Show BEEF gEEF TRUST AND PRICES Still another rise in the price of beef to eastern consumers has aroused a long loud wall of woe and the beef trust truet promises to boost the price at least another half cent possibly a ahole whole hole one before another thirty days da s The wholesalers have an explanation they always have for the advance and this time the excuse has some of the elements of ot novelty They say the farmers have had to fatten their cattle on grain Instead of grass this year ear be because because beCause cause of ot the drouth which has haa spoiled the pastures The eastern newspapers however suggest that the advance is due to renewed talk of further govern government government ment mont prosecution of the big corpora corporations corporations corporations Remembering the course of the beef trust In previous years only one rea rca reason reason son seems plausible the trust needs neede the money the people have it and the simplest most effective way to trans transfer transfer fer for It speedily Is to charge the people more for their beef beet When that much is understood what need of further discussion As for the explanation that the rise is due to prospective government pros prosecution prosecution prosecution somebody must be mistaken There was a time when the members of the packers combination felt uneasy about prosecution but the time passed with the tho Immunity bath Like the paper trust the apprehension of legal proceedings scared them a good deal worse than th n the actual result Such convictions as were obtained were fol followed followed followed lowed by light fines only and the op operations operations orations of tho the combination were left as completely undisturbed as If they had never been attacked The Tho other explanation of ot the rise In prices that the farmers have had to feed grain Instead of grass Is only a delicate bit of humor The beef beet trust has never shown any regard before for forthe forthe forthe the cost of raising beef it has fixed its buying price to suit itself Itsel and made the selling sailing price in precisely the game came gameway way Cost of production has had noth nothing nothIng nothIng ing to do with the buying bu of cattle or orthe orthe the tile selling of the finished product on the contrary It has been no unusual thing for the tho packers to lower the price paid for cattle and raise the tho price of ot beef beet to the consumer at the same time Possibly this was only a little pleasantry just as the tho present exorbitant exorbitant tant price may be a humorous way of showing how little effect legal prosecution prosecution pros cu cution tion has on the tho real business of the beef beet trust In any an event it is demon demonstrated demonstrated demonstrated most thoroughly that the talk of eliminating trust oppression by administrative prosecution prosecution tion tier has only brought higher prices for food products controlled by the beef trust more expensive living for house householders householdErs householders holders and some small campaign cap capital capItal capital ital for the prosecutors Instead of suppressing Illegal combinations It has only suppressed the purchasing power of the and the gen general general genI I eral oral public |