The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-28
GIVES VIEWS on
nuU TO CUT COSTS

25H6 n guinness" by our govern
must relax from the wal time
md ~ must gst back to oondi-
4sIS1o ptevailfng before April 1917.
ISssss :. Armour was interviewed by .
TOR The Tribune In his once
M&AE1oS Il 6aiie street yesterday. He
z5WTSun ~ ytewa and the reasons for
s ~. 10 explain the packers side OF
3Ts mica situation. and TO answe r
Ss&l1jpbe of the charges recently made oy
6SfKx reporte OF the food administration.
Why. 90 that h layrnAn can
Ws6srstAnd II. are meat prices 20
MAJ" Mr.. Armour was asked rag
1etk1<d himself behind nis aesk @"'
xhAneht q minute before replying
TO begin with. II makes a great
40 il dtrerence what angie you view
- matter from" he said. The con
i nrnmaf xays prices are high, but the
lin stock producers say they have
- losing money At ruling prices III
MI compare today's prices with n
p44ees that prevailed before the war:
tfm4 prices are high indeed. but II
~ comparison BE- between meat
rr1cse and the prices Of o In gen
reAl. then surprising a. IT may seem.
meat. or ~ least beef and lamb. are
cheap.
-Bus presume that when people
xar that prices are high they are un-
consciously comparing the prices that
rfexafl now with those prevailing be-
fore the outbreak Of the great war.
ana becAuee Of the Importance that
attaches to the whole matter I well
rcme the opportunity you offer to pre-
sent m exposition OF the matter. The
Dubtf ought 10 be fully ~conversant
wtth the situation; II ought to know
The why's and whcrefores of high
prioes ana when II does know them 1t
Win moi be misled into doing anything
that IL unwise.
fust received from our accounting de-
nArtment. It the prices
paId for meat animals last month with
fhe prices paid each year in June
etnce 1914. II shows that in 1914 we
sought hogs for $s,12 a hundred
pounds. In 1915 they cost s7.47: in
q 1915 they cost $s47: in 1917 they
Jnsnped to s1s.s2; In 1918 to s1s4l,
ind FOR June OF this year average
hr1ce Was s2o.25. or an increase this
;s14.
Cattle and sheep Higher.
Efr. Armour was asked about rela-
tive prices OF other meat animals and
had ngures to SHOW that while the in
ereass in cattle, sheep and calves has
Art kept pace with hogs. the beef price
T%0 90 yUN&X 10 % PEI tCht oS0A thai Va
1911; that sheep are 100 per cent over
l114, and that calves are 81 per cent
3vsrs 1874.
80 what extern does the price OF
ffvO stock affect the price OF market
NEST" MI. Armour was asked.
sNigfaty TO IS per cent OF the total
Anaount which the packers get from
rss saie Of live stock and the by-prod-
u6eu b paid back to the producer Of
~ ftve animal. That makes the cost
VI the raw material--the meat AMI
184aEfhA overwhelming factor in de
t&emtnane the cost the mus
~ TOR meat. And when the cost Of
ne raw material advances. a. the rec.
6kd Gnce the outbreak Of the wa
6n0Sn, the fact that meat costs pro
portionAtely more than 1t did ough
nO< TO occasion wonder. Couple will
h that the cost OF labor Of every kin
d0unocted with the packing industr.
7 practically doubled and tina
ktedkht rates have advanced material
Have the packers Increased thei
GnfAings under the present marke
c0ndittoris? :" was the next question.
PAckefs profits, per unit Of bust
1eaa veft. smaller last year than eve
Before. n II considered as part of tn
meat to the consumer would all toll
RIM less than q cent II spread to cove
the total proht with the total pound
Ats Of meat handled" he replied.
4 Then" asked the reporter. III tn
main trouble lies in the original cos
~ the anifnal. why can't the packer
nth intAreats. ~ they have, in all tn
big live stock centers. decide that the
won't pay such prices. and force thing
down 70 = reasonable basis
Dang! Gees Pet Iliusicn.
Nr. Armour laughed in a patient sor
" way n settled back to shatter
~ Illusion.
sJuAt because they SAINT" he satt
there are several reasons why the
An't Principal among them is tina
4satrpi OF that nature would deman
onunArted action and agreement amor
hi ~ various packers and such an agree
would not be permissible undo
Axtsttn1 laws.
I know there are rumors o
nGf1ements and combines and I ar
4WAFs that there Is a branch OF GU
0ewornmentAl machinery that Is pro
GJn1zning loudly that such an agree
NsSa0enk exists. but l say to you, an
&kfough you to the public. that ther
@@Ta4 NO such agreement as far as
HSo1B concerned or aware, and that
1eSe were such an agreement tn
0eSne governmental agency which
AGgaly responsible for the suspicio
80 the power to initiate proceeding
E@A&Eat would decide the matter in cour
sW1theut the concerted action c
sSSMH& NDdrels Of packers who transform fiv
&nlmal1 into dressed meat 1t would nc
SSN = Accessible to NJ arbitrarily the prize
szA% EltvA stock. 1t Ia the business Of ou
Ntsvurs to buy meat animals as cheapl
&#*e they can and there are many day
&nea the competition IL so keen tina
$#%Wd1mF buyers have to boost their OF
6sszPFe materially before they are able t
E2A1 4 orders. II we set out to get cat
u our own price the competitor
NM6oQ1d get the cattle. and get our bus
1t the same time.
&EMJuat how much com petition exist
purchase of meat lima
S14 Known to. the public. For exam
I, % the Chicago live stock ~exchang
S8 S4te are several hundred buyers 10
R famo other than the so-calied bi
Sx31Sekers. Every one Of them is out
az III meat animAls and IL the big pack
~ not meet their competition the
10y fail TO get their meat animal.
IN time would be forced out o
1tnAGs. Our only way is to pay tn
en4Al price for the m
my ability to make any one VIII
H6nQpttcaI realise Just what the com
113yeR amount to. 1t must be ex
3anced to be realized"
HWM46A ~ pApnrfsY gtrva~tcd ga