The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1911-01-27

| o credit for the glut and ana low
prices of butter, nor blame for the
| nigh prices year ago. The govern
ment reports show that of all the
butter produced in the country not
over six per cent is put away in stor-
age, while "a per cent goes into i'm
mediate use, and small portion of
the crop could not control the mar
| ket. The top price for storage but
| ter this season is 80 1-2 cents per
pound, while the finest fresh but
| ter through the period of storms and
| unusually cold weather, did not go
| above So cents, yet, in 1882, before
modern cold storage was known, the
price of butter at Elgin, for the week
of February Goth, was 40 to SO cents
and the average price for the month
| was As 1-2 cents.
OF fresh meat less than three per
cent is placed in storage.
The problem of efficiency and con-
servation which efficiency implies,
raised by Louis Brandies with re-
gard to the railroads, has given the
packing business of Chicago a new
interest, whatever the merits of the
case in the federal courts The econ
omies of meat packing in which by
products produce the profits, have
been given a standing as real conser-
Walton. There is no industry in
which the selling price follows the
cost more closely" Louis S. Swift
said in his report as president of
Swift and Company at the last reg
ular meeting of that Company
Swift & Companys result sheets
show less than three per cent profit
on sales of 1910. A prifit is made
on by products which were wasted
before we learned how to use them
by the aid of modern machinery and
scientific handling" That high
prices penalized the packers was the
aspect put upon the cost of living by
his explanation for the increase of
capital from 100000 to $4,000
600 by Mr.. Swift, who said: eve
are obliged to pay higher prices for
raw material than formerly, and it
takes more money to do business
now than in times past. 1t also
takes more capital for construction
of plants and buildings and the oper-
alton of facilities necessary to han
die and keep our various products up
to the high standard demanded bv
our customers and the government
requirements. During the periods
OF plentious supply, and lower prices
for live stock and finished product,
the producer may be dissatisfied.
and criticise the packer. During the
periods Of short supply and conse-
quently higher prices for live stock
and the finished product the consum-
err may be dissatisfied and criticise
the packer. Thus it is seen that in
deed the packer is middle man. but
the fact is lost sight of that with
varying costs and varying selling
prices the packer receives uniform
ly small margin of profit on sales"
In the controversy over deficiency
OF railroad operations the rule was
conceded that of all possible cause
OF high prices waste is the most DO
tent; that scientific management has
disclosed wastes reaching on enor-
nous aggregate, even now little re-
allied; and that scientific manage
ment has presented the only work.
able means yet devised for avoiding
the greater part of this waste.
The need of automatically stop
ping trains when stop signals are dis
regarded or not seen by engineers
has been given renewed attention by
Chicago railway officials as result
of two disasters recently on eastern
roads equipped with automatic
block signals. In the wreck at Ba-
tavia, N. Y, on the New York Cen
trail system, due to fog which OBJ
scured the cautionary signal 1000
feet from the station, the engineer
saw no warning until the tail lights
of the wrecked train were only a few
hundred feet away. Six dead and a
score seriously injured were the vic
tins in that case. Near Nevada, O.,
on the Pennsylvania railroad bad
wreck in which six died and many
were seriously injured was officially
ascribed to the disregarding of Wis
,ual signals by one engineer who
passed three sets of block signals
without obeying them. During a
general powow in Chicago of the Of
ficials of the Pennsylvania system,
A. M. Schoyer, general superintend-
ent of West Pittsburg was appointed
a committee to secure from the