The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-02
A DECLINE IN PRICES
Looked For by the Live Stock
Men of Montana.
TOP NOTCH Is REACHED
Many OF the Large Cattle Companies
Are Closing Out Their BUSINESSMAN
Has Caused the Price of Mon
tana Wool to Decline.

Great Falls. May with the coming
nual market for beef. WOO and mutton,
discussion of conditions and the proba-
bilities of high or low prices is begin
ming. While h laity appear to be-
lieve that war will bring good prices for
all of the raw material raised in Mon
tana, which of course would include
cattle, sheep, horses and the like, those
engaged in the business seem to think
differently. From several quarters
comes the opinion that the market on
stock has about reached the top notch
and that a decline may be expected. The
reasons assigned for such a decline do
not appear very logical, as those making
the prediction base it on the fact that
former rises in prices for beef have al
ways ended when about the present
prices were reached.
A surprising feature in the stock
market to-day is the fact that SO many
cattlemen have on hand anywhere from
SIC, 900 to 500, 900 in cash to invest in
more cattle and do so invest. This is
exceedingly encouraging and speaks
well for the work done in the past three
VI IouT years. AttentlOn Is also calleu
10 the fact that many of the large cat
tie companies are taking this oppor-
tunity to close out their business. For
man. years il has been seen that the
time Of the cattle syndicate was rapidly
becoming limited and the small rancher
located on the water right and the
barbed wire fence were pushing it to the
wall. In consequence they have taken
advantage of the present good prices to
exAf a..t - .hA L.,.-A.- .-1 lA.-.A a. a..
the smaller holder. This would happen
eventually under almost any conditions.
but ii is the fact Of a good market
which is Fastening il now and bringing
to pass an anomaly that with prosperity
in sight men are anxious to quit the
road to prosperity.
In regard to sheep and wool ]. b. Ell
liot of Levina is quoted rs saying that
war has already caused the price of
Montana wool to decline and that prices
this spring will not be as high as were
expected. That he believes hat they
will be high enough to warrant wool
growing and a profit thereon is evinced
by the fact that he has recently made
a large purchase, including $50 acres of
land and $500 head of sheep, nearly all
being ewes and 2~-year-olds. The prop
erty was held by s. s. Hobson of Utica
as trustee of the Larson Sheep company,
and IL located south OF the Snowies. In
support of his theory of prices, Mr.. FL
liot quotes a decline in n particular
clip Of rs cents per pound in the past
four weeks. He also claims that NUT
ton has declined about % cents per head
in the same period. He states that in
the coming market for WOOL. 16 cents
will prove to be a good figure. and is
willing to sell his clip at that price.
Notwithstanding these predictions of
depression it is noticeable that not a
bunch of cattle nor a Va OF sheep
goes begging in Northern Montana N
each lot that is offered for sale brings
constantly higher prices, while cattle
buyers and sheep buyers search the
ranges In vain for bargains. In cattle,
feeders and stockers are scarce and one
OF the reasons why cattle came through
the past winter so well vas that there
were comparatively few of them on the
range and there was no competition for
the grass and water.