Smyrna times., 1910-02-02
COLLISION IN
BUYING CATTLE
How Packers Keep Up High
Prices Of Meat.
NO INDEPENDENT BIDDING
Packing Houses Control Quantity and
Price of Live Stock In Daily Buying
Profits In the Business.

Chicago, Jan. 31.-The corner stone
of the fight now under way before the
federal grand jury for lower meat
prices turns upon the effort of the
packing interests in the country tc
form s500.000,0 900 trust, with an Eng.
lish charter so framed as to dodge the
operations of the laws of the United
States Four years ago this idea for
operating all of the packing house
plants in America was started upon its
way.
1t died a speedy death when attor
neys who locked into the question re
ported to the chief movers that ar
English corporation operating under ar
English charter could do nothing ir
America that a local corporation
would be prohibited from doing.
Then the National Packing company
became the sole reliance of the meat
interests. Following the train of this
company the grand jury will find the
allegation that a combination exists
for controlling the quantity and price
In the daily buying of live stock. This
matter goes to the life of the packers
present defense, that the high prices
of N eat are due to the operations and
greed of the farmer.
How the Buying is Done.
Here is what the evidence in the
hands of the government on this point
will show;
PRACTICABLE all of the live stock thai
comes to o Chicago packers is pUr
chased in the daily market at the
yards of the Union Stock Yards com
pany. Car after car daily empties its
burden of cattle, hogs and sheep into
the vast pens of the concern. Each OF
the big houses has it's staff of buyers
who spend the day in the pens buyins
for their respective houses.
The evidence will show that each
day between and 10 o'clock the op
eratiCns of the buyers are mapped oul
by them. A network of private tele
phone lines leading to each pen AMI
from each packing house, Is brought
into service to tell each buyer what
and how the days buying has been al
lotted among the packers.
collusion In Buying.
There is no independent bidding OF
one house against another, as the fol
lowing incident will show. One dey
the buyers were all assembled in the
hog pens in preparation sOr the day.
business, but after consulting the cen
trail Office just before the opening o
the market it was noticed that all the
buyers except one drew off They had
been ordered to let that house do a.
of the buying and not to make a pur
chase of one hog at any price The re
suit was that sellers who had brough
hogs to th" pens had them left owe
until the following day. The hogs mus
be fed the men must maintain them
selves at hotels. and the cost of wait
ing for rise in price was thus MAJ
too great to warrant a fight for
higher price for the hog shipments
Next day the price of hogs wen
down and everybody bought. The gen
eral program was to limit the buying
squeeze the price, and then by concert
ed action stock up on hogs at the re
duced price. just before "the law O
supply and demand" quoting the pack
ers. forced up the price again"
But whose supply? The packers.
And whose demand? Again th
packers.
Profits In the Business.
From an inside source about tn
stock yards it is learned that there /
less justification fer q high price q
meat under the latter day system @
utilizing the by-pro1uct than there hs.
ever been since the packing industr
began. This is because these by-prC
ducts are now sold for about one thir
the cost of the animal. These are th
figures on which this estimate is ba
ed: A 1900 pound steer on the hoo
bought at = price which nets the selle
$66. will dress $50 hounds of meat fC
the market. This will be sold for Sc
more or less. according to the ma
ket, leaving the packer the by-product
. on which to make up the defioienc
, and make his profit. He will do tht
in the following manner:
Tallow and oleo fat, $40; hide. 81
! tongue, 75c.; OK tail. 10c; liver 25c
castings. 35c. glue, 81; horns. 25c
SWITCH 10c; tripe 81; shank bonc
and knuckies. 2Oc.; palates. 1Oc
brains. 10c.; lips, 10c.; cheek mea
{ 2Oc. sweetbreads. 10c.: blood. 81 r
tai. $24.60.
b This statement does not inclut
{ sundry articles manufactured for dru
] gists or the use of an average of fif
{ pounds of refuse from each steer
b fuel to run the engines of the plants.