Show i the ilie livestock situation BY L A Ma NAUGHTON los loa angeles march 1934 tit IU a recent interview appearing lit in tile atio los loa angeles papers 11 N A cudahy CiK lahy jr president ilont of 0 tho the cudahy packing company stated that tile tho national industrial recovery act kilki added 2300 persons with an all increased annual payroll or of at this rate increased employment by the national packers alone would reach something like per annum in ill the ease cabo of tho company tile tho increased payroll for or tho year 1934 la Is moro more than double tile the not profits af pf p last year despite tho many articles appearing tit in tho the press 0 of late it t lus he be evident from the statement by mr air fudally doubtless true with other clintion tin floii tit al and local packers tera eliat iha industry Is giving givina good support to tit alie e administration Ite recovery covery program arv an the effect of which Is ro floated very largely throughout tho the nation nahon we have previously obier observed ved that a record volume of f I 1 and meat food products were feted luring during the year 1933 during tills pert carlod 0 I 1 tho livestock inter beets were r receiving ecole ing loxi lov prices anti throughout the tha year prices goner jener at ally ly were regarded as below the cost of product production lon in certain elnoa naw then tho the report of substantial earnings by tile the national panic era rs lit in view of tile the plight of tile the grower needs some comment and it behooves beho ovea us to give tho th situation so meting more than a casual glance with tile the thought in mind of how tile the growers and the public publia generally can got tho the job dono cheaper it la Is not so much n lines flies tion of what profit tile tho packer may bo be earning on oil his investment but a question of whether lie he Is doing tilo the job on an all economical basla basis and not exacting in the gross too largo a per par cent of the consumer price this question applies to the re retailer taller manifestly beyond the control of the packer but never phleas a vary important fac tacar or available statistics show that ahat ut nt of the iho volume of sales ri running inning inlo tho Ll ilona that th s pa cifra saved tor for the sharo hollice aps ic As than ono one sixth of a cent per pound on the tonnage handled except fertilizer or about one and one eight tenths cents on tho the dollar of sales this after allowing for profits derived from outside operations like Guda Cuda hys old dutch cleanser Swift ss cleanser armours tennis racquets and wai ons oolf golf balls etc tile the packer stands between the 1 consuming public anti and it looks like the merchandising of an enormously increased tonnage for the year 1933 was a big achievement in view of the financial stringency as well w ell as the decreased buying power of the consumer the 1 packer Is fronting for the li livestock and meat food industry as a whole ilis hla turnover sales represents several birnes the amount of lits his capital requiring extensive credit and any packer that does es not noi keep his business tidied up continuing to show rod figures does not lock good to the banker if the packer stops our whole industry la Is hurt huri the livestock industry cannot be financed unless mir lour marI JAIng outlets are kept op open enthus thus we are tied tog othor tho the outlook for the year 1834 1934 indicates a reduced volume and the national parkers packers roust must earn at least more on an a narrower spread in order to pay day the increased out of pocket labor expenses necessary to maintain a full working firce to say nothing of the expenses of supplies dequir ed cd in ili the alio business till nil of 01 which have boon minted up tit und tho thie national Iloco vory act the ability of tile packers to absorb thir in aronso abid to anyo something bov thu shareholders lort ids t upon ilium tho lib litty of tile public to liny tile product itt t tho bighor h arico but that la Is not nil all of 0 r alio ill story tho growers kot get 0 it they aro are to continue to it prodico pro duco llois nud and shoop have bayo reflected substantially increased cricos luring lurli iR tho the anat three inantha hut but battlo have not shown it upward tendency unless tho whole schama enables tho livestock industry to ge bat t on n a 0 linghor price level tile tho vory found littlon of tho the business Is lit in danger |