Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-01-16
COLD STORAGE TRUST BEATEN
AND BIC STOCK THROWN ON
MARKET.
CORNER IN PRODUCE
RESULTS IN FAILURE
Consumers in Line to Secure Benefits
Of Big Losses to Commission Men
Who Have Storage Houses-PouItry
and Al Dairy Products to se Sold at
Sacrifice.

Chicago, Jan. 16.-Millions Of pounds
OF cold-storage butter. eggs. cheese and
poultry. some OF 1t as much as five
years old, according to estimates OF
dealers, are about to be thrown on the
market and sacrificed at whatever
price they will bring as the result Of
the collapse within the last few days
OF the food trust" which by steady
asgressions has piled prices of pro-
visions up to their present figures.
Chicago. as the center Of the cold
storage industry OF the country. Is to
be the vortex of the wholesale unload
Ing.
Accuse tho Retailers.
Chicago wholesalers admit that the
bottom has fallen out Of prices for
dairy products and poultry and that a
big slump Is due as soon as the con-
tents of the cold storage warehouses
can be put on the market. They claim
that an attempt Is being made by re-
tailers to keep prices up to an abnor-
NAL level by buying small stocks at
low figures and selling them to the
public al the old high levels. Fol-
lowing are Saturdays wholesale prices
for the provisions in question:
Altho the collapse of the corner"
is likely to be felt most keenly by the
cold storage men OF Chicago the pinch
will be felt in many OF the important
shipping centers Of the east and middle
west. Chicago. New York, Philadel-
phia. Omaha, Kansas City. st. Louis
and Minneapolis were spoken Of yes
terday as the points where most OF the
unloading probably would be done.
Told by Storage Men.
Prices for dairy products. 1t Is said,
will drop to a reasonable figure. Chick
ems. turkeys, geese and domestic fowls
Of all sorts are expected to become
cheap enough for the poor mans table.
Tho collapse has been due to natural
causes. Curiously enough 1t was the
cold storage people themselves who
first spread the tidings that the bototm
had dropped out Of the market. They
did that Saturday at meeting OF a
Of leading wholesale dealers
in New York In order to get rid Of
their cold storage products quickly and
raise cash, when cash Is needed. they
want the general public to know the
OF things so that it will bring
pressure to bear upon the retailers to
force them to bring down their prices
If the public were kept in ignorance
OF how matters stood the retailers
would be unable to get rid OF their
\How Trouble Started.
The nfesentstroubles Of the cold stor-
age peoNle hav1 been brought about by
their own manipulations at the expense
Of the public. Five years ago number
Of them got together in more or less
informal agreements and proceeded to
put artificial prices on butter. eggs.
cheese, fowls. and everything else that
could be kept in cold storage. They
were able to do this by the simple
method OF putting goods In storage in
stead Of delivering them Immediately
to the market. Their combined storage
facilities gave them position OF su-
premacy which not only enabled them
to limit the supply to the public and
thus keep prices up. but control nearly
the prices paid to producers.
Thus, while producers were getting lit
tie enough for their butter. eggs and
poultry, the public was paying extor-
prices.
Prices Prohibit Eating.
In putting up prices to the high fg-
ures attained during the last two years
the cold storage men cut the ground
from under their own feet. People who
could not afford to pay 80 and 40 cents
q dozen for eggs stopped eating them.
Families that found butter too expen-
sive ate oleomargarine. The result was
that after this had gone on for q year
or two the wholesalers found them
selves with full warehouses and no de-
mand. General uneasiness was fol-
lowed by downward trend in prices
Then came more pronounced drop.
Now the wholesalers fnd themselves
under the imperative necessity Of un-
loading or going out OF business.
Cost Of Storage High.
Just how much food is In storage in
and around Chicago there Is no means
Of ascertainins. Only the wholesalers
know, and they will not tell. A few.
days ago one firm controlling thirty
two warehouses admitted. 1t had in
$4,000 900 pounds Of butter that
must be got rid OF before May at the
pound to store this butter, and 1t will
cost or cents more a pound to mar
ket 1t.
The situation in the butter market Is
more aggravated than that in the egg,
cheese and poultry markets, for the
reason that the high prices opened a
wide market for the oleomargarine
makers.