The daily morning oasis., 1919-10-16

TELLS SENATORS
ABOUT BEEF COSTS
This May Throw Some Light on
the Price You Pay for
Beefsteak.

Testifying recently before Dody OF
senators in Washington, vice-presi-
dent of one of the large packing con-
Germs (F. Edison White of Armour and
Company made the astounding state
ment that so far in their fiscal year.
which would cover the past eight or
nine months, his company had made
no money whatever on beef"
This statement is doubtless well
nigh incredible to the average man.
Yet it was made in full knowledge that
the senators had access to the COM
pany's books.
Recovering from the first shock, this
same average man will say, "Yes, but
the packers are shrewd; what they do
not make on the beef they more than
make up on the hides"
But even this illusion was destined
to be shattered. Mr.. White explained
that his statement included everything
that was derived from the steer as
purchased-the hide, fat, even the In
testines which are used largely for
sausage castings.
Make Money, Nevertheless.
Well the packers make money--how
DO they do 1t? Mr. White admitted
that they did, quoting figures secured
by auditors of the Food Administra-
tion, to the effect that packers profits
on food commodities Of all kind last
year were j 8/10 cents on each dol-
lar taken In. These would include
such things as sausage. shortening,
canned meats. etc., In addition to fresh
products Of his company, Mr.. White
explained. comprising both foods and
inediblo commodities. the profits dur
ing the game period were $40 cents
on each dollar sale.
All of which would lead many to
say that the packing business is not
well understood. 1t isn't. Yet as one
Of the leading industries Of the coun-
try, its workings and, above all, its
profits, should be familiar matters to
US. It Is quite useless to crate against
the high cost of living without digging
into some Of these fundamentals.
ey.Products at Market Values.
One OF the most enlightening bits Of
Mr.. Whites testimony was his ex-
PLANTATION Of the way in which cost
price of beef is arrived at. If steer
is bought at $125.0O and hides are
bringing $1,000 in the open market,
then $1,000 is credited to the cost Of
the steer. If hides are selling at $23.00
that amount is credited. The visceral
fat, offal and everything else that
comes from the steer are likewise
credited at their prevailing market
values. What remains is taken as the
cost price of the meat. The beef car
cass Is then shipped to one Of the To-
cal distributing branch houses, and
the manager there Is given the cost
price with instructions to sell the beef
at a profit If he can. But in any event,
whether the local market be lively or
dull, he must sell for what he can get
for the commodity is perishable one
and must be sold.
Manufacturers Profit on ey-Produets.
However, there is another hitch to
the packing business, quite as little
understood apparently, that goes to
show how a loss on fresh meats may
be accompanied by d profit on the to-
tai amount Of business done. Take,
for example, the banjo strings afore-
mentioned, which are made from the
intestines of sheep. The department
that makes banjo strings (and like.
wise surgical ligatures, tennis strings,
etc., "buys" the intestines from the
sheep-killing department, paying ex-
actly the same price that these bring
when sold to the outside market. On
this basis the string department manu-.
factures its strings and sells them,
bringing profit into the business.
In like manner the fertilizer. depart.
ment buys blood and tankagei the soap
department buys fats the glue depart.
ment buys hoofs, horns, bones and
sinews; and so on through the list OF
"by-products." The fertilizer, the
soap and the glue, just as the music
strings, bring In manu1acturer's
profit.
In all cases these by-products,
whether they be sold 10 outside man.
ufacturers or to one Of the manufac'
turing departments in the business (at
the same prevailing market price), are
credited to the cost Of the meat por'
ton of the animals, just as in the in.
stance Of the hides mentioned above,
Thus the utilization Of by-products"
system Of which we have heard much.
and the method by which it is con.
Quoted, show the packers manufacture
ing profit on a great variety Of COM
modities ranging all the way from
pharmaceuticals to glue, do, in reality,
bear the burden Of fresh meat prices