ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 363 



and also those financing the purchase of goods. As a matter of fact, no 

 wholesale prices for cold storage goods now, in these times of clamor 

 about high prices, is as high as the price of the same articles which 

 prevailed throughout the west at many times before cold storage came 

 into vogue. 



Colliers' says that eggs were put into cold storge at from 14 to 16 

 cents per dozen. This is erroneous as to last year, at least. The eggs 

 that were put into cold storage cost more than 22 cents per dozen. As 

 a matter of fact the wholesale price of storage eggs at no time has been 

 more than 23 to 2(5 cents per dozen. The margin of profit is small, if 

 any margin at all exists over carrying charges. These figures can and 

 will be verified and proof of them will, if desired, be furnished. Can Col- 

 liers' verify the figures which it prints? 



But while these and other statements are entirely misleading, the 

 figures offered in the article concerning live cost, selling price and 

 packers' profits on beef are conspicuously untrue. I will quote what Col- 

 liers' says on this point — 



"For his beef on the hoof the western cattle raiser is receiving 7 cents 

 a pound, or $84 as the price of a 1,200 pound steer. The packer takes his 

 products from the by-products of the steer, amounting to $20 and sells 

 800 pounds of meat at 11 cents per pound, $88, receiving a total of $108. 

 The combined packing houses of the beef trust sell $700,000,000 worth 

 of meat and products annually, for which reason a small advance in 

 prices yields a vast total." 



The first of the foregoing statements is printed under a picture of 

 cattle on a western ranch, giving the reader the impression that the fig- 

 ures quoted apply to the kind of cattle in the pictures, bought on the 

 ranch. 



This shows the careless and misleading character of many of the 

 statements in Colliers' article. 



To fully elucidate the matter, let us take a concrete illustration. A 

 1,200 pound steer at 5% cents figures $65 cost for the animal. The ex- 

 pense for buying, killing, cooling, loading and other items is about $2 

 per head. The hide, fat and all other by-products at actual wholesale 

 prices average not over $18 per animal. Thus, the dressed beef costs 

 $50 and weighs 665 pounds. Colliers, as stated in the paragraph quoted, 

 says that such an animal as I have described would net 800 pounds of 

 dressed beef, equivalent to 67 per cent of the animal's gross weight. 

 This is 10 per cent in excess of the actual ratio which prevails and which 

 every cattleman knows. 



The Germans have modified their regulations with reference to the 

 importation of pork products in that country. It is not an important 

 market factor at the moment, as very few meats could go to Germany at 

 this level of prices, and there is no change in the regulations with refer- 

 ence to lard." 



Prof. H. H. Kildee, of Ames, read a paper on "The Profitable 

 Production of Six-Cent Pork on Fifty-Cent Corn Under the Pre- 

 vailing Conditions." Prof. Kildee said: 



