The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-10
PEOPLE PAY BILLS
Packers and Commission Men
Quarrel, Neat Advances.
In Topeka Retail Price Goes
Up Two Cents.
A RIGID INSPECTION.
This Has Led Up to the Con-
trOversy.
Cheaper Meats Little Affected
by the Rise.
RIGID INSPECTION.

Last week the price of beef went VI
one half cent a pound. This is the
fourth of these half cent advances in
the price of beef that have taken place
during the last six weeks. The cause
of this condition seems to be not a
matter of a corner in beef, but the eff
feet of the application of the Meat
Inspection Law to the packing pro-
duct.
The butchers and other meat men
| in Topeka agree upon the fact that a
fight is on between the commission
men and the packers. This fight is a
peculiar affair and involves several
legal points that are interesting to
everyone but the vegetarians The
Meat Inspection Law requires the
rigid inspection of all packing house
products and the condemnation of all
impure articles and diseased animals
This act requires also the postmortem
inspection of all animals before any
part of a carcass can be dressed. This
means that sometimes out of a bunch
of cattle bought by a packing house
there will be heavy loss to the house
because of the condemnation of several
carca sSes.
One of the results of the rigid post
mortem inspection of carcasses by the
of the tubercular germ in certain car
casses. The presence of this germ is
the cause of the condemnation of the
carcass. Hence the beef is worthless
ana must be made into fertilizer and
be a practical loss to the packer. The
germs seem to be more numerous in
cows than in calves or steers Steers
especially seem to be remarkably free
from this germ. Because of this fact
packers who buy cows are very apt to
lose heavily through condemnation.
ON the other hand steers are in great
demand and are, as a rule, a source of
very small loss. The commission
men as consequence have a ready
market for steers but a poor one for
COWS. They do not want to hold over
a lot of cows to feed and then nrac-
tlcally give them away. So they raise
way they raise the price of the pack
ing house product. The fight is on
and the public must either paw the
price or else become vegetarian
Two other conditions were mention
ed by the packers of Topeka as pIaus-
fble reasons for the rise in connection
with the one already given One is
that this is the high season between
the times of the corn fed and the grass
fed animals coming to market. What
there is now on the market and upon
which the price has risen is the corn
red meat. This. as marketab BILE meat
is much more in demand on account
than sc
RED product The higher price is upon
the choicer articles only. The second
reason that is given is that the Drice
Of corn is at present fifty cents a BUSH |
Ell and will be higher before the other |
product comes in Take this with tho
fact that there was no prospect' Of a
corn crop at all until the recent rains
ana the reason seems good. The total |
iosence OF corn crop would mean |
no corn fed beef for next wear and
civil war prices on beef from now on |
Mayor Green says that the rise will /
aHect only the choicer meats while IT |
Will scarcely touch the cheaper cuts |
put be that as it may, this is what /
market of the size of Mr.. Green's. The
average carcass weighs 700 pounds. |
Two cents a pound would mean $14 on |
l single carcass. Mr. Green disposes
30 a week and $3.50 a year. That is
ne case with market like Mr. /
ireen's, which as compared to the
packing houses of the country is rather
mall. The rise would mean proper
ionally more to such houses as Swift's.
Armour's, Cudahy's, Wolff's and Others
Chis also means the same, nearly
he same to the consumer of all meats
With the heavier burden to the con-
umer of the choicer cuts
Although the fight is apparently be-
ween the packer and the butcher on
he one hand and the commission man
N the other, it is reality the packer
md the commission man as opposed to
he meat inspection law" It is the
ational law that requires the rigid in
pection, and it is the national official
Who condemns the deceased carcasses
With no inspector the source of the
rouble would be eliminated. However
he inspection is for the good of the
eneral public health, and as such
must be enforced. The solution must
therefore, be found in more careful buy l.
ng on the part of the commission man.
his would mean no hardship to con-
inner hacker or commission man