Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-11-18
People Of Sioux City Complain
OF High Prices For Dairy
Products
GOOD THING FOR THE FARMERS
Building UP of the Creamery industry
Put Price of Butter at High Figure
and City People Find 1t Difficult
to Buy-Product is Shipped to the
East
,ecial to Times Republican.

Sioux City, Nov 1S.-People Of Sioux
city are paying the price for tho build
ing up of the dairy output of the sur
rounding territory. Because II large
dous business in eastern and govern
ment orders, Sioux City cannot buy
standard creamery butter at any time
of the year for less than % cents and
must now pay 80 and IS cents.
While the creamery now shows that
butter Is being sold at n small margin
above the figures paid for butter fat,
nothing Is said about the periods of the
year when butter fat is secured for as
little as 10 cents pound while butter
never goes below % cents.
The fact that the price can be held
up to these figures is itself evidence
that 1t is not done arti1ically. The
truth is that hundreds of thousands of
pounds of butter go east from here,
thru the large creamery industry. AS
a result. Sioux City Is put practically
on u par with the Chicago market.
Were not all the creamery product
quickly sold and in fact more demand
ed than can be supplied, the price
could not be kept ut u minimum of 20
cents.
Has Benefited the Farmer.
The result has undoubtedly rebound
ed to the benefit of the farmer who re-
ceives more for his cream in the search
for butter fat. The business has been
a., In
build up big enterprise. Only the
consumers Of Sioux City suffer. Until
the farmers respond to the law of sup
ply and demand by selling more cream
there will be no relief for Sioux City
people, for the creamery is expected to
bear the market locally when by far
the largest part of the product goes
east or is put in cold storage 10 await
a season Of high prices.
Many have supposed the Retail Gro
GERS Association of Sioux City to be
responsible for present high butter
prices, but to the credit of the asso-
citation. be it said, the manufacturers
claim 1t is up to them to shoulder re-
sponsSbility for the advanced prices.
a manufacturer who makes 5000
pounds per day regulated the price in
Sioux City according to the price In
Chicago He is now paying "a cents
per pound for butter fat and sells the
finished product to the retailer for 26
cents and the retailer sells 1t to the
consumer for 80 cents. Other manu-
facturers find it possible to- market
butter for % cents, leaving the dealer
to make cents.
Ships Half Million Pounds.
Shipping half million pounds of
butter from Sioux City every year has
put the Sioux City market or q wider
basis. a contract with the federal gov
eminent for butter to supply the
Brooklyn navy yard with high test
butter at a nominal price has also as
sisted in forcing up the price early in
the season. Nevertheless butter man
ufacturers show from their books that
they received 1 cent more per pound
for their butter a year ago than at
present and 2 cents more at a cores
ponding period two years ago.
The small creamery cannot secure
butter fat 1t is monopolized by the
large concerns who outbid the smaller
houses and virtually control the dairy
products of this section. Tho the small
err dealer Is willing to supply MS trace
at a lower price, he has tried in vain
to secure enough cream to do so.
THE day of the good old farmers
wife is past" remarked creamery
man. "She no longer brings her butter
to market and trades 1t for canned
goods, sugar, cheese and other mer-
chandise at the grocery store. She now
receives more for her butter fat than
she was paid for her butter"
Those who had "butter women" the
past year have noted that one by one
they have ceased to appear with their
lars Of the table luxury. The large
butter manufacturer overblds the small
creamery and overbids the private GUS
toner who has hitherto purchased
Country butter" weekly from the far
mers wife, and butter is up in the air
as q, result Of the drain on northwest
ern Iowa to give New York more and
better butter.