Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-04-10
BEEF AND PORK ON The RISE
How the Despotic Power Of Beef
Trust Is Exercised.

Four Concerns Practically Dominate |
the Provision Markets Of the United
States and Force Consumers to
Pay Extortionats Prices.
The beef and pork markets are still on|
the rise. and the situation. according to
the marketrien, Is extremely alarming
says the Boston Globe. No great Jumps Of
prices are anticipated, but both beef and
PORK are booked to be very much higher,
increased prices coming gradually until
people Of moder ate circumstances will find
It almost impossible 10 buy beef for the
dinner table Absolutely controlling trade,
|asgregatins 500 10000 annually. the I'M
official combination Of interests known as
the beef trust has succeeded, after many
years Of organization and expansion, in
so completely dominating the provision
markets Of the United States that inde-
pendent competition Is killed. THIS. many
of the market,nen say, Is an absolute fact
They say that the policy OF the beef trust
has become steadily moro dcspotic and as-
gressive, until wholesale and retail butch
ers In New York, Boston and other cities,
who will not sign the ironclad agreement
Of the Chicago combination are about to be
practically driven out of business by scores
beth by being cut off from supplies and by
being openly undersold by agencies cspr
cial'y established fo- tho purpose of
crushing competition. The latest squeeze :
engineered by orders from pooled inter-
ests of the houses forming the trust Is
the boldest on record, and the mid,!lencn
and consuming population of Boston, New
York and other cities Rave been forced to
pay, within the last two weeks. advances
on prices already abrormally high. The
recent movement makes fresh meat an al
most prohibited LUXURY to thousands of
families.
i AS one Of the marketn,en said and 9th.
ers agreed with him: 1T Is within tho
power Of the beef trust to order advance
after advance and pocket another sl0n.0no-
coo with tho mere labor of telcgraphng
the new schedule to their agents In every
town ard city in the United States Of
the 100000 900 CT yearly business. about
$3.50 oCo,oo Is handled by four firms, who
coo perate to the smallest details Of regu-
Ilating supply and demand from the stock
yards to tie retail markets. These are
Armour & Co., Swift & Co., g. II. Ham
II. ond & CO., and Nelscn Morris q. Co. The
combination tc restrict trade in any kind
of meats begins in the extensive stock
yards Of Chicago. st. Louis. St Joseph.
Kansas City. Omaha and st. Paul. In
these livestock ccnters the cattle buyers
for tho houses of Armor Swift Morris
and Hammond never cross bid" each 9TH
er. If ore of Armor's men sees an agent
from Swift's Kidding on enc lot he does
not interfere but leaves the seller to take
the price offered or keep his stock. II ship
ments are light OF from any cause stock
is scarce enough to cause natural adj
vance in the stockyard market the trust
agents avoid all purchases until the sellers
are forced to come to their terms. When
ever independent buyers show pernicious
activity the beef trust men by united &C
tion and undsrstar ding sweep the yards
: clean of stock to bar out competition and
advance prices.
} Cne of the largest retail dealers in the
big Boston market said that it Is now
lCnly question OF n short time when EoS.
!, ton dealers must yield to the combination
or cult business He said that having dis.
posed Of all competition on the hoof in
the great cattle centers of the Vest, the
thrust has obt aimed from the railroads re
} bates, which squeeze" any possible rivals
, Out Ct competition In the case Of freigh,
Transportation. Products" said he, are
therefore. placed at any point in the coun-
try. to be sold IL necessary ut prices which
cannot be met and fought in the Ioca
markets by dealers who hill their beef ir
, their own countryside"
At the stalls Of S. S. Learrard & Co.
, in Faneuil hall market. one OF the firm
| said THE situation in teef lamb ant
t pork Is extremely grave. 1t can scarce
ly be credited by tire great masses Of reo
t pie. A general rise In goods is mcmentar
fly expected and this coming at a time
: when high III ures rule. is something al
s NEST unbearable. The prices in medium
e meats are no higher today than Saturday
Z but the stock is very short. ard the ten
. dency Is for jump in prices any minute.
He said that the firm / ad two agents Il
the stock yards in Chic ago, and they re
port a great shortage of cattle. He Il
rather Of the 'pinion that the trust Is nj
a hunbug. ard he says others are Of tn
c same opinion. He sold that his buyers ar
n compelled to pay by far more for cattle a
\ the yards thar for years, because Their
. are not so many cattle. He is of the opin
q ion that the corr. crop, which wes short
. had lots to do with the high prices If beef
J. Beside he said, that there were ship-load
n Of cattle being exp .rted both from Posto
4 and New York at this time, which mad
o tho MAJ et short, with conse luent hig
e prices.
y j. A. Hathaway & Co. exporters ar
q yes, beef is very high. and it is going t
N be higher. too. The reason for the hi,
O prices is because corn is costing too mucl
!. The ranchmen and farmers in genera
Is would not pay out tho exorbtant price
!. for corn. Beef is scarce because farmer
, DIDN'T care to raise cattle, being unable I
"a purchase feed for them at the schedul
q prices Of coin and other ftcd We cam,
! feed cattle on corn that has been 60 cent
Ia a tushel and then sell them to bring n
a much as 1t cost to feed them en- corn. Tw
" years ago at this season corn sold at
- cents a bushel and, as 6. matter of fac
:, in the West 1t was often burned fer fuel.
:, He said that at this time, and for week
- at that matter, the quality of tcef ha
- been medium to a poor grade, there bein
a very little fancy stock in the ma rket. TIL
he said is because the cattle, rather tina
l., being fed on com literally and made "a
:. were slaughtered rather tcfore time. the
Ie not being given chance to become ia
as would have been the case under pr,
= ritious circumstances He further sal
"a that, in all his experience, which date
y back many years. he never saw sly f.
-, good cattle on the market as to-day. II
~ iather thought the beef trust had nothin
., to do with the present sad state of AFFAIR
~ All cattle for the Boston market, he sal
80 was bought in open market in the stool
~, yard of Chicago. and buyers compete wi.
one another and the highest prices natu
: ally take the palm Then figures for II
- Eoston market are regulated according
v, " what the buyers had to liquidate for Il
~. stock.
- Childs, Sleeper & Co, wholesale and r.
IN tail dealers in beef and lamb sail: EYE
~ the prices are very high. and the mark
~ to-day Is shcrt. Good beef IL very shor
VI The people uf the West that feed catt
H. are getting tho benefit OF the present hia
!, prices of beef. 1t is almost impoi sible
VI buy cattle on the hoof at the present tin
[ .,nO I'D t6at for hat M,