Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-05-09
There Was Only Moderate In
quiry For Heavy Beeyes,
Fat Little Cattle Wanted
sTocKERs AND FEEDERS ACTIVE
Cows and Heifers Were in Good Re-
quest at Fairly Firm Prices - Hogs
Were in Good General Demand at
Steady Prices, Selling Largely s5.75
to s5.7s-sheep Active.

Chicago May 9.--There was a fairly
was only a moderate demand for heavy
beeves and local killers are combining
their purchases to fat, little cattle.
Cows and heifers are in good request
and stockers and feeders fairly ami
! mated.
AT this time of the year the market
is oversensidve to heavy supply,
and last weeks big run put packers in
position where they were independent
and apparently had limited orders to
fill. Coupled with this was a smaller
inquiry on the part OF shippers and ex-
porters, SO that the shrlnkage in re-
ceipts was not greater than the shrink
age in the demand warranted.
For the past two weeks the export
trade has been In bad shape and the
foreign markets have declined so sever
ely that buyers at this end of the line
have operated as cautiously as they
possibly could. Purchases have been
cut down over 80 per cent, compared
d
This glut is likely to pass away In u
short time, for both last week and this
the volume OF foreign business was
small. There is a better demand for
American steers now than ever before,
but there is such thing as OVERRIDING
1t and that is what our shippers have
done recently. Not only have they
crowded the markets too much with
the live cattle but they have exported
an unusual amount Of dressed beef, alt
of which has tended to depress the mar
ket seriously. In addition TO this Ar
gentina has been busy sending in large
consignments of beef. 90 that the Brit
ish markets We're not able 10 stand up
under the strain. In England the feed
ing conditions were not very sa.isfac-
tory for the past year, and 1t Is claimed
that the home fed cattle will be later
than usual.
Hogs
There was good general demand at
steady prices sudden selling largely at
5.75M $50.
A feature of the hog trade this
week, and one that has received some
comment, has been the appearance on
the market OF more or less thick, fat,
heavy hogs that had been held back.
waiting for a spring rise in prices. In
numerous instances the feeders had
been advised to send these hogs In fully
two months ago when prices We're
around a dollar higher and the hogs
were at weight and in condition to
have got close TO the top of the mar
ket
There has not been a time in two
months when the market has had Z
bullish tint. The packing trade has
been bearish, there has been no doubt
of fairly large snoply OF hogs In the
hands OF owners in the country, the
market for product has been leclin-
Ing one and with ;ha approach OF a
national political campaign which al
ways puts invested capital in an un-
easy condition, the men who mske hog
product have shown an antipa.hy to
putting big stocks in store with pros-
pect of prices going down on account OF
possible disturbances of financial con-
ditions
Sheep.
There was fairly active demand
from different classes OF buyers and
prices steady.
Recent events indicated that feed
lots, both east and west Of Chicago.
are all but depleted of finished sheep
and lambs. As southwestern grassers.
are not in evidence as they were last
year, this indicates a period of COM
parative scarcity, but the Kansas Mis-
souri,, Texas and southern Illinois
crop is rapidly coming along. The
supply from this source has undo,ibt-
edly been delayed by unreasonable
weather, which has retarded the rise of
grass, and caused suspension of
shearing operations, but these condt-
tons are merely temporary and the
feed lot man will do we'll to get rid Of
his stuff before the mid-southen run
begins.