The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1909-06-16
CAN'T TELL WHY PRICES
ARE SO HIGH
Gets so Indignant When Questions
Are Asl<ed-IIe Sends His "Fixer'
to Fix Up Things for Him.
Especial Correspondence)

CHlCAGO, ILL.,, June 1.-AbOut
S0,00O,000 people are asking each
other What makes beefsteak cost so
| much? It's about 3 cents more a
| pound than it ever was before"
I'll doesn't bring them any Informal
| ton to ask themselves. If they go
down to the corner meat market 10
ask why beefsteak is higher than it
ever was before, the meat shop owr-
er only looks as worried as they IN.
The real meat men are here in Chi
| cago. Louis J. Swift and J. Ogden
| Armour are the chief meat men.
They ought to know why mcat is so
high. Some one, in the interest of ;he
| the question. 1 decided to do so, and
l went to the "natiohal meat stores"
| operated by these gentlemen in this
| city.
In the Old Days.
In the old days the meat man was
willing to tell us all he knew about
prices. I wondered if the meat man
of this day of trusts would do the
same.
1 was any one of the 10000, 900
citizens of the United tSates.
The answer 1 got from Louis ]
Swift, president of the Swift Packing
| Co., is the same hnSwer that anyone
else would get, if he We're II go into
! Swift's presence and ask him why
beefsteak cost so much.
1t was a fair little chat / had with
Swift, even if it did wind up with
his getting mad. In fact, [ rather
suspected he would get mad. Little
Journeys to the Homes of Trust own
ers' never do end happily when you
ask for the truth.
Swift saw me at his home. Tat was
better than at the office, where nc is
hedged about with secretaries and re-
representatives. and general managers
galore. the Swift mansion I saw
only liveried funk IS, who bowed and
scraped and didn't getin the way.
Rides on Carpet.
The sounds of the horses hoois died
out, as we drove up near the porte
cochere. We were riding on carpet,
a real carpet. 1t must have cost a
lot of beefsteaks, this outdoor car
pet.
A Japanese butler too!. my card.
And, in a magnificlc entity furnished
room, sitting on a teak wood chair
that must have cost as much as a
small cottage, I came face TO face
with our meat man.
He looked puzzled. Evidently thcIe
are not many of us 30.000,00o who go
to the meat man to find out about
things.
First I told him : had come TO his
home to see him because I could not
see him at his Office.
He said that was all right; he war l.
ed to know what wanted.
"Td like to get your IDEAS about the
business situation" I said.
"Well, I don't know what I can say
about it - he replied. ia rather
talk at the office.
I knew he never woI,d talk at the
ONCE, that I could never get by that
array of secretaries.
"What does this country need to
make it prosperous? 1 asked.
Handed Poser.
This seemed to be a poser. The
meat man hemmed something ike
this: Well, er-ah, ah, Ian"
1t was time for my question
would times for common people
be any better if the price of meats
We're lower?"
All, ha! Just as I thought. The
butcher of the ante-trust days would
not have got mad. But the butcher
of the trust days did.
II can't be bothered with that ques-
tion," he said, loudly. You'll have
to see me at my Office
Let me explain said. "Pm ask
ing this question on behalf of many
people,"
81 don't want any explanati 1ns, -
shouted the meat man. 81 hire a
man to answer such questions.
Are his words your Words" l
asked.
He'll hear your questions and re-
fer them to me-
"Will you consider them?''
Il don't know what your scheme
isl
1.-THE scheme is simple enough. !
want to know why meat is so
I high"
you'll have to see my man. Good
by"
whats your mans name?'
white. Arthur White. 1 nlre him
to do that sort of business"
Arthur White came to my hotel to
see me he next day. He proved to be
the "fixer" for the Swift COMPANY
THE old man told me you~called
yesterday" said White. HE told me
he was a little cross with you, and he
said to me, White you quit your work
| and run down to the hotel and see
him. Fix it up with him. And"
White added, that's something for
the old man to do. That was quite
a let-down, if you knew him as do
"Well, all 1 want to know is why
the price of beefsteak is so high
said.
White pulled newspaper clippings
from his pockets to show that the