Evening star., 1927-11-29
STOCK INTERESTS
IN BITTER FIGHT
Congress to Be Scene OF Cat.
tie Industries Factions
Battle on Buying.
BY j. C. ROYLE.
.ecial Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK, November 29.-The
various factions of the live stock ana
packing industries, always embro1led
10 a certain degree, have begun lay
ing down a barrage in preparation Tor
a bitter fight centering in Congress.
This wear the battle will involve the
direct buying of live stock. The ques-
ton has thousands o partisans on botn
sides.
Senator Arthur Capper has just an
nounced he will introduce a bill IN
Congress designed to put out of busl'
ness stockyards serving single pro-
ducer of packing house products. Ihls
would cut off some of the direct mar
kets the live stock man has for his an
nouncements and force dealing
through commission men in the large
central markets. The opposition to di-
rect buying is aimed at the large pack
er who can have a private stockyard
to handle animals purchased direct
from the farmer.
Fight Commission Men.
Many of the Western producers op-
pose bitterly the effort to force them
to leave part of their returns in the
hands of commission men. They claim
it is more profitab BILE for them to deal
direct and avoid long freight hauls
to central markets, with consequent
deterioration in condition of animals.
Intelligent farmers, some of them say,
see in the packer sales agent and feel
it would be just as foolish to abandon
him as for an automobile manutac'
turer to antagonize dealers.
William NJ. Jardine. Secretary Of
Agriculture, says direct buying has
reached such a stage that 1t threat
ems to affect materially the price paid
for live stock and that something must
be done If the stock grower is to OBJ
tain the full benefits of competition
at the stockyards under Federal su.
pervision. Advocates of direct buying
say that since slive stock prices are
broadcast to them seven times day
by radio, the farmer does not stand
any more chance of being cheated on
price in his own barnyard than in the
central stockyards.
Central Yard Shipments Wane.
The fact remains that shipments of
cattle and hogs to central yards are
waning. Small independent packing
plants have sprung up in cities and
towns close to the sources Of produc-
ton. The one thing essential in the
packing industry is for plants to run
continuously and the large packers
have had to go out, they say, and buy
direct in order to supplement their
supplies arriving at central markets.
The great packing centers have
been hit especially hard this year. The
volume of hog shipments has fallen
off materially. Usually the packers
buy hogs heavily in Winter when
prices for hogs are usually high.
pricesf or hogs are usually high.
There was a reversal of trend this
year, with high prices last Winter
and a slump last Spring and Summer
This has disorganized packers prof
it's. The Withholding of hog ship
ments has been due in part to the
belief Of farmers that corn for feed
ing hogs would be in small supply
and high in price. The corn crop
was larger than anticipated, but the
farmers then did not have the animals
to feed.
Cuts Into Pay Rolls.
The drop in hog shipments has cut
deep into pay rolls of the big market.
ing centers. The larger part Of pack
ing house labor Is occupied in the han
ding of pork products. There is not
much labor required in the butchering
or steer, since the amman Is killed,
skinned and cut in half With hog,
the butchering of the animal leads
to production of lard, smoked and
picked meats. and score OF other
products.
The supplies OF cattle also have
been light despite the high prices.
The sheep and lamb trade has been
fairly normal this year, but warm
weather has held back the usual sea-
sonal demand for pork products In
late weeks.
The outlook In the packing indus
try is for a normal year in 1928. The
settlement of the price war with the
English packers should result in i'm
proved foreign trade conditions.