The Washington times., 1912-01-21
BUYERS or BUTTER
HOLD UP VICTIMS;
CLAIM OF EXPERTS
Situation Throughout the
Country Is Thoroughly
Analysed.

OF the butter men, that dropped the
prices last spring. Not only the citiseus
of Washington, but urban butter users
everywhere. or about 4S per cent Of the
entire population, are being held up
every time they buy pound Of but
ter"
In these words experts of the United
states Government analyze the situa-
ton on the butter market.
a. washington residents are paying from
cents pound for print butter. Some
oart OF the py plancy products are bringing 50
essnts. reports from New York place
posn5 1ns Sr'esS TSssut at from, from 50 to 60 cents
that have been demanded in twenty
-FOUR years, or since 1888, when there was
q real butter famine, and the storage
SM,asrehouses S,sn OF the country were not
to maintain the price and a steady
The butter being sold by merchants
it1Iry ley, ~ ~. tne self-same butter. some Of
last spring for 30 cents a pound Every
pound purchased is q contribution OF 10
fSnts cen So, or more more over the ng/prices, to
age warehouses. In the sprine en butter
Vas Vas sold on quotations from the
,,ousa nousemeh,s h Association at q cents a
the Elsin Board or the Warehousemen
We're not losing money then Now, how
cnes,, cons, .nese same sources Of the city
consumers cEhnsumers butter supply quote the
advance for themselves OF iusf ia cents
pound Prices to the consumers are.
Of course. from 9 to o cents higher than
the quotations Of the Elgin Board.
Prices Prove An Enigma.
Hutter prices and the cause and effect
OF the rise and fall are an enigma to
the average citizen. The old law of
visible supply and demand Is not quite
obsolete In butter as it is In many other
foodstuffs. but 1t Is successfully lost In
great marketing and selling scheme
ano ,,ncd Srgan,zhat,9n or ,ho. IN which # is only
proper occasion as the goat or excuse
Tor q stir raise In price.
Inc supply and demsnd ghost is now
Wa,klnE snd ihs abroad abroad in the butter market.
trembling fingers. These fingers ire not
necessarily trembling wlth fear. II may
he avarice. Who can tell?
Darh hints that butter famine IL
out iron. the headquarters of the El-
gin bonrd and from the other big mar
kets ~ New York. Boston, and Phila-
delphia: Butter men are shocked at this
leak. They say 70 themselves
Butter trade papers have been de-
ciaring for weeks that the market was
strong. and the butter men apparently
are ;,,a avaiiinE H themselves Of the oppor-
butter trade make some sisniacsnt ant
statements In reviewing the markets. A
New York weekly. the most prominent
OF the butter mems trade journals. In
xet. one OF the biggest in the, country,
says "As indicated by previous month
ly statements. II shows strong stu-
alton statisticaliv and confirms the re-
beginning Of the trade year. The APP
parent increase in the local consumption
Of butter Is the most important fea-
ture III the situation. as 1t indicates n
spring output shows much Of an in
crease. And this. too. In the face of
the steadily rising values for several
months past. In April the price for
een hs Se Ts' yesr aSwn f M a5
vanced to "a cents in June. to q cents
in July. and q cents in August. SO
that the bulk Of the surplus summer
make was nut away in cold storage
from 2. to Is cents"
Millions of Pounds In Storage.
There were nearly seven million
pounds Of butter in storage in Boston
January 1. and as the trade journal
says, this butter, put away when prices
were from % to % cents, is being sold
at 40 cents. The Boston market is a
good criterion for the country at large.
The trade paper continues: 1.-THE mar
gin Of profit on storage goods is fairly
Satisfactory. but Is not extravsgant
fore the season closes will barely make
before"
This last sentence is the crux of the
nnnnrdtn0
ernment expert in this city: We are
simply to pay back" he said. FOR the
cheap butter we got in the spring.
There are nearly seven million
and the warehouses throughout the
country according to reliable figures are
well supplied, thirty-eight houses hav-
Ing 1885. 100 pounds. Government ex-
real famine, that there will be plenty
of butter left in storage when the
spring increase begins.
Butter production Is heaviest In the
mer, % when hem cows @ I are eaivins and there
Is a plentiful supply of cream. During
this period the bulk of the countrys
butter supply is made. Owing to this
cheap, and the storage warehouse men
fill up their stocks. That is the law OF
supply as applied to butter: Then the
warehouse men sit back and ,,yaI wait until nth
local supplies are cAhduStCa ohu
merchants clamor for butter. There
may be millions upon millions OF
pounds, but no one apparently sees It,
That Is the law Of demand. or Course,
the less butter let out the less the sup
ply. and the greater the demand. Butter
stock Is held over from year to year
with ease and skill
Consumer Has Comeback.
According to the trade papers butter
men have only one thing to fear at the
present time-that Is, that consumers
will fall back upon oleomargarine or
some cheaper goods II prices Of butter
go any higher. Everybody in the trade
recognizes this, and is anxious to keep
values as low as possible.
Speaking of conditions that caused the
low prices of the spring, trade re-
view says: TRADE was poor. oleo haV-
ing secured an unusually strong hold on
the markets, and the pressure to sell
became SO strong that by the close or
March prices had fallen cents on the
best fresh goods, and 10 cents or more
on the best storage stock. The darkest
period was during March. New York
was overwhelmed with butter from
other points in addition to the local
stocks. and financial conditions We're
such that many holders were obliged to
| sell, which forced their holdings on the
market and caused utter Generalization.
| Low prices to consumers practically