The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-01-21
NEA Service Writer

Washington - In 1920, when 1 wheat sold for $3 bushel, 1000 bushels of the grain would retire q 5000 mortgage on a farm. At the bottom of the wheat price de- pression last October, when wheat hit the lowest prices in modern his tory. it would have taken 12,000 bushels to retire the same mort l gage, and even to-day conditions are not very much better.
 But this isn't the complete pie ture, for the federal farm board insists that practically all the re- duction in retail food prices that have occurred recently have been taken out of the farmers hide.
 Farmers are receiving much less for live hogs than is justified by prices consumers are paying for pork products" says c. E. Denman, member of the board, as he quotes prices on certain day of last month.
 These show that prices at New York retail markets for good grade pork chops averaged 26 cents a pound, a reduction of cents or 21 per cent from the price of the same day one year before; ham, 22 cents a pound, reduction of z 1-2 cents or 25 per cent; sliced bacon, 32 cents a pound, a reduction of 9 cents or 22 per cent; lard, 13 1-2 cents a pound, reduction of 5 cents or IS per cent.
 In the same week, prices of live hogs in Chicago averaged $4.18 per 100 pounds. compared to $7.92 for the corresponding week in 193O. a reduction of $3.74 or 47 per cent.
 with agencies between the farmer and the consumer making little or no reductions in their mar gins. practically all the burden of supplying the consumer with low priced pork products is being car- ried by the farmers" says Denman. "The percentage farmers receive q retail prices of pork products Is the smallest on record. Current retail prices warrant considerably higher prices for hogs than farmers are receiving"
 Addressing the Institute of American Meat Packers in New l York, recently. Denman called upon them to narrow the gap be- tween producer and consumer.
 "The livestock industry' said | Denman, lis entitled to a reduction in the cost of meat distribution. Livestock producers have had to bear the burden of high mer- chandizing costs since the pre-war period. During the past tw years, when all prices have declined. the farmers have received a decreas- ing proportion of the price the con- sumers pay for meat. The cost of processing and merchandising a unit of meat has declined very It. tie from the relatively high levels prevailing before the depression. An undue proportion of the burden resulting from reduced consumer
 purchasing power is being passed on to the farmer"
 A classic instance was cited by John Simpson of Oklahoma City. president of the National Farm l ers' Union, in his testimony before the senate agriculture committee
 recently.
 Submitting cancelled checks and
 sales records as evidence, Simp-
 son developed this: w. B. Estes,
 a sheep raiser residing near Lit
 teton, Colo, shipped seven sheep
 to A. A. Blakely, a Denver com
 mission merchant. Blakelys z
 company sold two of the sheep to the Hurlburt Packing company
 of Denver for $1.25 and the other five to Swift X company for $2.O5
 or a total of $3.30. From this
 there was deducted $2.55 for in-
 surance. inspection and commis-
 sion. Sheep Raiser Estes, for his
 seven sheep, got a check for the
 balance, 75 cents, which he gave to Simpson and which Simpson