Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-01-31
GREAT PACKERS
BOARDING HIDES
Millions of Pounds Put in
Storage Past Year While
PFice of Leather Has
Scared.
VAST PROFITS ARE MADE
Trade Relations Commission
Unearth Alleged Facts OF
Startling Nature-shoe
Exports Drop.
VAST PROFITS ARE MADE

"4shinstou. -. G.. Jan. %. Hoard-
ink # hides by meat packers, White
s,n. prices nave been climbing up
ward and excessive profits to the pack
crs. who practically control the hide
market. are charged in a report by
the federal trade commission sub
:niite1 today to congress-.
Fhe commission points out that
SlauSnieriu@ OF cattle and calves III
tn" United states increased during the
last f..e vars by 300. 600 head or
Virtually 80 per cent.
Such u record of food animals ought
not ut the same time to mean tina the
county should be forced to pay alb
normally tiah prices for leather pro-
.'ucis made from the correspondinely
. Increased ,ake-off of hides the report
declares. Estimates of the International
institute % agriculture up to 1916 do
moi indicate amy shortage in the world
t"t2' Of cattle. the report said.
Stocks Greatly Increased.
Fhe ccIa mission reported that the
l%uantity ot hides stored by the big
I'VE cmc%<o packers-Armour. Swift,
Norris, Cudahy and Wilson-increased
40 per cent during 1876 and the first
haif OF 1910. These five concerns were
d"cl:lrcd 10 be the chief factors i'll the
hide market. While they had on han
January 81, 1916, Il total of SS.033, 1913
pounds of hides. the amount had in
creased to l21, 694, 100 pounds July 81.
1917.
stocks held by he smaller packers
showed an even more striking increase
amounting to IS per cent in the same
period, although the total was only
so.ps5j,lo2 pounds July 81, 1917. The
si"tnd tcte! he'd by 275 Interstate
packers including the big five in
creased fro rs $50, 726 pounds to 147.-
ISo.@7l pound or practically one-half.
imports Are Increased.
imports OF hides also We're found by
the commission to have increased in
1917 10 per cent more thar in 1876.
These great iIcreases III imports have
been principally from Argentine.
Brazil and Uruguay where, reports
adds, "ahc large Chicago packers are
very prominent factors in the hide
BUSINESS
FINALLY the commission found tina
Country hides" being the take-off of
farmers and local butchers. are very
plentiful. The commission reported that
he values which the packers have
placed or their hides are much greater
t'1an the increase in the price they have
paid for cattle. While the farmers re-
cattle from Swifts five principal plants
in l9lG-l7 the value Swift has put
on their hides from the same cattle,
according to the report increased 35
per cent.
Profits Are Phenomenal.
phenomenal Increases in the lcath-
er profits of Armour and Swift were
reported by the commission. Net prof
its of the larger tanning companies in
1916 were said to be from two to five
times as large as in 1915. Ono UNI
named company said to have made
s644. 800 in 1914 cleared s3,5T6,544 IN
1916.
ut has peer suggested h the
prices of hides are so high tho report
declares. that me lave been keep
ing out OF the market in the hope that
prices would decline
Exports of mems shoes We're found
by the commission to have dropped
from the high level of 1900. 900 pair
In 1916 10 slightly over 5000, 900 in
1917.
apparently the large demand of our
own army lave been offset partly by
lessened exports" the report con-
cludes.