The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-01-18
IN BOSTON MARKETS.
Butter Market In Bad Shape, Big Loss
On Stored Goods.

Boston. Jan. ls.-The local butter
market is Ia a very unsettled condition
and difficult to quote accurately; most
OF the trade are anxious to sell, but
buyers are Indifferent about buying and
but little business is going on. Quota.
tons are purely nominal and vary in
the different houses according TO how
each happens to be situated in the mat
ter Of supplies, Dealers with the heav-
lest stocks naturally are the most eager
to sell and quote the lowest prices, the
range being from SOC. to 3lc for fancy
creamery stock in tubs. II is safe 90
say that what is passing is at the lower
figures, as buyers fully realize that the
situation Is entirely in their favor and
are disposed to take full advantage Of
conditions
The situation In butter has not looked
healthy for some time. but until the
last week or so dealers We're not much
disposed to force things, in the hope
that matters would right themselves
But the statement Of cold storage stocks
by the warehouse association, showing
that there were more than 45,000,000
pounds OF butter in the coolers in va
rious parts Of the country on Jan. l.,
OF 20000,0O0 pounds more than on Jan.
!. 1910, and the failure Of two or three
impDrtant factors with large holdings of
butter. have dissipated all confidence in
the market and in all markets the eoun-
try over, dealers are showing a DISPOSE
ton to get out from under the load be-
fore it topples over and brushes them.
Prices are being slashed without re-
gard for original costs, the desire Of the
spectators in butter being to save some
Of the money invested. Every day adds
90 the cost of butter IN the storage,
as there is expense from storage charges
and interest on the money tied up, not
to mention the shrinkage in the weight
of the butter. And since they are face
to face with loss, holders rather prefer
to take it by selling at low prices and
getting through with bad situation,
The longer the matter is drawn out,
50 much the worse for prices; for with
normal weather there should be a mate
rial increase in the make Of fresh but
ter in the latter part Of April, and
three months is pretty short time in
which to market such large amount
Of stock, since it is a pretty we'll estab-
lished fact that the hig prices that
have prevailed for butter have turned
the great majority Of people on to u.s.
ing substitutes for butter for every
thing except table use, and only very
low level Of prices will bring them back
to the use OF butter in general way Of
former years.
A number Of things beside the supply
and demand will be blamed for the de-
moralized condition of the market. The
order of things in the leather trade, viii
no doubt come in for blame in the pres
ent butter situation. They make oleo-
margarine. the great substitute for but
ter; it is, therefore, to their advantage
that butter should be kept high and 1t
was frequently said last summer, when
regular butter dealers were trying to
force prices off from the extremely high
level that had ruled during the previous
winter. that it was the packers who
kept the price up by making huge pur-
chases IN the primary markets and pay
ing the high prices demanded by the
manufacturers.
No such decentralization prevails in
the cheese and egg markets as is noted
at UMtNtAf bNb NNtl tANANNNa uAt WtAh
and headed lower. Cheese supplies are
great deal larger now than they We're
a year ago. and sellers arc more anx-
ious TO sell than buyers are to buy
Eggs are weak entirely from natural
causes; the hens are laying freely, and
the demand is not keeping pace with
the supply, since a great many people
stopped using eggs at the prices that
prevailed some weeks ago, and have not
set returned to their use.
Jobbing quotations:
Butter Fancy northern creamery.
tubs 30d3l boxes 3l@32c, prints SEA
32l2e fancy western creamery, spruce
tubs 300 3lc. ash tubs 20Ia a Doc fair
to good creamery 27@2sc, dairy 23@27c.
Cheese New York twins. fancy 1915
ollie. Vermont twins, fancy l5laa l6c,
fair TO good stock l4ld l5c, Young Amer
lea l7h@lSc, sage l7l3@ Isc.
Eggs Fancy hennery $40 Sac. choice
eastern 3l@32c, fresh western 500 S2c,
storage 26@ 2se