OLEOMARGARINE. 799 



Mr. LA VERY. As a rule, yes, sir. The majority of the men employed 

 by our factory at Kansas City are married men. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. Can you tell this committee about the aver- 

 age pay which you give them per day? 



Mr. L AVERT. The average for ordinary labor, I should say, is about 

 $18 to $20 a week. Skilled laborers and foremen of departments will 

 earn $25 and $30 per week. 



^Representative ALLEN. Will the abolition of this industry throw those 

 men out of employment? 



Mr. LAVERY. It certainly will. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. Have you any knowledge, personally, as to 

 whether or not the production of oleomargarine increases the price of 

 beef cattle? 



Mr. LAVERY. Yes, sir. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. Will you tell the committee about that? 



Mr. LAVERY. Each beef contains about 50 pounds of fat, known as 

 caul fat, from which oleo oil is made. Should we not utilize this fat 

 in the production of oleo oil, it would go on the market as a cheaper 

 fat, on the basis of tallow, and at a difference in price to-day of about 

 4 cents a pound. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. That is the difference between tallow and 

 oleo oil? 



Mr. LAVERY. Yes, sir. In the tallow and oleo oil markets to-day 

 there is a difference of about 4 cents a pound. That would mean a 

 difference in the price of the 50 pounds of caul fat taken from each beef 

 equal to $2 a head. 



Now, you might go further, and say that were the oleo-oil production 

 of this country discontiued, and that fat thrown into tallow, it would 

 result in an increased production of tallow, and would naturally force 

 the tallow market down far below what it is to-day. Of course you 

 can not tell where it would go, but it would do away with the use of oleo 

 oil, and that fat would have to be sold as a cheaper fat. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. Where do you get your fat? From the beef 

 you kill yourselves? 



Mr. LAVERY. Yes, sir; entirely. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. From what part of the country is your 

 product generally derived? In what part of the country do you get 

 your tallow principally. 



Mr. LAVERY. From the entire West Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, 

 New Mexico, Arizona, Texas in fact, you might say, from every State 

 west of the Mississippi Eiver. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. Do you know the average number of cattle 

 you slaughter per year? 



Mr. LAVERY. There were slaughtered at Kansas City last year 

 1,912,019 head of cattle. Now, Swift & Co. killed, I presume, one- 

 quarter of that number I would say one-third of that number. 



Eepresentative ALLEN. It is claimed by the advocates of the Grout 

 bill that the average increase in the price of each steer slaughtered is 

 only about 40 cents, I believe, taking the whole number of cattle 

 slaughtered in the United States, together with the value of the oil 

 used in the manufacture of oleomargarine. Have you any information 

 on that point? 



Mr. LAVERY. You will understand that we use the entire caul fat 

 from the beef in making oleo oil. We do not consume all of that oleo 

 oil ourselves; we export a great deal of it. 



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