Missouri
Farmer,
Lyle
Wilson Exchange Letters on Rising Farm Prices
Editor's note: I.y1e C. Wilson's dis
patch today is in the form of an ex
change of correspondence with a
larraer in Missouri.
Nelson, Mo.
Jan. 6, 1956
Mr. Lyle C. Wilson,
United Press Correspondent,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. Wilson:
I am a farmer out here in
Missouri selling hogs and cattle
at about 50 per cent of a fair
price or parity. Our per cent
of the food dollar has dropped
from 53 per cent to the present
39 per cent. I read in Roy Rob
erts' paper (Kansas City Times)
(today an article written by you
entitled "Food Price Spread." I
agree with you that labor costs
have increased about 97 to 100
per cent since 1945. And this has
been a factor in the increase of
food costs. But I wish the -whole
story would be told. The USDA
(US Department tof Agriculture)
tells us today that slaughter of
all meat animals in the US in
creased 7 per cent in 1955 over
1954.
In the afternoon paper (Kan
as City Star) was an article
which I am enclosing Armour's
net jumping over 600 per cent
from 81,500,000 to $10,000,000
more than six times as much as
1954 with only 7 per cent in
crease in slaughter animals. If
ypu will check you will find that
Cudahy lost about $2,000,000 in
1954 and made about $5,000,000
in 1955. You will find the same
story with Swift and Co., Wilson,
John Morrell and Co., etc. Please
don't misunderstand me, because
I am for profit. But I think the
public is entitled to the whole
story.
Hot Siove Gathering
You see this all came about
' this afternoon around the hot
stove at the country store. A
dozen or so farmers reading the
papers and then discussing them.
I was elected to write to you.
There are many interesting
stories in this part of the coun
try. Last year farmers were cuss
ing Benson and at the same
time put their OK on Ike. Now
they say the parent is responsible
for the child, "and Ike is held
responsible. I heard one lifelong
epublican farmer inyite his
neighbor to go to the polls next
November with him to prove he
voted the Democratic ticket.
This week I saw something I
would never have believed had
I not seen it a county Farm
Bureau president selling mem
berships in the new National
Farmers Organization. He had
sold some two dozen member
ships in one day. The general
opinion is that the Farm Bureau
has outlived its usefulness. It
was OK in 1918, they say, but
so were horses and mules.
No Contribution To G.M.
A couple of farmers present
were chuckling that they were
still driving their 1949 Chevro
Iets and that they had not con
tributed to G.M.'s (General Mo
tors') $1,000,000,000 profit on a
S5,000,000,000 investment. Twen
ty per cent profit, they say,
ain't legal. Some of the farmers
read about the go-slow on tax
cuts. They wonder why not cut
taxes on low and middle income
groups. Industry and coupon
clippers got over $7,000,000,000
relief a year or two ago.
These farmers agreed that the
Republicans have lost the 1956
election because up until 60
days ago the present adminis
tration kept telling the world
that farmers were doing OK.
Everyone believed it except the
farmtrs themselves and the bus
inesses of the small towns. (200
to 30,000 population) that live
from the new wealth that far
mers create each year. These
farmers, who are 13 per cent
of the population, plus another
20 per cent in these small towns
who are represented in 90 per
cent of the counties of the U.S.
hold the balance of power; and
believe that the Democratic can
didate will receive more than
400 of the electoral vote in
1956. So say these farmers.
Sincerely,
W. W. Marshall
By LYLE C. WILSON
United Press Correspondent
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. Marshall:
I'm no farmer, barring a
couple of hundred acres in Min
nesota which are handled for me
by a man who knows about
farms. But I know a well-written
letter when I see one. So, I
asked Gaylord Godwin, who re
ports the Agriculture Depart
ment for us, to ask the appropri
ate experts what were the an
swers to the questions you rais
ed. Gaylord talked to Harold F.
Brcimyer, chief of the livestock,
fats and oils section of the de
partment. Mr. Breimyer said
that the packers in 1954 gener
ally had a tough time making
any money.
The report continued:
The packers were caught in
1954 between rising prices for
livestock and a slower rise in the
prices of their processed product.
Just the opposite occurred in
1955. The packers recouped,
shifting from a narrow to a
larger profit margin. -Price
Forced Down
Packers tend to make more
money on rising supplies and de
clining prices for those items
than at other times. They made
a lot of money on hogs last fall
because slaughter facilities be
came so jammed that the price
of hogs was forced down. This
created wide margins between
the price the farmer got and the
price the housewife had to pay
at the corner grocery.
Mr. Breimyer emphasized that
1954 was one of the low profit
years for packers, 1955 a year of
larger profits. Generally speak
ing, returns to marketing agen
cies do not parallel returns to
farmers. They tend in the op
posite direction.
Last fall there were lots of
hogs in the corn belt. Packers
ran. tight on slaughter facilities.
They had no place to put the sur
plus hogs, buying lagged, prices
were forced down. That was the
simple operation of supply and
demand.
Not Deliberate Gouging
Mr. Breimyer said the fact
that the packers made money
was not a matter of deliberate
gouging. Naturally, the packers
would not pay more than the go
ing price for live animals, nor
take less than the going price
for the processed meat. He said
the whole thing added up to: Too
many hogs! There was a buyer's
market.
'Well, Mr. Marshall, that's what
Mr. Breimyer told Gaylord God
winwho passed it on to me. I'm
glad you saw the first story in
Roy's Kansas City Times and I
hope he prints this one. I expect
he will.
Sincerely,
Lyle C. Wilson
M
EDF0RD
Unuea Press Full Leased Wire
Tribune
United Press Full Leased Wire
Second Section
.MEDFORD, OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1956
Pages 1 to 10
Around Hollywood
By ALINE MOSBT
United Press Correspondent
Hollywood ' ttJ.R) i
Newman starts the new year
destined to be a top star of 1956
but he is
haunted b y
the shadow of
Jimmy Dean's
tragic death.
Like Dean
and Marlon
Brando, New
man is a tal
ented "r e a 1
istic" perform-
Aline Mosby er from the
Actors' Studio in New York.
Alter Dean was killed m an
automobile crash last summer,
Newman was persuaded to take
over his friend's role in an NBC
television drama, "The Battler."
This week Paul begins the
Rocky Graziano role in "Some
body Up There Likes Me," a
film expected to push him over
the top. That part, too, was
slated for Dean.
Portrayal Draws Praise
Newman then:-planstQstar in
Billy the Kid-,', a role he was
Paulpraised for on television but
another Dean wanted to do.
Newman, like Dean, is under
contract at Warner Bros, where
the whisper is the new actor
"will inherit Dean's roles."
But Newman is unhappy at
being compared to Dean or
Brando, and at having his career
breaks linked to Dean's death.
"A person as an actor must
have his own identity," he said
at MGM where he's learning
how to box for the Graziano
picture. "I don't want to be com
pared to anybody. The only
thing it does is destroy."
Resemblance Told
Newman actually has a slight
resemblance to Brando, and
wore a T-shirt to our interview,
but there the comparison ends.
Unlike most new stars from the
Actors' Studio, he's not a "char
acter." He is an affable 30-year-old
who's been married for six
years, has three children, does
not play the bongo drums and
doesn't think Hollywood is a hor
rible place. -.
Newman looks at his new star-
Southwest Airways
Starts New Service
Southwest Airways will inaug
urate service today . on a new
route from San Francisco to Los
Angeles, linking Bakersfield,
Monterey, and San Jose for the
first time, according to John H.
Connelly, president of the com
pany. . New non-stop service from
San Francisco to Eureka-Arcata
also started today, which wall
provide an improved basic pat
tern of two round trips to Santa
Rosa, Ukiah, and Ft. Bragg, and
three daily round trips to Cres
cent City and Medford, Connel
ly said.
dom with a realistic angle.
"I didn't go into this business
with stars in my eyes," he said.
"I knew the chances of getting
any place were a thousand to
one. I didn't think I'd get any
farther than being a drama
teacher."
Geren Reelected
Head of Farm Group
Don Geren, Eagle Point dairy
man, was reelected president of
the Southern Oregon Farm
Tanks association Monday at a
meeting in the Gold Hill Grange
hall.
Glen Smith, Jacksonville, was
reelected secretary-treasurer and
Floyd Smith, Applegate, vice
president. Glen Chase, Gold Hill,
was reelected to the board of
directors.
Oscar Hagge, Oregon dairy
marketing specialist, Oregon
State college, discussed the
grade A dairy outlook.
Besides the officers and
Chase, board members are Lon
nie Estes, Illinois Valley; Paul
Sakraida, Applegate; and Lowell
James, Grants Pass.
HOT SPUDS
Des Lacs, N. D.-(U.R) Baked
potatoes could be had for the
taking here recently. A ware
house fire cooked $10,000 worth
of the potatoes.
IS I 4 J J
tv
GRAND VIEW MARKET
IS PRIVILEGED TO ANNOUNCE:
" GREEN
STAMPS
Now Given in ALL Departments!
SPECIALS FOR FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JANUARY 20-21-22
KING
SIZE
ORANGES
"50" Count
HALF $169
DOZ. CRATE
it PLUS S&H GREEN STAMPS!
CELLO
CARROTS
One Pound Packages
PLUS S&H GREEN STAMPS!
IXL
Chicken Ravioli
Large 40-oz. can
us S&H Green Stamps
39'
IXL
Chili Con Carne
Large 40 oz. can
Plus S&H Green Stamps
49
APPLE BUTTER
Sunny Jim Label
.... 39
LARGE
2 lb. 4 oz. Jar
DELRICH
MARGARINE
Plus S&H Green Stamps
Pounds
STEW MEATn
Boneless Lean .Good!
us S&H Green Stamps on all meat
49'
U.S. GRADED KLAMATH LOCKER BEEF
U.S. GRADE "COMMERCIAL" V2 BEEF ... 35 lb.
U.S. GRADE "CHOICE" V2 BEEF . . ...... .".-39 lb.
We Cut Wrap and Freeze FREE!
Pius S&H Green Stamps cn Locker Beef Sates and Custom Cullin!
STORE HOURS: Weekdays 8:30 to 7:00
Sundays 10:00 to 7:00
- m
I.U IllWlllljJ , , lipitlMlliaMMUIIMMIMIIIIMMMUJJIMM 11 11111 """" m
i .mwiumi. k'-aiitiiaiemMkUii?- 'ASrSXMiBt ailtr'-J JiyS3jLJUSq : im-iiTiin ir-v : nr"wniiiiilTimiiimriTmM unwii-ifinr miii.i 1 1
i.W?" ' From 7:30 A.M. to 1:00 PJV1. I ' : :" '' ' ''
W0f. 'krn Benefit Jackson County
fSf . ... . V ' .. SPONSORED BY THE
agles and fledford Fi
refightars
The Jackson County Disaster Car
will be on display tomorrow at the corner of Main and Central In Medford. The Medford Fire
Fighters will be on hand to explain the purpose of the disaster ear and to sell tickets to tha
Aunt Jemima pancake jamboree.
PANCAKES wit
COFFEE and lit
A FlfiE FEED and a GRAND CAUSE
This Announcement Published in Cooperation with the Medford Eagles Lodge and Medford Fire Fighters Disaster Car Program by the Medford Mail Tribune
A Em 11
HITTER and SYG3UP . . .
Adultsn , Children 3B
Tickets are available at many downtown Medford locations or
may be purchased from any member of the Eagles or the
Fire Fighters.