COLD STORAGE. 



Frank A. Horne, Esquire, 

 President, Merchants' Refrigerating Company, New York City. 



Before beginning a discussion of the topic assigned to me, I desire to 

 succinctly state a few facts concerning the present agitation touching the 

 relation of the refrigerating warehousemen to the price of eggs and other 

 commodities. 



First: There is no cold storage trust or combination of any kind. 



Second: The public cold storage warehousemen do not own the 

 goods stored. 



Third: These products are owned by a large number of competing 

 dealers all over the country. 



Fourth: Market reports show a big decrease in the receipt of eggs 

 in all the leading cities and an increase in the trade demand and output. 



Fifth: On November 1, 1913, there was a shortage of 664,016 cases 

 of eggs (thirty dozen each) in forty-five of the leading pubHc cold storage 

 warehouses in the country. 



Sixth: During October this year there was a reduction of 635,792 

 cases of eggs in the holdings of these forty-five houses representing eggs 

 going into consumption. 



Seventh: These eggs are now being withdrawn in large quantities, 

 regardless of boycotts and newspaper agitation, to meet the demand. 



Eighth: The stocks remaining in the warehouses are insufficient to 

 meet the prospective demands of the market on the basis of last year's 

 output until the new crop arrives next March. 



The subject that I am asked to present to you today is a topic very 

 greatly misunderstood and concerning which many erroneous impressions 

 have been formed in the popular mind, largely because of the position 

 taken by a part of the press in the discussion of the high cost of living. 

 It is unfortunate that sensational and unreasonable allegations and 

 attacks are freely published in an agitation of this kind, while sober facts 

 and true statements offered in contravention are generally neither desired 

 nor welcomed. 



During the year 1910, in spite of the fact that the range of prices 

 of nearly all articles entering into human consumption had been advanc- 



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