TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 597 



chart in' which I transfer cattle values onto the basis of what they will 

 buy. What will cattle buy now in terms of all other commodities, as 

 compared with what they used to buy? As a matter of fact we find that 

 cattle today are in the "depths of despondency;" they correspond to 

 what existed in 1908-9 — we had a similar situation along there. I am not 

 referring just now to the feeding game so much as I am to the breeding 

 game. There was a situation such as this in the early 1900's. We were 

 ill the lap of prosperity in 1912, 1913, 1914 and 1915. Cattle then would 

 buy more than usual of other commodities, but now we are sliding down 

 into a depression period. We have more cattle than we ought to have, 

 for me have more cJ^ttie than we can sell at a profitable price. 



Member: I would like to ask — I watched the wholesale price of beef 

 on the Chicago market pretty close and saw such things as these: Cat- 

 tle that sell for about 13c have beef loins which sell for 55c and remain 

 stationary right there. They don't go up and down at all, but stay at 

 55c, and 40c for the ribs, and in the cheapest part of the beef they are 

 121/^c. That shows that the beef men are not getting value of the stuff 

 they sell. It is not a question of what it is worth in the shape of cattle, 

 but what it is worth to the consumer. 



The Chairman: Just a word, gentlemen: Don't let's work this off 

 into a kind of running-fire discussion. It is unfair to the speaker; it 

 disconnects the thought of the speaker to put in your questions when he 

 is speaking. Now, let's let IMr. Wallace finish and then take up those 

 questions in a formal discussion for a few minutes. I think that is proper. 

 Let Mr. Wallace finish and then take up the general discussion. 



Mr. Wallace: I have been very much interested in Mr. Browning's 

 discussion, for it brings up a point I had in mind. I don't know whether 

 his figures conclusively prove that the packers and retailers are taking 

 down an excessive profit, but I will admit that they may possibly be 

 doing so. I do not think that any one is in position just now to prove it, 

 but I do think it would be a fine thing to have agencies to collect figures 

 over a long period of time and figure the normal margins of profit and 

 to see whether or not they are unjustified. If you will permit a few re- 

 marks on the general outlook as to the price level: I do not venture 

 anything absolutely definite. I do wish to say this, however, that in my 

 opinion the price level is not coming down as fast as a lot of you think; 

 the reason being that this was really a tremendous disturbance; it was 

 not like the civil war — the war that we just went through. Back at the 

 time of the civil war prices were awfully high from 1865 to 1873, and 

 then they went down pretty badly until about 1896. They went down 

 largely at that time due to the fact that prices were quoted in greenbacks, 

 and it took $1.50 in greenbacks to buy one dollar in gold. Now, how- 

 ever, in the United States we are on a straight gold basis and we don't 

 have to get down to that basis as we did before. In England today they 

 have to pay $1.50 in money to get a dollar in gold, and in France they 

 have to pay $2 in money to get one dollar in gold; but in this country 

 our prices are legitimate because our money is good, and in the exchange 

 market the other countries recognize that. In England and France today 

 they are paying a large premium on the American dollar because their 



