National Republican., 1877-08-20
FACTS ABOUT BEEF.

HOW MUCH THE BEST BEEF cosTs-AN EIGH-
TEES-cEST STEAK OF PRIME QUALITY AN
IMPossIBILITY-wHY WE DON'T oKT THE
BEST IN WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 16, 1877
EDITOR REPUBLICAN: In your paper Of
this morning writer, signing himself Rob
crt" states that the best porter-housc steak
can be had on the corner Of Eleventh and +
streets at eighteen cents per pound. Is Robert
sure his assertion Is n correct oneP Does Rob-
ert know what constitutes the best? Why,
tho best, except very occasionally, never comes
to Washington. Robert may be able to obtain
q steak that suits him very well at eighteen
cents per pound, but the best never. 1t is not
to be had for that price at wholesale, much
less retail
What madness for willard's hotel, the Ar
lington and the National to pay 90 cents per
pound for all the beef they use at Wholesale,
and 40 cents per hundred express freight from
Baltimore, when they can obtain 1t here at 1S
cents retail-the best, as Robert says. l would
like TO sec Robert or any one else take one Of
his 1s cents at retail loins or ribs, tho one
| weighing i5 to 90, the other 2S to y pounds,
and deliver It to either q those hotels named.
| can imagine the result, for have been there.
l know how II is myself.
Now, let US figure little, and see what con-
stitutes the best. II Is q steer of fashionable
breed aud finish, of Durham or Devon cross,
bred solely for beef quality, and with an eye
| single and alone to neatness Of coarse beef and
great quantity Of prime beef that has been
handled with care, we'll fed and corn-fattened
until four years Of age Such a one last week
| in Baltimore would have brought-in fact, they
did sell at-T.75 gross, and weighed 1,250
pounds, or u cost Of S96.S7. That steer would
make 81 pounds Of beef to the hundred, or 7l2
pounds of beef, that cost S96.S7, or over 13l
cents per pound for neck, shin, shoulder,
rump, round, suet and prime beef This steer
would have $50 pounds of prime beef, which,
to sell at 1S cents retail, would have to be sold
ut Is cents wholesale, or $3.50 Deduct the
$50 pounds Of prime beef from the 7I2 pounds
net weight, and You have 462 pounds Of rough
or coarse beef Deduct what the prime beef
brings from the original cost, and you have
i62 pounds of beef costing S59.37, and the
most of it that will not bring over cents per
pound. none of 1t ovor 12 cents, or a certain
dead loss Of from fifteen to twenty dollars In
/ the steer.
Now we will take the prccarious fellow that
ekes out scanty subsistence through the
winter by eating straw from the dung heap.
corn stalks, tops Of young tender trees, brows-
ing around upon the underground. 1t would
do your heart good to see this fellow straightcn
himself of his kinks and crooks and go for the
first new grass. Why he will burrow like
a hog, take 1t up the roots and eat his food in
q condition that were he In prime kettle and
keep he would turn his nose up at. Well, this
fellow eats hearty, and thrives, and In three or
four months Is considered fair and "bobbish"
US termed by some, "scalawag" by others, and
It sent to market; he weighs 1000 pounds and
brings cents per pound, or $50. He will not
make 81 pounds to the hundred but If not too
full when weighed will make one-half or 80
pounds to the hundred, or 500 pounds beef
that costs 10 cents per pound, against 1871 the
prime steer.
4 His coarse beef, that Is to say, shins, nccks,
and shoulders, being as much as his fat weighs
bone, and the result is he Is disposed of at q
fair remuneratiye price, whilst the owner Of
the prime steer stands, with hand In pocket,
wondering why people do not buy the hest,
and per force determining not to get caught
again, but to do like his neighbor. There are
places where good beef can be had in limited
quantity. Now, If Robert can buy the best at
retail for eighteen cents per pound, l will give
him chance to make some money. i will
give him eighteen cents wholesale for all such
beef as Willards' the Arlington, and National
require, the beef to be from what ! term the
best, tho loins to weigh from seventy-five to
one hundred pounds veiny pieces and flank
cut short, and suet trimmed close. Ribs and
side pieces top cut short, and to weigh not less
than from forty-two to fifty-five pounds. Now,
when Robert undertakes this job he will find
steak is steak; but all steak Is not alike In
the minds of different people, or in the sense
Of fact either.
One word for the butchers. It is not their
fault the better quality Of beef is not offered
1t is the fault of supply and demand. Prime
cattle do not come to this market, and were
they brought here there is no outlet In suti.
cient quantity and price to justify the expense,
Some of our butchers visit Baltimore every
! week and buy few prime cattle, but the pub.
lie must not expect to purchase choice steak
from q choice steer as low as the choice steak
from a common and much inferior animal. II
u man can deludo himself into the belief that
the one eats as well as the other, he cannot de
lude the farmer who fed his corn, nor the
butcher who paid the money for the prime
steer, into the belief that the prime steer cOs
him no more money than the poor steer cos
his neighbor. l have said nothing of the fifth
; quarter, which properly should not be counted
as against the cost of the beef, that always Il
applied by the butcher for running expenses.
| FAcTs