The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-29
PROSPECTS FOR CHEAPER BEEF.

The secretary OF agriculture Is reported
as predicting that beef will be cheaper in
the early winter or before because of the
enormous corn crop, which will mature
about Sept. 20 Farmers will then have
plenty of corn and will begin to feed the
cattle, so that there will be an abundance
of fat cattle ready for the market by the
Christmas holidays to make cheaper beef
The extent of the decline will depend upon
the number of cattle that can be fattened.
The secretary does not think that beef
will reach the low level of few years ago,
when the demagogue was bowling here in
the West that the gold standard made it
impossible for farmers to derive any
profit from cattle raising because beef was
so low. Now in the cities the same dem
agogues will assert that the packers trust
has made beef high. Even the New York
Tribune seems to be laboring under the
impression that the high price of beef is
due to the packers, judging from the fol-
lowing paragraph:
The corn crop is likely to be so large as
to stagger the humanity of the beef trust,
which has been eXCusing the high prices
enough to feed cattle Corn will soon be
cheap. Will. the beef trust lower prices in
a proper ratio?
That the beef trust has manipulated
prices within certain limits is true, and
that its methods are designed to create
monopoly is equally true, but the official
figures presented by the United States
Labor Bureau show that during the past
-
cattle per hundred pounds in Chicago and
of dressed beef in Boston is not as great
now as it was during earlier years when
cattle and beef were cheaper. In 1885,
when cattle were worth S5.57lR a hundred
in Chicago, dressed beef sold at 50 in Bos-
ton; last June, when cattle were $40 a
hundred in Chicago, beef was sold at
SO in Boston-a difference between Chicago
cattle and Boston beef of S3.42h in the
earlier period and So in the latter From
1890 to 1902 the difference between Chicago
cattle and Boston beef huctuated from
s1.65 per hundred to s3421a which shows
the power of the trust to put up or put
down the price of beef within certain lin
it's. In June 1901, the difference was 81.
but year later il was $3.50. Still in
spite of these figures, the real cause of the
higher price of beef is the higher price of
cattle In June. 1896. cattle were worth
$40 hundred in Chicago, but last June
the price was $40. The SO increase last
June over June 1885, is chiefly responsible
for the increased price, and not the in
creased difference of 121k cents a hundred
/ between the Chicago price of cattle and
Boston beef during June 1902, over June.
1896 On the basis of percentage the pack
ers made much larger profit in June, 1896.
than in June, 1902.
| If Secretary Wilson would give an ac-
| curate estimate of the number of cattle in
the country which can be fattened and
put upon the market this fall he would
afford a basis for a judgment as To the
falling off in price of beef. As yet there
have been no figures to offset the statistics
showing that while population has in
! creased over 20 per cent. in the country
and the export of beef over 40 per cent.
the number of cattle, number and compar-
| ative weights combined, is no greater than
ten years ago, or as great In this fact
is the real cause of the high prices of
beef. The question. however, which inter
ests all is that affecting the number OF
cattle that can be fattened and put upon
| the market