Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1921-07-11
DAILY RlKETS

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Furnished ~ the =. W..slRagner ;cen
my, Fort Dodge, H. NJ Sharpe
manager. Phone 500. Webster Cit,
aexctaDSc. ii,,sif4 " 49, = .ss;-,4.Y \. 4
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Cattle: The cattle market Is work
ing to a two-sided basis as is inyar
iably the case when grass becomes
factor. Indications are that Dir,
cattle viii be scarce u few weeks henc
although there will be a steadily in
crcasihg proportion Of steers that hav,
been corned on grass. The beef mar
ket is seriously depressed in conse
quence Of industrial Inactivity, no
weather and other adverse influences
A peculiar situation is instability O.
fOre-quarter beef, which can only bt
attributed to lack Of employment a.
it is the cheap cuts that so to wage
earners and their families. Exporter.
are still, taking a ]. few cornfed cattle
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but the London and Liverpool mar
kets have had a sharp slump and that
business is less promising than recent.
". By the middle Of the month Penn.
sylvania cattle will be out forcing
Eastern, killers to come to Chicago for
their good beef. .s'- ~
1t is probable that July and August
will develop free movement of South
western grass cattle. The Kansas and
Oklahoma farm crop will move early
followed closely by; grassers from Flint
Hills pastures. Money is tight every
where and deposits are diminishing,
consequently there will be incentive to
gather beef early, creating a POSSIBLE
ity that the Southwest will be in ut
time when the movement from that
quarter is usually at flood tide elm
mating In measure the usual glut
later on when the Northwest becomes
supply factor.
The yardstick Of cattle values is the
ability Of the wage earners of this
country to buy beef and existing con-
ditions reflect serious contraction of
that purchasing power. Capital is re-
luctant to put money into new enter
prises, liquidation in mercantile and
financial circles is still running its
course and although the labor situa-
tion is more favorable than recently
readjustment is still far from CON-
plete. A railroad strike is now ey-
tremely improbable, but In all spheres
of industry production is ut low ebb,
and no more accurate barometer of
this Is needed than demand for fore
quarter beef. '%7
Hogs: The hog market has been
equal to creditable performance.
Under liberal receipts the market has
shown healthy undertone advancing |
steadily under spirited competition
from all buying sources. Killers who
laid out Of the market last month in
expectation Of the usual June break
were disappointed. Late in the month,
realizing their error, they resumed
buying sending the top price above
$3.50, and establishing the highest
level Of war prices since the middle of
April. Demand for fat sows has been
good considering the
heavy stock of lard which at the begin
ming Of this month was 113,193,OOO
pounds. ut Chicago alone. Exports of
lard are on an enormous scale, how
ever, aggregating 60 million pounds
per month for five months past. Ger
many having been a heavy purchaser
recently. The stock Of. dry salt and
picked meats is not heavy; however,
domestic consumption is healthy and
rs the big packers own practically the
entire accumulation Of product they
will naturally he interested in main
tanning the value of their own prop
erty which cannot be accomplished by
depressing hog values.
A free movement Of sOws that have ,
wesied pigs may be expected during /,
The next GO days as they are one of the
few liquid assets the country has in this ,
consequently they will come ,
rs fast as they are decently ready the
movement starting earlier than usual. $
It will be logical to expect wider
spread as the season works along and
he proportion Of cornfed light and i,
butcher weight hogs dwindles. The
encouraging phases Of the situation att
present are the broad export demand !,
or lard and healthy domestic CON
Of hams and bacon. Hams
nave advanced 3 and cents per pound
Turing the past ten days and while
'heaper cuts are not in such urgent
all they are moving An advance of :,
10 cents per pound in butter has slim
Hated domestic consumption OF lard
md improved the technical condition