South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1882-08-18

Their. and finally give themselves up
without scruple to robbery, pillagc and
violence
WIZ; BEEF Is DEAR Tho reasons
given for the current high price OF beef
arc meny. The w:n'er of lSS0-Si was
exceptionally severe and heavy losses
OF stock were suffered on the great cat
Tie ranges of the West. The drought
of the ensuing summer acted not less
nnfavorably upon the smaller herds of
the East. The hay crop was short. and
The summer ami fall pastu;agc failed o.
yer many States; so That farmers we're
forced TO kill their young stock. In this
way. we are told, tie beef supply was
diminished both in quantity and quality,
leaving Tue dem lnd for goo beef FAR in
advance Ct .he supply. The expectation
of nearly 20l,00 cate contributed still
farther TO Lessen the beef supply for
home market. Advantage was taken of
the situation by speculative dealers and
combinations controlling millions of Gil .
pi'al. and 10y local rings Of butchers and
market men, anil the riice Of beef was
thereby raised far above what IL would
have been in the ordinary course octrade.
All these conditions no doubt had
their influence; Je, underlying them all
was one OF vastly greater scope and pc.
tency. outstanding the enormous
advance male in cattle raising during
the past twenty years or so, the increas-
eel supply. even in favorable seasons, has
not beer, at all commensurate with the
increase in the demand for beef. The
ratio OF increase in catt,e is less than
thai III population. so that even with no
change In dietet;c htb:ts the demand for
beef would tend steadily TO outrun the
surp'y. But our appetite for beef in :
crca es much more rapidly than our
numbers. he marke;man makes his
daily rounds with fresh necf in hundreds
Of communities where salt pork was ca
ten almost exclusively twenty-five years
ago, and generally throughout he cou n .
Try beef has largely displaced pork on
;he tables o! farmers, mechanics, ami
well TO- do people. This partly because
of tue universal improvement in the
scale of popular living duo TO general
prosperity, but more, perhaps, to the in-
fluence Of an active school Of would be
health reiormers who have persisiently
decried pork as an article OF food and
created widespread and unreasonable
prejudice against il.
Leaving out OF consideration any po1-
sible increase in the demand for beef for
expectation, We may reasonably antici-
pate that the home demand for beef will
continue TO increase as fast. If not fas-
ter, than the population does and there
can be no marked decline from the pres.
ent excessive prices until The supply Of
beef cattle is brought up TO tho level Of
the popular requirement. IL is not the
prime cost of beef cattle in the fell or
their necessary cost at the shambes,
after being driven or carried half across
the continent. that chiefly determines
the price of the meat TO the consumer,
but tue single fact that the supply is
relatively so moagre that caltle.raisers
can ask and readily get prices which
enable them TO make twenty, thirty, even
nifty per cent profit per annum on the
money invested, selling for six cents a
pound, live weight, cattle which cost
two cents a pound 10 raise. - Scientific
1meyican, Aag. >.
H,JOO per year can be easily made