Evening star., 1933-09-07
PACKERS PROPOSE
TAX PLAN ON HOGS
rs Cents a Head Favored in
Beginning Of 5000, 900
for Slaughter.

BY the Associated Press.
To pay the expenses Of the admins
tration's program for saaughtering s.
600. 900 swine, leading packers are ad-
vocating the imposition Of q processing
tax on hogs, starting November /. at IS
cents . head and increasing gradually
to 81.
At the same time they warned that
tax "of any great amount" would be
"a calamity" and "a catastrophe" and
would result In unprecedented dump.
i ing Of the product on the market"
The packers expressed their views
at brief hearing yesterday before the
Agricultural Adjustment Administration
on how best to raise money for meet
ing expenses of killing 100000 pigs
and 100000 sows soon to farrow.
This program already has been
started, to aid hog raisers and to pro-
vide meat for the needy at low cost.
The 25-cent levy was proposed by
William s. Clithero, representing Arm
our d Co. and the Institute Of AmeYi-
can Meat Packers. It was concurred
In by Thomas Z. Wilson, president Of
Wilson q Co.
$5o,ooo,0o0 to Be Needed.
The Agricultural Adjustment Admin
istration has estimated that approx
mately $50, 200 900 will be required to
carry out the program and that this
could be obtained by tax Of u cent
per pound on live hogs. The pigs being
slaughtered weigh between IS and 100
pounds and the sows not less than 275
pounds.
Clithero estimated the slaughterine
program would cost approximately $685.
$50 900, and he proposed the money be
raised as follows:
Twenty-Five cents . head from No
vemher to January, inclusive, to obtain
"a 900 900; Is cents head from Febru-
ary to April, to provide So. 300, 900; 81
from May to October to raise $21 1852,
600, and o floor tax Of IS cents pei
hundred pounds to bring In 81 .2oo. 900.
This would raise, he said, slightly
more than $36, COO, 600. He advocated
that the surplus be utilized for bonuses
or for unexpected expenses In carrying
out the plan.
The prediction that dumping would
follow the imposition Of q high tax
was made by Wilson, who explained the
packers would have to "get out from
under" and that this would break the
market and Immediately reflect itself in
lower prices for live stock"
Producers to Pay.
There is no question in my mind, y
he continued, but that the tax-if 1t
Is of any substantial amount-will be
passed back to the producer. There Is
no other way Of handling it. And that
would be q calamity"
Wilson expressed the opinion that
little improvement from the emergency
program would be felt before early next
year because that Is the time In which
the swine now being killed ordinarily
would have been marketed.
John w. Rath, Waterloo, Ia.
packer, said 1t would be "catastro-
phe to impose q very heavy processing
, tax"
THE packers are interested in seeing
this program q success" he added, but
1t would be impossible to impose any
more burden on the livestock industry
We should proceed very cautiously %
as to be sure we are not doing the op-
posite Of that which we desire to &C
complish."
D. Van Gledes, representing the New
York State Association Of Retail Meat
Dealers, advocated that the money de-
rived from any processing tax imposed
be used for advertising pork products
in an effort to increase consumption
He said the present trouble Is under
consumption rather than over produc-
ton.