Show 1 PACKERS REPLY T TO ADDRESS MAO MADE HERE I Unfair Control of Meat Market Mar Mar- Market Mar Mar-I ket kel and Juggling g. g of 4 f. f I Prices Denied I Editor Editor Telegram We Ve have reC re- re C today a clipping of a news r which appeared In The Salt I r 0 1 ke e a Telegram of November l' 18 un- un I S deb t this I headline I I ws TO CURB MEAT BARONS t URGED BY SPEAKER I l It 1 I t r ds Haver Points Out How Prices 1 Have Decreased While f i. i Pork Prices Advance it i t 7 i te Salt Lake Telegram quotes Iii IIi s s s Haver as pointing out the heavy f S d decline ne In the price of live hogs and F asT then saying But In New York during nearly i lie same period the wholesale price 7 t f eight to ten-pound ten pork loins f m made de from the same hogs advanced 72 72 per cent and ten to twe twelve pound pound ve-pound loins advanced per cent In Boston Boston Bos- Bos V ton ton eight to ten-pound ten pork loins advanced advanced advanced ad- ad per cent and ten to f twelve pound pork loins advanced per cent This question of the price of pork has arisen previously pre and we I believe e that you will be glad to publish P pub pub- J lish correct data on the point I b-I EXTRAVAGANCE BLAMED Pork ork loins represent only a small portion of the hog perhaps hog perhaps 10 per percent percent percent cent of the live weight Furthermore Further- Further more nore pork loins are sold as fresh meat and are dependent on th the current cur- cur rent receipts of hogs Consequently there Is a limited production of pork loins during light receipts of hogs Since we are still In the period of extravagance the demand for pork loins has so far exceeded the production production production pro pro- that prices for loins have been out of ot proportion to other and more substantial portions of the animal Live hog receipts In eleven principal principal principal pal markets during the month of ot Au August 1919 were and dur dur- ing September as compared with In July InJune In Jn inJune June and in l Ia May SAYS PACKERS OFTEN LOSE The major portion of the hog goes Into cure requiring from thirty to ninety days for the curing process During recent months the packers I have suffered serious losses due to I price declines on cured and partly cured pork products In stock The I ret return rn to th the packer for the whole hog Including the small portion goIng goIng going go- go Ing Into pork loins Is In keeping with the live cost During most of the period mentioned by Mss Haver the packers' packers hogs cut out at a substantial substantial substantial sub sub- loss Many pork pori products have been sellIng selling sell sell- Ing at heavy reductions The prices of fresh hams fresh skinned hams fresh picnics and breakfast bacon also show substantial declines REPLIES TO MISS HAVER Miss Haver is s also quoted as sayIng say- say saying sayIng Ing that the Kenyon-Anderson Kenyon bills bl would take from the packers their stockyards and refrigerator cars by which they have been able to clog the channels of commerce These bills bl would make the private private- privately l ly owned cars common carriers Reference Reference Reference Ref Ref- to reports of the interstate commerce commission will w show that the packers' packers cars far from clogging the channels of ot commerce have been operated so efficiently as practically to double the mileage made by the freight ht cars operated by common carriers Incidentally y the report of ot the commission in the matter of private private private vate cars testifies to the efficiency of the privately owned cars The Salt Lake Telegram also quotes Miss 1 Haver as declaring that the five larger packing companies have a monopolistic control over the American American American Ameri Ameri- can meat industry and that together they handle from 61 to 86 per cent of the principal lines of the meat business DENIES MONOPOLY In the first place it Is unfair to take tak five fhe concerns who have testified to their competition with one another and denied the existence of any sort or any kind of combination and lump them together In the second place even e when this is done official figures figures figures fig fig- ures show that these five companies handle only about 40 per cent of the meat supply of the United States and that the largest single company handles handles handies han han- dies about 12 per cent With Miss 1 Havers Haver's appeal that the women should begin to study this question with great care we find no quarrel If It the public will make a thorough Impartial study of the packing Industry we should be spared the necessity of asking editors to publish lengthy letters like this one in order to correct misunderstandings Very truly yours BUREAU OB OP PUBLIC RELATIONS RELATIONS RELATIONS RELA RELA- W. W W W. WOODS Associate Director Chicaro December 2 2 |