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Show I FOREIGN MEAT FOR YANKEE EATERS MAYBE j I By CHARLES N. LURIE. W W AVE sonic Argentine beef? Laa TUte Ulla New Zealand I I mutton. How do you like this Bra-tlllan Bra-tlllan sterk? Soon we'll bo hearing such remarks maybe. Soon Brother Jonathan's eons and daughters will be satisfying their appetites on mo.it from 1 furrin parts." If Americans can't pet mat enough at reasonable prices from the western cattle ranges they'll have to look abroad for it. That's, of course, from the viewpoint of the chewcr of the meat. The man who cells It sings a different sons. Ha says. sharpl and succinctly: "Noth-ng "Noth-ng doing. There's nothing In this talk of foreign meat." The tariff bill maktng meat and cattle freo won't ' make any difference, he says, nor will the opening of the Panama canal nor the settlement of the trouble In Mexico Mexi-co Meat Is hm'.t an'l is polng to remain re-main tilgh because there Is a worldwide world-wide shortage of cattlo There Is no such thing anywhere as a surplus big enough to bring down the prlcV in the United States. If there were, says the man in the packing house counting room, the folks In its own country would eat It They Put the Blame on the Farmer. It may be taken for granted that j mer.t is high In tho United States and Is going to continue high, for some Alme at least, unless we all turn vegetarians vege-tarians or look to the sea frr food The blame is put by the packers on the farmer. That unpatriotic citizen (loud applause from New York, Chicago, Chi-cago, St. Louis, Omaha and the other centers of tho packing industry) sees more profit in growing grain, also less Photograph! by United States department of ftcrto.i'iure. 1. Unloading imported cattle at quarantine station, Turner, Md. 2. Loading Load-ing cattle from lighter to ocean steamer. 3. Lighter carrying cattle fro. n Jersey City to steamer dock in New York. A Young bull in stall on incoming in-coming steamer. 5. Kerry cattle being unloaded at Baltimore. 6. Transferring Trans-ferring imported cattle from steamer dock to lighter at New York. 7 Quarantine station for imported animals at Athema, N. J. 8. Unloading imported cattle at Athenia. labor, than In nursing alone Bossy and her son and daughter. So he crows grain. The supply of meat falls, and the price rises with a balanced regularity regu-larity that Is beautiful to sec to the economist, with a theory to demonstrate, demon-strate, not to the housewife and her hungry kids. Much of the blame also goes to the changed conditions In the formerly great cattle raising regions of the west and northwest. The man with the hoe la taking the place of the cowboy cow-boy with the quirt The tomato vine blooms where the prairie grass grew lush. Result less meat higher prices. According to recent reliable atatla-tics, atatla-tics, there are now In the United States S6. 527. 000 head of beef cattle Six years ago we had about 80.000 000. Now, I In the same six years the population has increased about 12,000,000. It Is easy to see the reason fur the packers' 'Opportunity. Of course they have to pay higher for the meat which they I pass on the consumer. The man who I raises the cattle sees the significance of such figures Just as quickly as does the woman who takes home a sirloin steak for her family. Half a Head For Each Person. Expressed in different figures, the talc of meat goes thus-. Six years ago there was one head of cattle In the Lnitcd States for each man, woman and child between the AtlHntlc and the Pacific. Now each of us has to be satisfied sat-isfied with the ownership of six-tenths of a head, and soon thai will go down to rlve-ii-nths. Half an animal mnkes a good sized meal, but It each of us were to eat his half at the same time, what would we do for tomorrow s dinner? din-ner? Other countries have meat animals? Sure! Here are the latest figures: Total Country. Tear. cattle. Brlllsh India IMS 108.000.000 Russia 47.000.OCO Argentina 130S '.9..or Hrnzll ISM 55.000.000 Germany (907 21.000.000 Austria-Hungary 19ti It.OOG.OOO :"-nee UN n 000 )00 t'nltcl Kingdom 1310 12 1 Australia 1000 11,000,030 Canada 1910 7,000.000 Other countries K ,000,000 Taken in conjunction with the population popu-lation figures for these countries, the table shows that the number per capita capi-ta of cattle In this country Is higher than It Is In India, Germany, France. Austrla-Hungar, Holland. Russia, Great Britain. Belgium and Italy. Figuring Fig-uring also that the folks :n these countries coun-tries have to eat as well as we and i that they look to Imported mr.it to solve their own problems of sustenance suste-nance wo get back to the proposition that the cattle importation outlook is not especially bright What Ada Foreign Countries. Before the recent troubles Mexico looked promising as a source of meat supply. It Is now believed that, given peaceable conditions which are by no means certain, of course it will take that country at least ten years to get back on tho basis of Its Diaz days Australia is afflicted with frequent droughts, which makes the cattle situation sit-uation precarious there, and Argentina cattle are affected by the dangerous foot and mouth disease. Of course any meat that reaches the United States from Australia or South America must be frozen to bear the long voyages. The packers say Americans Amer-icans will not eat solidly frozen meats ! and that such meats cannot compete with American corn fed cattle No one denies the superiority of American meat for consumption In America, but it must b had in sufficient suffi-cient quantity as well as suitable quality. An ounce of - a Kentucky steer fed on blue grays or prize corn tastes a whole heap better perhaps than the same amount of frozen Argentine Ar-gentine meat, but It probabl won't go nrarly so far In sustaining life as a pound of the latter substance. Tan-ki Tan-ki s may Just simply have to eat for- J . n meat In self defense and be glad I to get it Imported Beef of Poor Quality. The r cent arrival of a cargo of beej J from Argentina In New York, the first of its kind to reach America, created quite a sensation. There were a hun-i dred carcasses in the load This fl what one man high in the meal trada said of It: "It was frozen beef ml had tn ro to - ' ., ; i - r;t r ")' H id tt been the chilled art. !. It would have been! In better demand. The carcasses 11 saw were blai k and rf much the am I quality as tho grass beef wo freeze atfl Chicago and distribute early In the spring. It does not compare In quality or appearan- with fresh killed domes-tic domes-tic beef. This consignment was too j small to be deserving of notice. T);. iff oat g cents in carcass at London, freight, duty and other expenses ex-penses were ZV cents, making the cold In New York 11 4 cents, which was tha j prli e It realized. Domestic fresh kill-J ed beef about the same quality sold at 124 cents, and good domestic beef at j 13 tents. If the duty were ellmi-j ii it.-ii u would be possible to put tola lie.f into the New York market and Lte considerable competition fofl our Texaa attle, common native steers from 74 cents down at Chicago, and also all but the best cows and heifers.! "The product of auch Utle. goes to heap trade, and If Argentine beef' i ould be put into New York at 10 cental it would be a dangerous competitor, but that it would affect good beef I doubt Results of the recent Invasion-of Invasion-of Pacific coast markets by Australian J and New Zealand product shows that' domestic product of quality has en-3 i j d a market of Ita own and has not ' fell Ihe competition of inferior foreign! stuff."' i A man who spoke with authority as-i sorted re. enU) that the passage by9 congress of a law forbidding the I slaughtering of female cattle, heifers ; and cows until they were seven years I old would build up the American sup.-l ply of beef cattle so that In five yearfll there wo-iid be enourh to supply the j entire American demand and reduce 1 price ' There will never ho any 1 i in Ity if we can get such a law. said this man. |