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Show WESTERN CATTLE iH H Mr. A. E. DeRicqles, Manager of the American Live H Stock and Loan Company, writes on the above subject H as follows: H C As regards the recent prices paid for Western H ' cattle and the profits made or not made by the own- H crs: It is safe to say that in a general way prices H i have been very satisfactory to the producer and that H Ilis profits' are above normal in more than a majority H ' of cases. However, when anyone starts in to analyze H , costs and conditions andcompare them with previous H years the result is somewhat startling. A good ex- H ample of this can be shown in our own experience and H is given here for your information. Our Western V1' steers that have been sold this fall are netting about H $105.00 as compared with $73.81 for the same type in H 1913. Now, supposing we had to go back to the old H days when money was very scarce and trade or ex- B change of products was the only method of doing H business. What could we exchange one steer for in H 1917 as compared with 1913? On the basis of present H prices, the 1917 steer that nets $105.00 could now be H . exchanged for 1.92 tons of cotton seed cake, while M the 1913 steer that sold for $73.81 would have given H ' us 2.7 tons. And in like manner a 1917 steer would H have brought 62 bushels of corn, while a 1913 steer H 105 bushels, or 1.G6 miles of barbed fence wire as com- H pared with 2.05 miles of wire for the low priced 1913 H ! steer. So we have the strange situation of a bigger H pile of dollars for one steer, but a considerable de- H crease in the number of things needed by a ranch- H ', man that these increased dollars will get, hence we H conclude that meat animals have not advanced in the H same proportions as things that the producer of meat H animals has to buy, all of which may partly explain H. decreased production of fat animals. Have dollars m ' depreciated in value. H Mr. Daniel Willard, Chairman of the Advisory m ' Committee of National Defense, has said that any B ' business not necessary for the winning of the war H . , should be given very little consideration. I suppose M he means that the country needs the freight cars for M ' coal rather than pianos, or that work on war trucks M , should replace pleasure cars in motor factories. In 1 just that way should the live stock men, if possible, H make their plans to produce meat animals out of their 1 i output and use their feed for that purpose rather H than for extending their operations into other direc- fl - lions. This is no time for speculating arid those who H are inclined in that direction will receive scant con- H i sideration from those who have the best interest of M i the country at heart. It is that sentiment that has H done a lot towards knocking the bottom out of the H . New York stock market. So all of you fellows out H I j .West who have been getting these letters these many H years get your pencil out and figure that one Mon- H iana fat steer will feed two soldiers for one year and H the hide will make boots and shoes for them, and if H you can add ten pounds per head weight to your cattle H Jby giving a little extra attention that you are helping H to win the war, and that your business according to H Mr. Willard is in Class A Division, and that you are H helping Mr. Hoover get his wheat and meat so neces- H sary, as he says, for our success. So let us all resign H ' from our honors and get on the main job, which after H all is generally found nearest to us if we will only |
