Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-31

KBARNEY. Neb, Jan. 27.-To the
Editor OF The Bee: II seems to me that
II the people who are making this great
agitation about the high prices of
provisions wouid give the question a little
thought they would become reconciied to
the Inevitable. and that Is that the cost
Of living is governed by the cost Of the
raw material.
TAKE the price Of hogs on the hoof.
The best. which the American people buy,
cost the packers now about $3.50. At
Chicago the packer loses. one-fifth in
dressing and the expense of running the
slaughter house must be added, which
would make the hog cost about 10 cents
per pound gross. Now svr the butcher TO
make anything he must sell his cheapest
cuts AT 10 cents and the best cuts az high
as II cents, and then he does not make
as much as he did when getting hogs for
4 cents to 5 cents per pound.
Now as for beef. a good fat steer costs
about 8 cents. and COWS, fat ones, cost 4
cents to 8 cents per pound. A good steer
loses in dressing fifty pounds to the hun
dred. or so per cent. a COW loses sixty
pounds to the hundred. or co per cent. A
dressed steer now on the hook will cost
the butcher about 70 cents per pound for
neck shanks, and the butcher has to sell
his best cuts at from Is to IS or 20 cents to
come out even. Good COW beef costs the
butcher from about 9 cents to 10 cents per
pound, and. OF course. there Is n great por-
ton of It that cannot be sold as high as
cost, so the best cuts have to sell from y
to II or IS cents to let the butcher out
even.
And so 1t is with all food products.
Wheat, corn ana hay are high. a farmer
cannot make beef and pork for less than
he is getting. When feed is so high you
cannot put a pound OF beef on a stee. g
ribs for less than s cents. I know this for
l have fed thousands of cattle and hogs.
You will see when you can buy corn from
rs cents to 20 cents per bushel and hay
from IS to S. per ton that you will get
beef at old prices. When you can buy
wheat from 80 to 60 cents per bushel then
you Will hear OF the same lot of bowling
ignoramuses sending out committees to in
vestigate and to Cypress the business Of
the land by their ignorant Interference.
l read that a man by the name of Bah
son gave as the reason for present prices
OF provisions, first, that there was too
much gold produced. If had been one Of
the audience after he said that 1 should
have walked out. That is something like
some of Mr.. Bryan's vaporings. l bought
wv - GA0 Jaw my SAAtCh AA lhN
amount, and the man from whom bought
the steers deposited the check and got
credit in the bank for $4,000. The steers
went into the yard and 1 paid for feed
with checks, and the people to whom 1
gave the checks deposited them and paid
their debts with the money. 1 sent the
cattle to market and received O draft for
my money. which l deposited, getting
credit at the bank for the amount. In the
whole transaction there was not a dollar
of cash used. Gold is a good thing for
basic money and the more the better.
Mr.. Babson's second reason is the same
old song, that the farmers are leaving their
farms and going to the city, where they
are not needed. They may go to the city,
but II the people in the city are no further
advanced than our financial and business
expert, l think the city needs a few Of our
farmers to introduce ideas When the
farmers do go to the city they leave no
land unoccupied. One man can do as much
work IN q farm now as three could do in
former years, and do 1t better. so we have
men to spare except at harvest time.
Mr.. Babson also says the people consume
too many luxuries and kicks because the
people have spent 100000 900 for automo-
biles. ! cannot see anything but prosperity
in that. Is not that great amount of money
better In circulation than lying in the
pockets Of the people2 He predicts a panic
by 1912. He has surely been camping with
MI. Bryan, who predicts calamity right
along, and all the time business improves.
1 predict we viii not have a panic. See
who is right. Mr.. Babson says we must
raise 5 per cent more crops. We will raise
more than 10 per cent more.
A. ]. SNOWDEN.