Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-21

there has been fair call from Kentucky,
Wisconsin and Michigan, but very few
cattle are going from this market to
Pennsylvania and territory west OF
Chicago.
Gamer and cutter trade continues
as uneven affairs and prices generally
dime off. Only few strong weight
cutter find decent demand and dairy
stuff is a drug on the market.
Veal Market DemoraIized.
Packers swung their war clubs over
the calf market almost every day this
week and reduced prices $1.25@I75
since a week ago Friday. Weak call
for the veal product at current high
retail prices is the chief factor in
breaking the market. but the declines
this week have only fulfilled traders
expectation following the advance dur
ing Easter week While as high as
this week, prime sorts have sold down
to SO, with the bulk at $s.50@S.75.
Heavies are little changed over a week
ago, especially those Of stocker quail
ity going to feeders.
Industrial Conditions Bad.
So many adverse factors to a pros
porous cattle market exist that the
trade is disseminating no optimistic
forecasts Scarcity Of ripe bullocks
enough good cattle to go around at the
prices. News from the industrial
sphere Is uniformly discouraging.
Manufacturers are curtailing output,
this being reflected this week in clos
ing down Of coal mines owing to accu-
mutation Of unstable products. rail-
roads are still pairing pay rolls and re-
ports from every Industrial center on
the map are couched In lugubrious
terms. Considerable Argentine beef
has been reaching New York and has
been hard to move. Distributors insist
that with normal conditions foreign
stuff could be disposed Of without diff
f1culty, but at present it is hard to sell
and the fact that 1t must be unloaded
affects the domestic cattle market adj
versely.
Killers are making no secret OF their
concern regarding supply during the
season the visible supply Of beef cat
tie always gets into stronger hands
and continuous light receipts warrant
the assertion that the winter crop of
beef has been closely marketed. Where
drought made a normal corn crop i'm
possible last year winter beef making
operations were necessarily on linn
tied scale and that area will not he a
heavy contribution during April May
and June, as was the case last year.
During the first four months of 1913
feed was abundant and the fattening
process was being carried on extern
sively under the incentive furnished
by the high market Of the previous
gall. which incentive has been wholly
lacking this season.
Fort Worth cattle supply this week
has fallen materially below expecta :
tlon A percentage Of the run at that
market this season Is always
through billed stuff to pastures, so
that supply figures are deceptive from
a beef basis. Texas grazing condi-
tons could not be better and the run
promises to be we'll distributed, the
prospect being that Fort Worth and
Oklahoma CITY will intercept a larger
proportion Of 1t than usual, especially
II prices are maintained as growers
prefer the short haul.
A peculiar condition exists in pure
bred cate al! over the ccunt,.'. Breed
ers sold out early in the wear and ere
now en1eavuring to re ns;:te former
holdings. For time bulls command.
ed stiff premium but this is disap-
peariny and females ara selling like
hot cakes. January trade was not re-
garded AS stable by many breeders WHO
concluded 10 take advantage Of the .p-
portunity to unload, but the more they
ATTEMPTED t. get back :n:o the BUSH
ness the mere expensive has the pro-
cess proven. For flee years at least
prices Of lure bred cattle Of al the
breeds vii. rule high End the rwner
Of a herd WI h sufficient gumption to
stick to it will be well rewarded.
Argentine beef competition is going
to be smaller for the next few weeks
than in the past month, according to
Seaboard advices, since short ship
ments are on the way, but the eastern
markets are claimed to be still holding
a lot Of imported product which is
meeting with mean reception from re-
tailers, who are finding it hard to work
this stuff onto the consumers. Price
product is not large enough to offset
the discrepancy in quality.
One big New York house, ordinar-
lily a good buyer of fat bullocks locally,
has done little in recent weeks, and
the only explanation forthcoming from
Its buyers is: We're getting 'em
elsewhere" This country buying in
the east promises to be no small factor
as a price regulator in the markets
during the next few weeks although
it is coming a time of year when kill
ers can expect only continued short
supplies Of good beeves, and no very
generous runs of short-feds and
warmed-up stuff, since high cost Of
feeder cattle is inducing lot Of hold
overs Of half finished steers to COM
plete the job on them
Unofficial receipts this week total
41,522 against $4,000 estimated and
compared with 49,337 for the same
period a year ago. The extreme top
this week is soc higher than for >the
same period a year ago.
Pork Products Lower
An extremely dull trade in cash pork