Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-30
LACE
BYPACKERSN NOT
CON VINClNG
Open Methods With Public Would
Secure Better Returns
for Them.
Sioux City Jolmnal9

The volumes OF opinion and conclp.
%sions which are being read into the
record at tho packers hearing before
committees of congress entirely fail 70
inform the public. The whole mater IS
Ia camouflase adroitly used to make a
good appearance for the corporations
which are in II sense on the carpet. with,
out limiting at the reason why meat
prices are high or what jurisdiction
there is for them remaining so. The
packers claim they are making but Il
small percentage on their production.
They are entitled 10 4 fair business re.
turn like any man. But they are not
entitlea 10 a profit which robs the con.
sumner, This is the point Of issue be
tween the packers and the federal trade
commission which investigated tho
packing industry,
The weakness of some of the argu,
ments advanced by the packers is il.
Illustrated in the hearing n few days
ago when the president of one of the
big five concerns asserted that the
profit on an average beef animal was
not more thar 81. This would not be I'M
reasonable or unfair. But Attorney
Francis j. ffeney, who conducted the in
quiry for the federal trade commission
and who has been requested by the
senate committee TO examine the pack.
ers witnesses. asked if this dollar profit
included the hide of the animal. The
witness admitted it did not. SO far in
all evidence given by The packers there
is no real information. They assert the
percentage profit is a certain amount
u nothing is said of hyproducts and
the profits on them.
If the packers wan 10 give the public
evidence which it will accept and which
will show where the high costs of meat
lies, they could do so by a simple pro.
cess. Suppose they were TO take 100
beef animals of ordinary trade runs;I
give the cost of each animal on the
day it is purchased, together with its
gross weight; give the mount of eachl
kind of beef which the carcass pro-
duced, such as porter house steak. rib
short ribs and the other cuts
which h public buys. The consumer
could then figure the price which the
meat carcass would bring the packers.
of course there are differences in the
mount of beef in an animal, as well
as differences in the particular cuts in
different animals. But by taking a suf.
eicient number of animals a general
average could be reached in the same
manner that insurance companies by a
comparison of the lives of a large num-
Der of insured persons reach a fixed
ne expectancy at every insurable age
# man. {,
This calculation would not included II
byproducts. But the amount of
hese, he hide and rhe other material /,
2hich is utilized for commercial Dur
'oses, could be given in the same man
,er as the amount of the available
aeat in the edible carcass. With theseI
before him any householder could
whether the packers are re.
ponsible for the prohibitive prices Of
leat or whether it lies in the clutch of
omeone else. The packers would get a
air hearing and if they are making
My q reasonable profit, as they say $
hey are, the public criticism of which {
hey complain would be eliminated. (
]nder the present packing system the |
ackers are responsible for the PRODUCT {
ntil it gets within one remove of the
oiisumer. In practically every city and /,
lliage in the country the packers de. !
yer then products directly to the re. /
all butcher. Few of the retailers are
ecoming ~millionaires, so that theyI
be eliminated as excessive profit !
akers.
II the packers are making a profit
fsiess than 3 per cent as they say; If
hey are paving labor approximately
airteen per cent of the gross
mount Of the business, and if
he stockmen are receiving almost 81
er cent Of the total cost OF the finish-
q product for the raw material, they
re not making an excessive profit.
sut h public does not believe their
tatements in these particulars What
ne consumer demands Is a tangible
tatement that will show the actual
'fofits from the animals slaughtered.
he packers complain before the con,
committee that they are I'M
BILE TO get q public hearing OF their
ase n that the report Of the federal
q commission was given wide pub
lefty. The reason IS that the paclxers
ave able attorneys who smother facts
\ long drawn out discussions which
ack the Information Sdeman f1ad Nv thai