Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-14

northern Illinois and that part Of Iowa.
where the corn crop was good, cattle!
are fairly plentiful and the unsatisfac-
tory condition of the market is retard-I
ing the selling process. Should demand
make up the influence of this stuff
would be diminished, but any argument
that there are no cattle ready for the
next 80 days is untenable. The present
trouble is that most of them were put
in high and on the present selling
basis would not pay out.
After the middle Of the month a
heavier movement from Pennsylvania
feed lots Is certain. but the big move
ment from that quarter Is scheduled
for May and June. Both Pennsylvania
and Kentucky have considerable
number Of fat cattle to market and
while they are running eastern demand
here is likely to be slack In one Ken
lucky county, Montgomery. there are
s, 900 fat cattle ready for the eastern
market, and while buyers have been
at them intently no contracting
has been reported. Eastern feeders
were expectant Of much higher prices
than are being bid and are disposed to
wait. Kentucky fat cattle are held at
$500, but no such prices are being bid.
Present expectation is that about
half the crop of Big Hole hay-fed
steers in Montana come this way. Butte
operators have contracted some Of
them. The Puget Sound market shows
no Improvement nor is 1t expected to
do So The advantageous location Of
Alberta to Portland and Seattle terri
tory is obvious and that Canadian
feeders will monopolize these markets
looks probable. Trade paralysis on the
coast" is, however responsible in no
small measure for inability to buy
Montana stuff
Texas Cattle Moving.
ST. Louis is getting a few more Texas
cattle, most OF the southern stuff there
this week being either from Texas or
at $720@7.45 there. At Kansas City
the run Of quarantine stuff this week
has been light, Texas and Oklahoma
the bulk. The break at Fort
Worth last week has curtailed supply
and prices, have worked a little higher.
An impression exists in trade circles
that Monday, March 81, witnessed low
spot, but this does not concern common
steers which look like bad selling
proposition right along The country
appears to distrust the nearby market
and is sidestepping fleshy cattle that
would be in request for a short finish
on corn If the $8@8.60 grades were
selling on the early March basis. There
is no certainty as to what Texas will
do, nor any reliable information as to
whether 100000 or 100000 grassers are
coming from that source, but that
Pennsylvania will create considerable
competition for medium cornfed stuff
during the next 80 days is generally
accepted. The destination of Ontario
crop of stillers is open to speculation.
Ill In hull nf hi m
will be needed for home consumption,
although a portion Of the run may
reach Buffalo. In any case there prob
ably will be enough eastern cattle to
put crimp in shipping demand here.
The light run this week was the re-
suit of generous admonition to the
country to refrain from crowding the
market this week and the somewhat
strenuous application Of the rest cure
was provident. Discussing this phase
of the situation distributor said:
What puzzles me Is the refusal or In
ability Of the public to buy anything.
Heretofore during periods Of depres-
sion cheap stuff was salable, but at
present nothing seems to be wanted"
The best answer to this conundrum is
that nothing is cheap at present. Dur
ing the depression Of 1884 to 1888 and
the similar period Of the early "nine-
ties" everything sold at the Stock
Yards was on a low price basis and the
public. even with impaired purchasing
capacity, was able to buy the product,
whereas, under present conditions even
the so-called cheap cuts are vending at
prices far above cost of the best parts
of the carcass during the plentiful per-
iod. This is the first industrial depres-
sion the country has encountered when
live stock was on relatively high
basis, although not high enough in
most cases to make finishing opera
tons profitable.
At an impromptu gathering Of dis
tributors the various phases Of the
situation and the prospect were dis
cussed. There was unanimity Of opin-
ion that the market needed an improve
ment in purchasing power more than
anything else. Distributors have can
vassed the industrial prospect and see
little reason for optimism. One Of the
smaller packers, who is a close stu
dent Of market conditions. said: What
trade needs in the worst way Is a
change Of sentiment. Nearly everybody
has been looking through a glass dark
ly and that is never conducive Of free
distribution. That process Is on a hand
to mouth basis and when the trade is
imbued with ii determination to buy as
little as possible stagnancy is logical.
If we could effect change in trade
sentiment every branch of the market
would act better, but at present there
is little or no inducement to anybody
to buy anything"
Freight Advance Would Help
In distributive circles belief exists
that favorable action by the l. c. c. on
the railroad application for permission
to raise rates would exert a beneficial
Influence promptly 1t is agreed that a
change of sentiment is the prime es-
sential and some chord must be