CHAPTER V 

 THE PACKERS AND THE CATTLEMEN 



The cattlemen of the West and Southwest assert 

 that the meat supply is controlled by the packing 

 monopoly, just as the wheat of the Northwest is con- 

 trolled by speculators and middlemen. They, too, 

 are in the power of speculators which fix the price 

 paid the producer and the price paid by the con- 

 sumer as well. The cattlemen produce for the 

 world market, but they do not sell to their custom- 

 ers. They sell to the buyers of five or six packing- 

 houses, who arbitrarily fix the price of meat on the 

 hoof. The cattlemen have to accept what is offered 

 or ship their cattle back to the range. They, too, 

 have no real control over their business and no 

 means of being assured from one year to the other 

 that they will receive enough for their cattle to pay 

 for the cost. 



The cattle-raisers have finally organized for pro- 

 tection just as have the farmers. They have held 

 conferences, employed counsel, and laid their condi- 

 tion before Congress. They insist that they do not 

 fix the price of meat, but they frequently receive 

 so little that it does not pay for the raising. Numer- 

 ous investigations have been made, one of them pre- 



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