Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-03-10
THE HEN GETS TOO BUSY AND
COLD STORAGE MEN COME
OUT LOSERS.
OPERATION IN 100000
DOZEN Proves DISASTROUS
Butter and Egg Boards Records Show
That Dealers Who Bought Surplus
Were stuns - Consumers Prefer
Fresh Supply to Those Six Months or
a Year Old.

| hen has won another famous victory
When the balance sheet was struck II
Chicago for the egg year" just closed
it was discovered that there had beer
an actual loss on the 100000 dozens
of eggs that were put into the ware
houses last spring, summer and fall
| On 10 per cent of the stored eggs a
profit had been made; on 10 per cent
! the accounts were about even; but on
the remaining 80 per cent there had
been an absolute loss. A loss Of l pei
cent per dozen on 100000 dozen eggs
would amount to $4,000.
| These are unofficial figures given out
| by the officials of the Chicago butter
and egg board. The egg storage year
begins April 1 and closes Jan. 1. There
are no cold storage eggs in Chicago
now and have not been any for two
months.
"Chicago is the greatest egg storage
point in the country" said Wayland
Palmer, chief egg inspector for the
board. Our warehouses have ca
pacity of 100000 cases. The total
number Of eggs produced In the coun-
try is nearly 6o,000.o0O cases, of which
less than per cent are stored. Upon
the same basis the fresh eggs disposed
of in Chicago annually amount to H.
500, 900 cases as against 100000 cases
of storage product. A case contains
thirty dozens.
There is little money in cold stor-
age eggs. Counted by themselves there
seldom is any money in them. Ihe
egg merchants use the cold storage
plants as a sort of insurance concern
to save them from big losses In the
summer when there is great over
production and in winter when, WITH
out the storage eggs they would nave
no business at all while their expenses
were going right along
Egg dealer make their purchases In
the spring and summer and fall ana
place the surplus in cold storage. The
storage charges are l cent dozen
80 cents a case-for eight months from
April to January. After January there
is a charge of cents per case per
month.
"An egg that is perfectly good when
put in cold storage will be just as good
at the end of six months, but no egg
year.
This last year the average cost OF
the storage eggs, when taken out, was
p cents per dozen. The average SELL
ing price, wholesale. was 21is cents.
On the face of these figures there is
net loss of 2k cents per dozen. The
total loss for the year was not that
much, however, as there was good
profit upon about 10 per cent of the
stored eggs, and the dealers about
broke even on another 10 per cent.
"In figuring up the losses. of course,
some account must be taken of the
summer business Without the cold
storage plants eggs would be selling
as low as cents dozen in the sum-
mer.
81 recall the time when eggs were
sold in Chicago in the summer months
at and 10 cents dozen. But in the
winter they sold for from As to go
cents-when they could be bought at
all.
There are some peculiar phases in
the egg business. Fresh eggs in larger
quantities than the demand requires,
begin to come about April /, and con-
tinue on until frost. The first eggs that
reach Chicago come from Kansas, and
the Kansas eggs nearly always are in
better condition when they arrive than
are the eggs from the nearer states.
That is because the Kansas poultry
men and egg merchants have used a
little thought in their work
"Our eggs come principally from
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois. 1t fire.
auently happens that eggs from Kan
sas and Nebraska in midsummer are
in better condition than those from
Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"The conditions of the butter mar
ket have been changed by the cold
storage system in about the same man
uern