Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-04-09
Congressman Hitchcock Starts
Inquiry as to Why Meat Goes
Up When Stock is Down
PACKERS TRUST IN CONTROL
Succeeds in Buying Bulk of Stock of
Country at Low Prices and Boost
ing Price of Meats - Adminstra-
ton Feels Kindly Toward Suggested
investigation.

Especial Washington Correspondence
Hitchcock, of Nebraska, has a cur
iosity to know why the price of meat
should go up up up, at the very time
when the price of livestock from which
that meat is made is going down,
down, down.
Accordingly he has introduced in the
house a resolution calling on the de-
partment of commerce and labor for
any information it is able to present,
as to the prices at which the great
packing interests have bought various
kinds of stock in the great stock
markets of the country, for the past
two years; these prices to be arranged
month by month Also for informal
ton, similarly arranged, as to the
course of prices of meats. month by
month, during the same period
About the time the panic struck the
country last fall livestock was selling
at very high prices. Then the prices
began to fall They went downward
at a remarkable rate till very recently,
when they began to stitfen once more.
During the period of declining prices
the stock raisers unloaded an inn
mense amount of stuff on the markets,
for it is a universal experience that
agricultural products go to the mar
ket when prices are tending downward.
and are withheld when prices are ris-
ing. So it was that when prices took
a strong upward turn it developed
that about all the stock in the country
that was ready for market had al
ready been unloaded. At low prices
the raisers sacrificed an immense
amount. and now they have compara-
lively little to sell at the higher level.
Along with the period of depression
in prices of stock there came constant
complaints that there was no reduc-
ton in the price of meat. Indeed. at
the very time when prices of stock were
near the lowest level it was charged
that meat was constantly going up.
More recently still, since the rapid
upward movement of livestock prices
started, the prices of meat have been
going up at the like pace. The result
is that complaint has been vigorously
ocalized from both the stock producer
ind the meat consumer. that the meat
trust is making both of them suffer
II have not had opportunity to get
together, as yet, the figures represent
ing this tendency in prices" said Mr.
Hitchcock. Il don't know what the
figures of the department will show.
or whether they will be able to furnish
them. have seen a good deal OF the
complaint which has been voiced in the
press, concerning these conditions, and
have introduced the resolution with the
purpose of getting at the inwardness
of the situation"
1t is claimed by people who have
been observing these price tendencies
within the domain of the meat trust,
that the movement of the past six
months has demonstrated more con-
vincingly than ever before the absolute
control of the situation by the COM
bination of great packers The notion
of another investigation of the trust
has been suggested by good many
statesmen of late, and numerous let
tiers have been received, demanding
that some steps be taken. Mr.. Hitch
cock has taken the lead with the idea
of determining whether there is in the
situation anything justifying the as
sumption that the producer and the
consumer have been gouged at the
same time. If the resolution passed
and the report received under it seems
to Justify such movement, it is ex-
peeted that the next effort will be to
start an investigation of the meat trust
somewhat similar to that made several
years ago, whose result was entirely
unconvincing and unsatisfactory at least
to the great majority of the public.
The administration is expected to feel
rather kindly than otherwise toward
such move because the packers have
thus far succeeded so often in baking
it's efforts to bring them to accounting
under the antitrust statutes.