Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-02-22
Looker-On In Iona

State Center, Feb. 22.-Ever since
the present agitation over the high
prices Of meat has been an uppermost
question, the writer has been asking in
the towns he visited, the retail prices
of meat, this Of the owners of the
meat markets, and to his surprise finds
that with the exception of pork there
has been but little if any advance in
retail prices during the past five years.
Exception must be made where the
butcher in the small town formerly
butchered his own stock, but now
handles the packing house product.
Such towns as Written, Conrad, Glad
brook, Garwin, Toledo, Montour, all
near Marshalltown, now have markets
where t21a cents is the common price
per pound for the best cuts of beef.
Their roasts, to 10 cents, boiling
pieces s to 8 cents. Some shops even
keep up the old practice of giving away
liver to regular customers While others
only charge 5 cents per pound. Pork
chops even at the high price of hogs,
are generally sold at Is cents per
pound. Veal and all kinds of poultry
are considerably higher than five years
ago. In the towns where the packin 6
house meats are handled, retail prices
as rule are to 5 cents per pound
higher, and many consumers in these
towns claim that where these dealers
go out and buy fat COW and butcher
it. such meat is retailed at the same
price as the Chicago dressed beef.
One of these marketmelt who does
his own butchering says there is no
excuse for any advance in the price of
beef. He can buy good fat cows at
$3.50 to 81 per hundred live weight.
Allowing one half for shrinkage, even
then there is living profit at present
retail prices. The hide and offal well
pay for the expense of butchering. This
man in common with every dealer in
terviewed blames the public for de-
manding 50 much of the the best
cuts" Says he could sell twice as
much steak out of each animal az 1873
cents if the Lord had started things
that way. That he has to charge more
for the best cuts because he actually
has TO sell so many pounds of each
carcass at a loss The dealer in Chi
cago beef in the small towns say his
sales are too small to pay him TO do
his own butchering. That it means an
extra man at $50 a month, which would
LAKE dil He IildktS. lIidl NtlSli ne y
tails the best cuts at IS to 20 cents per
pound he also sells many pounds of the
carcass at to II cents, and with the
loss of bone and fat these prices do
not pay first cost of the meat. That he
has to keep an account of sales from,
an entire fore quarter and didn't sell
j. For as much as he paid the packing
house.
In. hug
told by parties that claim to know. but
that the retail prices of packing house
beef are fixed by the Chicago firms.
This may explain why such retailers
make a uniform price of both what
they buy from the packing houses and
what they butcher in their own slaugh-
ter houses. The Hartford Courant,
Conn. editorially said recently that:
1T is notorious that retailers are for
hidden TO buy domestic cattle. If they
do SO, il is a, the risk of being penal
lied We have published more than
once the story told by a leading bust
ness man Of this city that he offered
a relative in this state bunch of 2
year olds to raise on his almost empty
farm and the farmer declined with
thanks, saving he could not sell them
after they were raised The market
man who should buy them would be
put out of business 1t is true that
things have changed somewhat since
that day: YOU can get something FOL
q cow or steer now in this state (eyen
if it is tuberculosus) by selling to the
travelling buyer but that is very limited
progress"
1t is hardly probable that the lines
are so closely drawn in Iowa, but the
situation here seems this. that the pub
lie unfortunate enough to have to de-
pend on Chicago dressed beef. are pay
ing to cents a pound more for thei,
daily meat than where the butcher
slaughters his own cattle. One result
Of this now well-known fact, is the
talk and need of a public market house
in all towns of over 1000 inhabitants
These market houses to be successful!
must be free to the sellers. Any tow
of 1000 can we'll afford the slight ad
/ ditional tax such a market house viii
cause. In the east these buildings have
been a feature for many years ant
serve the purpose of bringing the selle
/ and buyer together to their mutual ad
vantage Especially in agriculture
Iowa where we furnish the Chicag
( packing houses with a large percentag
of their supplies. any project that vii
loosen their hold on the consume
should have public approval.
40 My~~4~A