Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-11-13
Proposed Establishment of an In
dependent Concern for Stock
Men Throughout Country,
SECRETARY MARTINS FIGHT.
Prepares Circular Letter on Subject
Which He Addresses to All Interest.
ed in Stock Raising.


lished statements relative to the pro.
poesd establishment of an independent
packing concern under the auspices OF
the stockmen in opposition to the pack
Ing trust and for the advancement OF
which Secretary Martin Of the Nation
al Live Stock association has beer
making a great fight. Mr. Martin has
prepared circular letter which he is
addressing TO all stockmen, and III
which he says:
Because Of the undesirable conditions
which have existed at the various live
stock markets for some time every
grover and feeder of cattle, sheep and
hogs Is compelled to give the question
Of self protection serious consideration
as upon the adoption of some plan to
secure this depends the future success
OF the live stock industry.
PACKING COMBINE.
Every one knows that the leading
packing firms OF the country, TO all in
tents and purposes have entered into
combination by which they absolute
~ control and fix the price Of the live
product to the grower and also the
price Of the finished product to the con-
sunner Representatives Of the four
great packing houses meet In Chicago
every weekday afternoon and fix these
prices for the following day, regardless
of all laws relating to the supply or de-
mand and these prices prevail at all
of our markets. by this method OF busl-
ness all competition Is destroyed, and
the farmers, stockmen and consumers
are at the mercy of one OF the most
far-reaching trusts ever organized In
this country,
"rhe truth of this assertion is obvi-
Gus when you consider that fifteen
months ago No. | beef on the hpof, sold
I'm Chicago from s7.5 to IS. So per hun
dred. Today the same quality of beef
brings but from $3.50 to So. 40 per hum
dred pounds, a decline Of fully SO per
hundred or $40 per head for n 1000
pound animal The dressed product, 1t
will be seen, has sustained but an in
significant reduction, entirely out Of all
proportion to the decline in the price of
live animals
Hogs on oct. S, 1902, were selling
from 500 to s7.45 per hundred. one
year later they We're worth but SO and
IS. IS, a decline In the value to the farm
ers Of about 81 so on every animal,
while there is no perCeptble reduction
in the price of pork products to the
consumer.
THE decline in the price Of sheep is
proportionately as great as that on
cattle and hogs,
TREMENDOUS REDUCTION.
because Of this manipulation at the
markets, other influences have been
brought to bear tending to reduction
in the price of livestock On account
of which the losses to most men who
fed cattle in Kansas, Nebraska Mis-
souri,, Iowa and Illinois during the
winter OF 1909 and 1903 amounted to
from IS to $50 per head. This depre-
citation in values falls entirely upon
the man who raises the steers and the
man who feeds them, and amounts to
these enormous sums:
Cottle.,,.... ..,.r..,....,.S6 $3.50, 600, 900
noBs'',.' 80 80 80, l2O,OOO,OOO
Sneep"' .'',,,,,.,.,. bb,0OO,OOS
1866, 900, 900
or nearly one-fourth Of the total value
of the livestock of the United States
There Is no Just reason for these
conditions-the country being generally
as prosperous as year ago, employ
ment as plentiful, and. with the masses,
times are good and the demand for
meat products greater than ever, but
the consumer is paying today as much
for meat as one year ago, The sole eN-
cuse for this state of affairs Is the de-
sire OF the manufacturers to increase
their already immense profits,
SOME PROFITS.
"When We consider the immense for
tunes amassed by the packers. we can
readily appreciate the great profits ac-
cruing TO those engaged in this indus
try. From the most reliable authorl-
ty, we have been advised that the profit
today, including the by-product Of an
average steer, Is $3.50, The profit on
a 250-pound hog is ST. and on the aver
age mutton, 81. The modern packing
house of today has capacity of from
1000 to $500 beef cattle and from 2 900
to 5000 hogs, and 1900 to 1000 sheep per
day, Suppose, for instance. we take
a plant running under the lowest es-
timated capacity, and then divide the
alleged profits on the animal into two
parts. We would then have daily
profit Of $1,000, or 81 500, 600 per annum.
THE REMEDY.
1.-THE only remedy for the present evil
Is healthy, legitimate competition.
which does not now exist, 1t is alb
solutoly out of the question to con
slider litigation as the panacea. 1t can
not accomplish the result In this case
any more than It has In the Northern
Security combination steel trust sugar
trust, etc.
with this end In view, the Independ-
ent Packing company has been organ
lied in which the stockmen and con
sumers will be asked to take stock 10
such an extent as they can afford The
new company Will not enter the field