grade cattle. Ana " Is
q marked feature Of the American con
,ursr thar he wants the very best grade
a cattle and the choicest parts. sirioin
sad por,erhouse. rather than the more
ratritive round and neck
Nr Morson's inquiries as to the intiu-
cree 81 the alleged trust are In part IL
rected hy current statements a. 10 the IN
fssnce which the Big Four" have IN de-
pressing price Of live stock, He says 'iia'
r there was a demand for the live cattle
re p,ices would so up. regardless OF the
combine. His inquiry. he adds, - de-
slrned 10 bring out Just what influence
Ne "Sig Four have on prices