Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-03-18
ARMOUR & CO.
EXPLAIN HIGH
MEAT PRICES
Assert 'Pro6teering' Charg-
es Circulated by Political
Aspirants.

The recent governmental investiga-
ton of the meat packing industry.
which has been conducted with a view
toward ascertaining the causes Of the
soaring prices OF meats. has called
mour, of Armour and Company, in a
letter to The Herald. This will be of
especial interest to the consumers and
housewives in Grand Forks where the
subject is being constantly discussed.
Mr.. Armour's letter, which is self
Explanatory. follows: ~
ut is not true hat there is an UNI
due margin between the price of inert
or the roof and meat on the hook. 1t
is not true that enormous profits are
the cause of high prices. 1t is a false
hood to charge that meat is being
boarded to keep the price Up.
"The malicious or i'll Uniformed per-
son notes that live hogs sell for II
cents a pound and that bacon sells
as high as so a pound and cries out to
heaven to witness how the people arc
being robbed. From live hog. at II
cents to bacon at so cents is too big
a jump. he says. to he justiiable.
'Profteering,' he cries and the public
is prone to believe.
But it is a lie.
Sixty cent bacon from the II cent
hog does not spell p%rofteering to the
man who investigates. So far as the
packer is concerned there is no such
Thing AS so cent bacon. The finest
grade of bacon turned out by Armour
and Company WHOLESALERS at as "
cents per pound in the current price
list. Other grades sell as low as 80
cents per pound. But for the purpose
of this discussion, let's speak of SO
cent bacon as coming froms the II
cent hog and sec if it gives ground
for the charge of extortion.
If so cent bacon from II cent hog
indicates profteering. what conclu-
sion follows the discovery from that
same II cent hog comes liver at 6
cents a pound. feet at Z cents. back
bones at S cents, sweetbreads at II,
kidneys at 12h. shouts at 12k,
brains at 10. tails at II. melts at 6,
knuckles at II and various other cuts
less than they cost alive?
Profitccring md Good Business.
us it profteering to sell picked
pigs feet at half what they cost stand
ing in the mud of the pig sly? Is it
profitecring to sell pig hearts which
are ready for the pot at less than half
VI WIdl LIcN COSl NIcH LISt NcIS
busily pumping blood through the
hog?
as it good business to sell II Of the
80 separate cuts and products on the
pork list for less than the price per
pound Of the living hog?
whether it be, good business or
not. the fact remains that a consider
able portion of the porker has to be
sold for less per pound dressed than
IL 1~.k $4,000 ,1;,,> IL ~,,-l% a. L.
apparent to anyone why his is true.
More people want hams and bacon
than want pigs feet or hearts. But no
way has been found to raise hogs that
consist only of hams and bacon. They
all come to market with carts and
livers, snouts and feet. bristles and en-
trails and if we secure enough hams
and bacon we nav the other portions
to dispose of. If we could obtain for
sweetbreads and melts and tails and
backbones the same price that we Sc
cure for hams and bacon, then the
price of hams and bacon would be re-
duced and the other prices raised un-
til all the meat from II cent hog
! would sell at prices which are only
slightly above the II cent mark and
without the wide range of from S
cents to so cents per pound.
Sirloin Price Going Down If
I'm the beef field much the same
circumstances exist. People want sir
loin steaks, tenderloins and porter
house. But every time we kill a steer
to get %sirloins, we put a beef heart on
the market too. Likewise do we make
it necessary to dispose of chucks,
TANKS, neck, rounds and the various
other cuts that are less in demand
but which figure in thu %poundage of
tho 1.-Two animal fN. oil fIo<- r,,r
wholesale price list shows lungs sell
ing at 3 cents a pound although we
pay four or five times that much for
them. If We're willing to
pay a higher price for lungs, the price
of sirloins could be reduced.
THE consuming public has to pay
enough for the meat from the whole
steer to recomDense the farmer for
producing hat meat and to reimburse
the packer for Strengthening, dressing,
preparing and distributing. So if the
consumer won't buy the neck meat
except at a discount, he will have to
pay for the neck when he buys porter.
house or the particular cut that is
most in demand. If a steer could be
raised that would cut up into only
such cuts as are most in demand, the
matter would be solved. That is, the
price of the cuts in question would
DedI Gil eNiueHI Ie!dtioH u lne price
Of the live animal. But as long as ter
people demand fancy cuts while only
one is willing to- take the less desir
able. there is going to be an adjust.
ment of price (which will force the
particular to help pay fol
the cuts he will not purchase.
Profit is 2.21 Cents on the Dollar.
"Now inst a word as to profits, il
view of the fact hat the uninformet
Sonuet lnea sLarec Lnau they are un.
duly large. Including every branch O.
II industry in the United States
and some of them are more proftabl,
than are the strictly food lines-w,
made, last year, a profit Of 3.8 cent.
when we sold a dollars worth o
goods. On that basis. a good sizet
hardware store doing a business o
$4,000 a wear would nav its Owne1