Show live s rc ock S it 11 a L ja rp 0 i there has been so much said of late on the subject of direct buying ot of hogs in ili the country that I 1 presume it Is timely to present some ot of the statements on the subject pro and con as to the merits of 0 the practice or otherwise advocates of that system contend that the price of 0 hogs atthe at the central markets Is not affected by direct buying as for every withdrawal of buying power from the market just so many hogs are kept off 0 ot of the market the relation ot of supply to demand no not being affected those who believe that a percent movement through the central markets Is essential to a well balanced distribution point out that the way it actually works Is that supplies handled in ili the country are an unknown quantity whereas supplies at central markets are visible and by virtue of this supply and demand Is allowed to more effectively govern prices and a better balanced distribution is obtained this has been demonstrated ed of late by heavy hog runs at the central trl markets in the face of buyers already having secured substantial supplies direct and the withdrawal of buying power in the face ot of heavy receipts has naturally depressed prices until the receipts were absorbed in justifying direct buying of hogs the statement is made that price declines ot of 1927 were in no way brought about by direct buying but rather by increased pork supplies and a diminishing export demand and that the break in ili would have come about regardless of 0 where hogs were purchased this is based on oil the contention that pork prices broke and brought down live prices to refute this tile the element clement adverse to direct buying points out that this is not necessarily correct as heavy receipts with a diminished purchasing power due to direct buying might cause breaks in live hog bog prices which would reflect themselves in the prices of 0 dressed pork it is like tile the question of 0 which came first the lien hen or the egg when the subject is discussed as to whether dressed meat prices break the live animal market or the live animal market breaks dressed meat prices no doubt it happens boul both ways there is no doubt that the operations of 0 the interior packers those operating nedr near tho the source ot of supply have leave created a competitive el element emplit in ili the purchasing of hogs which has had somo some bearing on the packers 10 lo located noar near central markets going back into the country after their supplies it is also true that the situation differs from the sheep and cattle ditri ration in that the benefits gained from products byproducts by are not as great as on oil cattle and sheep but still it would seem reasonable reason ablo to assume that the advantage gained through volume operations at a act central itral point both in ili buying and manufacture of finished products would to a large extent offset any advantage gained by the buyer in making direct purchases at widely scattered points af tho the argument haa been advanced in the middle west that the reaching out of the pacific coast buyers for their supplies due to curtailed hog production on the coast has brought a new competitive element into the purchasing ot of hogs forcing direct buying it is true that california is furnishing only about 10 per cent of the hogs necessary to meet her pork and pork product requirements quire ments but in viewing the situation from a country wide standpoint even it if the pacific coast federal inspected slaughter did increase from 26 percent in 1922 to 37 per cent in 1927 of the national federal inspected slaughter is can be seen that tills this represents only y a small factor in the entire volume and would not be of enough consequence to have any material effect on oil tile the whole scheme of things it should be of considerable benefit to everyone concerned from producer down through all of 0 the marketing and distributing channels to the consumer to have a continuation of tho the publicity being given this asb eject both from the viewpoint of those who believe direct di buying is economically omi cally sound and from those who feel that the central markets are the economical and practical channels through which a well balanced distribution rib ution may be realized |