Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-02-15
WARNING AGAINST sHoELESS DAY

The barefoot boy with cheek of tan of next summer
has an advance champion in the Federal Trade Commits
son whose report to Congress charges the meapackeTs
with boarding hides while shoe prices have been climbing
upward remarks the Literary Digest while 1t further
pursues the subject as follows
Washington dispatches inform us that the report
points out the increase in the saughterng OF cattle and
ca IS in the United States during the last five years to
be five million hundred thousand head or virtually
30 per cent and holds that such record of oodanmas
ought not at the time to mean that the country
should be forced to pay abnorma high prices for leather
products made from the correSpOndgy increased take
off of hides" No shortage in the wordtoa of cattle is
shown in the estimates Of the International Institute OF
Agriculture up 1916 and the big Five" Chicago pack
ersAmour, Swift Morris Cudary, and Wlson---ln,
creased their stored hides by As per cent during 1916 and
the first half of 1917 says the report which declares tnat
these five the "chief factors" in the hide
market While they had hand January 81, 1916, a
total of 88033 1913 pounds of hides the amount had IN
creased to 12 69 $50 pounds July 81 1917 and we read
"Stocks held by the smaller packers showed an even
striking increase amounting to 83 per cent IN tne
same period, although the total was only 2OO86,lO2
pounds July 81 1917 The grand total held by 275 inter-
state packers including the Big Five" increased from
9898O726 pounds to 147780271 pounds, or practically
onehaf Imports of hides also were found by the Com
mission to have increased in 1917 70 per cent more than
in 1912"
These great increases have been principally from Ar
gentina Brazil, and Uruguay according to the report
where the large Chicago packers are very prominent
factors in the hide business The commission found aso
say the dispatches trat country hides which are the
take-o of farmers and local butchers very plentiful
It is claimed also by the Commission that the values pack
ers have placed hides much greater than the IN
crease in the price they have paid for cattle While the
farmers received only II per cent more for their cattle
from Swifs five principal plants in 19161917 the value
Swift Co put their hides from the same cattle says
the report increased 35 per cent The Commission re-
ports further phenomenal Increases in the leather
profits of Armour and Swift and net profits of the larger
tanning companies in 1916 said to be from two to five
times as large as in 1915 Although stocks Of hides were
found to be abnormay large, many tanning companies
reported they were operating at far from capacity, and
the report states that t has been suggested that the
prices of hides are so high that tanners have been keep
ing out of the market in the hope that prices would de-
cline" The Federal Trade Commission does not seem to
understand why hides should be dearer and shoes cost
more when the increase Of cattle slaughtered in the last
five years is 30 per cent remarks the New York World
which adds by way of explanation:
Though the Commission may not understand it, an in
crease of supply is the best possible for putting up
prices Does any nowadays believe that the law of
supply and demand is allowed to operate for the benefit
of the consumer? The recent announcement that the
packers had meat in storage than usual fooled no.
BODY as to the possible effect in reducing prices
Whether it is meat or leather coal or ice, the an
nouncement of increased production is always due notice
to the consumer that the article will cost Has not
the public already been cautioned that ice may be dearer
next summer as result of the record crop of natural ice
The discovery by the Trade Commission that the packers
have both largely increased their stock of hides in stor
age and placed it value greatly above that represent
ed by the original cost helps to explain how the process
vlSc