The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1915-11-25

hog raisers OF Idaho and the northwest
bv those in control Of the Portland
stock yards, and the editorial received
such universal commentator from both
producers and buyers outside of Port
land that 1t Is not surprising it aroused
the ire of the market mantpulators and
brought forth strong protest from the
Portland Live Stock Reporter. the or
gan of the associated buyers at the
stock yards. In addition 10 a three
column article tin the Reporter. reply
ing to the Portland Journal and the
signal. Mr.. Louis Nelson of Weiser, is
An receipt OF a letter from the presi
dent Of the stock yards company. TAX
ing vigorous exceptions to what the
Signal has said
The gist of the article in the Report
or is that it takes years to get ac-
quainted with the intricacdes OF the live
stock market; that 1t Is presumption
for anyone outside Of the charmed cir
Gle at the stock yards or at the pack
ing houses to attempt to give the facts
concerning markets to the reading pub
lie; that the average price taking the
year into consideration was better in
Portland than in the eastern markets,
ticles appeared in thel Journal and Sig
nal there was only about rs cents diff
ference In favor OF the eastern mar
kets. and that the western hogs are
light stubble and hay fed, hence are
not marketable at the same prices as
the eastern grain fed stock In sup
port OF its position the Reporter quot
es from eastern and middle western
49,, lnAz -
20 to show that Portland markets COM
pared favorably with the markets in
Kansas City, Omaha. Chicago and Dem
veH
Now 1t is true there was a drop In
the markets OF the east of about 81
q hundred about October 10th, but
there had been months previous to
that time that the markets there rang
ed from 81 to $3.50 a hundred higher
than the Portland market, and the Re-
porter was careful not to quote any
of those markets during August, Sep
ternber and the first half, or more, of
October. Every person in the northwest
who has kept in touch with the stu
alton knows that for several years the
owners of the Portland stock yards
urged the production of hogs, in order
to help in the building of great pack
tng industry on the Pacific coast and
thus avoid the loss in freight in ship
ments to the eastern markets and a
corresponding loss In freight in the
shipment of the finished product the
consumers of the northwest In order
to stimulate this production prices have
ranged If anything a little higher than
they have in the east, and this accounts
for the average for the year being in
Portiands favor, but 1t became evident
early in the summer that the production
was getting sufficient for the needs of
the Portland packers and 1t was decid-
ed 1t was time for the harvest. That
1t was taken from the producers will
be testified to by every shipper from
Southern Idaho, and that 1T was not
passed on to the consumers of meat
products will be testified to by every
retail purchaser of the Union Meat
Co. This system of commercial brig
andage kept UP until the newspapers
took 1t up and then the prices were adj
vanced in Portland at about the same
time they were reduced in the east, ind
this enabled the Reporter to make a
comparative showing, covering a period
of three days, which left blTt So cents
to rs cents difference against Portland.
At this juncture 1t might be we'll to
throw a little light on the manipulation
OF the eastern mar1et-for be 1t under
stood no one is claiming saintfiness on
the part Of the packers there any more
than we are acknowledging they wear
a halo in Portland. The Wall Street
Journal says the eastern packers were
only carrying out a threat they made
some time before that " some steps
were not taken by the United States
government to prevent the curtailment
OF our foreign markets they would re-
duce the price. and that the reduction
was deliberately made to inttmidate the
government and the people in the face
of the fact that our foreign market in
hogs had increased from s11, 900, 900 tc
$132 900 900 in a year. This shows that
the reduction in the east in October
was arbitrary and not warranted by
the markets, but was deliberately plan
ned. Then If the packers IN the east
can manipulate markets at will why
cannot their branches in the northw est
do the same thing? and Is it not rea-
sonafble to suppose they do. It is sig
nificant that the Portland market wa,
tz-aVO H.DV lOWcT In0 SuhtiItcE du<
early fan and raised about rs cents 9
hundred at the same time that the east
ern market dropped off a dollar. Doe.
any reasonable person suppose for al
instant that supply and demand or thu
quality Of the feed regulated the mar
lxet in either case? No one but foo
would try to stuff such argument dowI
the people and no one but chumr
would believe 1t " they did.
In his letter to Mr.. Louis Nelson o
this city, MIR. Doughtrey. president o
the stock yards company, says in re
lation to the article In the Signal: "Yo'
state this aricle rs attracting wide at
tention also that 1t was approved b!
the producers of your section as wei
as others.
/ note the Signals comment of on
H. M. Fike shipping IL GAGS of hog
from Gooding. Idaho to the Kansa
CITY market. No doubt Mr.. Fike mad