The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1919-08-13


just received from our accounting de-
partment. II compares the prices
paid for meat animals last month with
the prices paid each year in June since
1914. Ii shows that in 1914 we bought
hogs for $s.12 hundred pounds In
1915 they cost STAT; in 1916 they cost
S9.47; in 1917 they jumped to $153o;
in 1918 to $I6.41, and for June Of this
year our average price was $2O.25 or
an increase this year of 149 per cent
over the cost in 1914"
Cattle And Sheep Higher.
Mr.. Armour was asked about rela-
tive prices of other meat animals and
had figures to show that while the in
crease in cattle, sheep, and calves has
not keep pace with hogs, the beef
price of today is So per cent over
that of 1914; that sheep are 1O2 per
cent. over 1914, and that calves are
81 per cent over 1914.
ITO what extent does the price Of
live stock affect the price of market
meat?" Mr.. Armour was asked.
Eighty to IS per cent. of the total
amount which the packers get from
the sale of live stock and the by-pro-
ducts is paid back to the producer of
the live animal That makes the cost
of the raw material the meat animal
the overwhelming factor in detcrri-
ming the cost the consumer must pay
for meat And when the cost of the
raw material advances, as the record
since the outbreak of the war shows,
the fact that meat costs proportion
ately more than it did ought not to
occasion wonder. Couple with it that
the cost of labor of every kind con-
,nected with the packing industry has
practically doubled and that freight
rates have advanced materially.
Profits Per Unit Smaller
Have the packers increased their
earnings under the present market
conditions?" was the next question.
"Packrs' profits, per unit of bust
ness, were smaller last year than ever
before, and if considered as part of
the cost of meat to the custumer
would all told run less than a cent if
spread to cover the total profit with
the total poundage of meat handled"
he replied.
Then" asked the reporter, IF the
main trouble lies in the original cost
of the animal, why can't the packers,
with interests, as they have in all the
big live stock centers, decide that
they won't pay such prices, and force
things down to reasonable basis?"
Bang! Goes Pet Illusion.
Mr. Armour laughed in a patient
sort of way and settled back to shat
ter pet illusion.
Just because they can't" he said.
There are several reasons why they
can't. Principal among them is that
control of that nature would demand
concerted action and agreecent among
the various packers and such an "a
greement would not be permissible
under existing laws.
"Oh, know there are rumors of
agreements and combines and | am
aware that there is branch of our
governmental machinery that is pro-
claiming loudly that such an agree
ment exists, but | say to you, and
through you to the public, that there
is no such agreement as far as am
concerned or aware, and that If there
were such an agreement this same
governmental agency which is largely
responsible for the suspicion has the
power to initiate proceedings that
would decide the matter in court.
without the concerted action of
hundreds of packers who transform
live animals into dresse d meat it
would not be possible to fix arbitrarily
the price of live stock. 1t is the bust
ness of our buyers to buy meat ami
mails as cheaply as they can and there
are many days when the competition
is SO keen that our buyers have to
boost their offers materially before
they are able to fill orders. If we set
out to get cattle at our own price the
Competition Not Known.
Just how much competition exists
in the purchase of meat animals is
not known to the public. For exam
pie, on the Chicago live stock ex-
change there are several hundred buy
ers for firms other than the socalled
big packers. Every one of them is out
to buy meat animals and if the big
packers do not meet their COMPETE
ton they simply fail to get their meat
animals, and in time would be forced
out of business. Our only way is to
pay the demaoded price for the ami
mails. doubt my ability to make any
one who is skeptical realize just what
the competition amounts to. 1t must
be experienced to be realized"
Then the reporter suggested, "if
the price of animals cannot be regula-
ted, why can't some other action be
taken to force the live stock man to