The evening leader., 1918-11-18


special members representing the swine
lie hog market.
ays, and during this time met with the
ng firms participating in foreign orders
RS of the Food Administration directing
were as follows:
| producer and the insurance of an ade-
quate future supply.
These foreign orders are placed
upon the basis of cost of hogs to the
| packers.
AS the result Of long negotiations
between this body and the Packers
Committee, representing the 45 to 80
packers participating in foreign or
ders, together with the Allied buyers,
all under the Craftsmanship of the
Food Administration, the following un-
dertaking has been given by the pack
ers:
In view of the undertakings on the
part of the Food Administration with
of pork products. covered in the at
tached, it is agreed that the packers
participating in these orders will un-
dertake not to purchase hogs for less
than the following agreed minimums
for the month Of November, that is a
daily minimum Of $3.50 per hundred
pounds on average of packers droyes,
| excluding thrOW-outs. 'Throw-outs"
to be defined as pigs under 130
pounds, stays, boars thin sows and
skips. Further that no hogs of any
kind shall be bought, except throw
outs, at less than $1650 per hundred
pounds. The average of packers
droves to be construed as the average
of the total sales in the market of all
hogs for given day. All the above
to be based on Chicago.
We agree that committee shall be
appointed by the Food Administration
to check the daily operations in the
various markets with view to SUPER
vision and demonstration sOf the carry
ing out of the above.
The ability of the packers to carry
out this arrangement will depend on
there being normal marketing of
hogs based upon the proportionate in
crease over the receipts of last year
The increase in production appears to
be a maximum of about 15 per cent.
and we can handle such an increase.
If the producers of hogs should, as
they have in the past few weeks, pre-
maturely market hogs in such increas-
ing numbers over the above 1t is en-
tirely beyond the ability of the pack
ers to maintain these minimums, and
therefore we must have the co-opera-
ton of the producer himself to main
tain these results. 1t is a physical
impossibility for the capacity of the
packing houses to handle a similar
over-flood of hogs and to find market
for the output. The packers are anx-
ious to cooperate with the producers
in maintaining a stabilization of price
and to see that producers receive a
fair price for their products.
(Signed) THOS E. WILSON,
Chairman Packers Committee.
The plan embodied above was adopt
ed by the conference.
The Food Administrator has appoint
ed a committee, comprising Mr. Thom-
as e. Wilson, chairman of the Pack
ers' Committee Mr.. Everett Brown,
president of the Chicago Livestock Ex-
oI, Moic Of hn
ministration, Mr.. Louis D. Hall of the
Bureau of Markets, to undertake the
supervision of the execution of the
plan in the various markets. Commits
sion men are asked to cooperate in
carrying out the plan embodied in the
packers agreement. 1t must be evi-
dent that offers by commission men 10
sell hogs below the minimum estab-
lished above is not fair, either to the
producer or the participating packers.
Mr. Brown has undertaken on behalf
of the commission men in the United
States that they will loyalty support
the plan.
1t is believed by the conference that
this new plan, based as it is upon
positive minimum basis, will bring bet
ter results to the producer than aver
age prices for the month. 1t does not
limit top prices and should narrow
the margins necessary to country buy
ers in more variable markets. 1t is
believed that the plan should work out
close to S1S average.
Swine, producers of the country will
contribute to their own interest by
not flooding the market, for it must be
evident that If an excessive over per-
centage Of hogs is marketed in any
one month price stabiliZation and con-
troll cannot succeed, and it is certain
that producers themselves can contri-
butte materially to the efforts of the
conferences if they will do their mark
citing in as normal way as possible.
The whole situation as existing al
present demands frank and explicit
assurance from the /conferees repre-
sented--namely that every possible
effort will be made to maintain a live
hog price commensurate with swine
production costs and reasonable sell