PROCEEDINGS CORN BELT MEAT PRODUCERS' ASSN. 551 



ucts, can be brought about. I assume that such a better distribution can 

 be brought about. Now, what are the concrete methods by which this 

 shall be attempted? That is, if we are going to attempt a better distribu- 

 tion of live stock, what are the methods by which the supplies of live stock 

 can be better distributed? 



Methods of control. There are two general methods by which the move- 

 ment of live stock to market can be controlled — one is automatic control 

 and the other is conscious or directed control. 



Automatic control is the method that now prevails for the greater part 

 of the live stock supply and it is brought about by leaving each individual 

 shipper free to market his supply at the time when his own judgment, 

 based upon such information or advice as may be available to him, decides 

 to be the best, influenced, of course, by his individual financial and indus- 

 trial situation. It is an almost perfect example of the "laissez faire" prin- 

 ciple of action. The theory of such control is that with the number and 

 diversity of producers of the various species of live stock and with the 

 many prevailing individual farm practices there is always available a sup- 

 ply of all kinds of stock which insures a more or less steady flow to mar- 

 ket; the production reservoirs from which market supplies flow, are so 

 large and the springs of activity that keep them filled are so numerous and 

 so certain that there is no reason to doubt but that a supply will be forth- 

 coming. With such a source of supply about a certain number of produc- 

 ers will decide each day and each week to ship, depending, of course, upon 

 the season. The speed control — the combined brake and accelerator — of 

 this movement is price, assisted by the limitations on the possibility of 

 transport. If the supplies come too heavy the price falls and will con- 

 tinue to fall until receipts are checked or the whole industry adjusts itself 

 to a lower level; if receipts are light the price will advance and will con- 

 tinue to advance until the supply increases or until increased price of 

 products checks demand for consumption. Thus price acts as a sort of 

 float controlling the stream from the production reservoir into the market 

 tank. The limitations on the number of stock cars and the time for their 

 movement to and from market set the maximum limit on the size of the 

 movement at a given time. 



In the main this automatic control acts remarkably well, as a study of 

 the receipts of individual markets and especially of the receipts of the 

 dozen or more principal markets combined will show. In fact, during the 

 seasons of the year when the receipts are small and when the adjustments 

 between the movements of one season to another have been made it is 

 improbable that any kind of conceivably possible conscious control could 

 improve upon the present method. It is the situation that develops during 

 the seasons of heavy runs, both in the spread of this movement over the 

 season and also in the excessive one and two day and week runs, that 

 shows up the weakness of this method and has brought about a general 

 demand to seek for other methods to either replace it or supplant it. 

 These other methods must take the form of some degree of conscious or 

 directed control. 



Conscious or directed control may be defined as any method that seeks 

 to impose any systematic or organized limitations to the movement of 



