The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1918-11-29


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 90
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
regard to the co-ordinated purchases
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 mnimums
| for the month of November, that is
daily minimum of $3.50 per hundred
pounds on average of packers droves,
excluding throw-outs. "Throw-outs"
to be defined as pigs under 1870
pounds, stays, boars, thin sows and
| skipS. Further that no hogs Of any
kind shall be bought, except throw
outs, at less than $165O 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 a committee shall be
appointed by the Food Administration
| to check the daily operations in the
various markets with view to super
vision and demonstration of the carry
ing out of the above.
The ability of the packers to carry
out this arrangement will depend on
there being a 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 Is 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 it is en-
tirely beyond the ability of the pack
ers to maintain these mnimums, and
therefore we must have the co-opera-
ton of the producer himself to main
tain these results. 1t is physical
impossibiity for the capacity of the
packing houses to handle a similar
over-flood of hogs and to find market
Fn, tho hn nj
ious to cooperate with the producers
in maintaining a sterilization of price
and to see that producers receive
fair price for their products.
(Signed) THOS. f. WILSON,
Chairman Packers Committee.
The plan embodied above was adopt
ed by the conference.
The Food Administrator has appoint
ed committee, comprising Mr.. Thorn
as E. Wilson, chairman of the Pack
ers Committee; Mr. Everett Brown,
president of the Chicago Livestock EX-
change; Major Roy of the Food Adj
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 evil
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 1t is upon a
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 $1S average.
Swine producers Of the country will
contribute to their own interest by
not flooding the market, for 1t 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 contr-
butte materially to the efforts of the
conferences If they will do their mark
citing in as normal way as possible.
The whole situa ion as existing at
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
ing values in execution of the declar-
ed policy of the Food Administration
to use every agency in Its control to
secure justice to the farmer.
The sterilization methods adopted
for November represent the best ef-
forts of the conference, concurred In
by the Food Administration and the
g