Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-01-15
#iseellaneuus Beading.
SURPLUS OF HOGS IN 1915
Well Known Packer Predicts This
Condition Before Year ls Out.

Well Known packer FreoictS inns
Condition Before Year ls Out.
Patrick Cudahay, Of Milwaukee. Of
the family widely known for many
years in the provision trade in Chica-
go and westward. and a man whose
opinion on such subjects is highly re-
spected everywhere, predicts a great
surplus of hogs and hog products In
1915, with pork down to $12 as against
$3.50 at the present time says Chi
cago letter. He says that In the sum-
mer Of 1913 hog cholera cost 10000
porcine lives but, despite Of the fact
that workers were getting good wages
and could buy literally, there was
plenty Of meat to go around. Last
summer there was no sickness, prices
have been high, the buying power OF
the people has been reduced and the
stock in Chicago August 1, he believes,
will be 50,OOO,0O0 pounds Of ribs. TO-
600 barrels Of mess pork and 10000
tierces Of lard.
This prediction was received at first
with a smile Of incredulity. but as one
gets closer to the facts he finds that
there is considerable ground for It,
The enormous exports Of wheat re-
Gently have created the impression
that animal products also are going
out Of this country on large scale for
the use of the belligerents, but the sur
prise from week to week has been not
the largeness but the smallness of the
shipments. The records for 1914 show
that Of bacon, ham, pork and lard the
expectations were only 479,222,000
pounds against 507,642,O00 in 1913,
and the war months make no better
showing in that respect than the ante
bellum months, but rather the move
ment was less liberal. Mr. Bunnell, OF
Hatley Brothers, house we'll known
in the provision trade Of Chicago for
many years, remarks in this connec-
ton that ordinarily when wheat is
high provisions are low. This state
ment may be assumed to be very
general one, but 1t has bearing on
this whole matter Of the food supply,
for wheat is high because the demand
threatens exhaustion Of the supply
while provisions are low because the
demand Is comparatively small from
Europe and the quantity on hand Is
large and increasing.
Chicago has the biggest stock OF
provisions in storage in it's history,
and all provisions are accommodating
except lard Moreover, cattle have
weakened in price. Add to this the
large supply Of many other articles OF
food, and the probability Of any pain
full shortage is extremely remote. Even
as to wheat, some Of the best judges
are deprecating present high prices.
which are setting at naught the pre-
cedents of many years, for they call
attention to a large aggregate Of that
commodity soon to come on the mar
ket from Argentina and also to pos
sible 2O0,000,000 bushels that Russia
can spare Immediately on the opening
Of navigation. Then potatoes and ap-
pies are in unusual supply and quality
while citrus fruits are almost given
away. The people in this city are
cheering their friends in England by
shipping grapefruit, which costs only
$3.50 a box delivered on steamship In
New York.
Clearly, in some lines, the cost OF
living is declining. For this blessing
one must thank the virtues Of cold
storage-cold storage standing still
and cold storage moving on refrigera-
tor cars. There is an enormous ca
pacity Of such storage in this city, but
it is substantially all taken up.
An interesting change has taken
place in the handling Of these food
products. One Of the old heads was
asked as to the supply of pork in Chi
cago. Pork? There is no such thing
This was his picturesque way Of over
stating a change in commercial prac-
tice All persons are familiar with the
old pork barrel with it's brine, and it
still exists. but in a subordinate place.
The great business now is in dry salt
ed sides and dry salted ribs. That is
the animal is cut up and treated wit"
a sufficient amount Of salt to make it
practicable to ship the food without
refrigeration in the cold weather, or
perhaps even in warm weather, though
in the summer refrigeration is used to
prevent shrinking. Formerly, mess
pork was used in logging camps, in
the south. and for vessels on the lakes
and the seas but the new form is the
thing now. Yet mess pork is on the
list. 1t appears to be there largely be-
cause the old practice Of the specula-
tors was to handle provisions in that
form. and rooted habits change slowly.
The packers produce this form when
the market price makes it more ad-
vantageous to them than the modern
form. How far advanced from the old
pork the trade is, finds illustration in
a rule that salted sides must be In
condition to be smoked and converted
into toothsome bacon.
That Europe still wants our bread
stuffs is evidenced by the eXtraordi-
nary prices of today. The purchases
for export in five days of this week are
6 500, 900 bushels of wheat and flour
reduced to bushels Of wheat. Oats and
corn were taken to the amount of
900 900 bushels together. These fig
ures are smaller than those Of some
preceding weeks but in ordinary times
an average Of 100000 bushels Of grain
a. day would be startling.
THE CITY OF STRASBURG