The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1902-06-06
DEFENDS MEAT TRUSTS.

"a cmmounication from G. B. Van
Norman, a live stock commission
merchant, of Chicago, setting forth
his ideas with reference to the meat
trust. This letter is a copy OF a
letter that Mr.. VanNorman ad-
dressed several weeks ago to John G.
Spooner, the senatorsfrom Wisconsin.
The letter is as follows, and is pub
lished by request:
Dear Senator: Pardon me for MAX
ing a few explanations as to the So
called beef trust. The interview
with the president and attorney gen.
eral was printed in the Chicago Trib-
une recently. and to say it has
created a sensation does not express
it. The presidents best friends and
admirers think that his cenSure and
criticisms are warranted and pre-
mature. He should at least wait
until they have sufficient proof to
warrant such accusations as were set
forth in his interview, as he stated
{assquoted by the Chicago Tribune)
that investigation showed that there
was sufficient proof to warrant prose-
cution and that the thing for the
government to do was to institute a
vigorous prosecution, which would
result nos only in the reduction Of
prices on meat, but would destroy
the combination and take from the
packers some Of the money which
they had wrung from the people.
This is only part Of the interview
quoted by The Tribune as having
passed between the president and his
legal advisor, Attorney General
Knox. If the president said all this,
and he is quoted as saying much
more, l am sorry, for it has created
dents friends.
1t was the west and middle west
that shouted for Roosevelt and l feel
very much alarmed as to what the
outcome may be two years from nov
as to our party. l believe it would
have been wise for the president to
follow in the worthy footsteps of our
late President William Mckinley and
have waited a little longer before
passing sentence upon a lot Of innO-
cent men.
The packer has nc more to do with
raising the price on beef than you
have. The supply and demand gov
ern the market. The cause of the
present high prices is the scarcity Of
cattle on feed. The drought in the
south and west made a short crop
both on hogs and corn and the price
of corn went up to SIS and 60 cents in
the country and the farmer preferred
to sell the corn rather than to chance
it by feeding it to steers. The man
who sold his corn at those prices
realized fully as much a the man
who fed his cattle, especially those
who put their cattle on full feed
January 1st and fed them until July
1st, a period OF six months.
1t takes six months to make pretty
good beef and nine months to mature
a ], 900 pound steer. Still, more peo-
pie ship their cattle after six months
feed than those who feed them longer.
For example: We will figure the
cost Of a steer finished in six months.
Nc good feeder starts in with a steer
weighing less than / 1000 pounds and a
good grade steer of that weight last
December or January 1st, would cost
AZ cents per pound or $40. 90
A good feeding steer will eat 4
huShel Of corn every day on full feed.
Corn is worth in the country IS cents
per bushel. $50 days feed means 80
bushels OF corn at SIS cents per bushel
or $40. SO. The animal will eat hay
to the amount Of S.. 90. making in all
1851. so, which, added to the first cost
Of the steer, would be 500. SO.
If a good feeder, he will gain $50
pounds in six months. He shrjnks
SO pounds in shipping, making his
weight in Chicago 14oo pounds.
Freight costs e cents per cwt. from
Eastern Iowa, so we have
Freight l4OO lbs. at zoe. per
cwt s2.sd
G TaFdaEs per per lead head:::::::: g: IS
Hay at yards. 10
Total Sd. IS.
making the steer cost in Chicago,
after adding these charges. $104. Is.
He weighs ! 400 pounds and sells at
I cents per pound, or 1913. 90, making
d loss to the farmer of Sc. Is.
To be fair-1f a man has a healthy
lot of hogs to run behind the cattle.
and cholera does not get amongst
them, the profit IN the hogs will
make it about an even thing, but
the farmer has done his work for
nothing.
Had the feeders not been en-
couraged by the advance in prices on
hogs and cattle, they would have
sold the corn and not have fed the
cattle. but from their own observa-
tiOn and the advice from the COM
mission men, they were led to hope
and believe they would get a good
price for the corn by putting it in
cattle and hogs. The above figures
show the result. In 1895, just before
the presidential election, good fat
steers sold at 4 to ~ cents per
pound. Why? Because corn was in
abundance and sold at Is to 25 cents
per hushel. Money frightened
up and people were afraid there
would be a change in the admins
tration and upset business generally.
The newspapers and calamity howlers
did not complain about cheap beef
then, but the farmers howled, and
well they might. But now. when the
farmer is getting good pay for his
corn and beef and hogs, a great howl
goes up from the press that the pack
ers have formed a trust. If the
packers wanted to form a trust they
would naturally buy up all the fat
cattle as cheap as possible and then
put up. The price. but they do not