Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-03

Washington, March 3.-The prest-
ldent TODAY transmitted to congress the
report Of Commissioner Of Corpora
tions Garfield upon the beef industry,
submitted in compliance with the reso-
luton of the house Of representatives
| adopted March z, 1904. summary OF
the report in part, follows:
That the six packing companies
Armour & Co., Swift & Co., Norris &
Co., National Packing Co., Schwars-
child & Sulzberger Co., and the Gu
dahy Packing Co., frequently designat-
Led as the ''big SIX" slaughtered in the
year 1908, 5,521,697 head Of cattle out
of a total indicated slaughter in the
United States of 12,50O,000 head, or
about As per cent.
That the true average net profit for
three companies, Armour, Swift and
Schwarschild & Sulzberger, for the
twelve months ending June 80. 1908,
as shown by their actual bookkeeping
records, was 80 cents per head, not
including incidental profits.
That the year 1902, instead Of be-
| ing one Of exorbitant profits as had
been commonly supposed, was less
profitable than usual. During the
months when prices of beef were high
est, some leading packers were actual
ly losing money on every head of cattle
slaughtered.
That the changes in margin between
prices of cattle and prices Of beef are
in themselves no Indication whatever
Of changes in the profits of the beef
business.
That the margin between the price
Of cattle and the price OF beef during
the year 1908, instead of being unus-
ually high, as was popularity suppos-
ed, was for each half of that year
lower than the margin for any corr
responding half year since 1898, and
that the increase in the margin for the
second half of 1903 over the first half
was no greater than the similar change
in other years.
In this connection the reports:
"In the face Of strong demand. the
price Of cattle was forced to the high
est level ever known. The high prices
of beef, which caused so much com-
plant are attributable wholly to abnor-
NAL cattle prices"
That in 1908 the price of cattle fell
very sharply, chiefly because Of the
large increase in the supply.
That the six leading packing COM
panies especially discussed are appar-
emily not overcapitalized. That the
percentage Of profit on the gross vol
| ume of business, including hog and
sheep products and other minor COM
modities, is comparatively small.
That the profit of the private car
lines in the packing industry on mile
age is a very liberal one, approximate
computations indicating a net return
from IA per cent to about II per cent.
Reckoning on the basis of dressed
beef transported, however, this proht
would add but little to the cost of such
beef to consumers.
| The statement that the six large
concerns mentioned slaughtered In
1908 only about As per cent of the
| total cattle killed in that year indi-
Gates very clearly the existence OF
active competition by other concerns,
at least in many places. This iE
chiefly explained by the operations OF
Il q
establishments. Taking the principal
slaughtering and distributing centers.
the proportion controlled by the six
companies mentioned is much greater.
For instance the six principal concerns
slaughtered nearly SO per cent Of all
cattle killed in eight leading western
packing centers. They control very
large percentage of the trade in beef
in many large cities, particularly in
the east, ranging from 60 to 95 per
cent In small cities and towns in
most sections of theeountry their op-
erations are relatively much less inn
portant being between 10 and 33 per
cent In the southern states the large
packers generally supply less than half
the total beef consumed in the large
cities and in the smaller cities and
towns the proportion is generally less
| than one-fourth.