The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-07-09
WHAT IT COSTS Us.
Residents of Greater New York
Assessed for the Big Strike.
Estimated that $4,000 Per Day
Increase Is Paid for Food.
The blockade Has Raised the Prices
OF Ncccssuries of Life.

The Western railway strike iH topping
Tho pockets OF people in New York and
vicinity to an enormous extent.
The i,C00,oD people SuthCrod within the
actual, IL not corporate, limits of this
great city are being assessed for mis-
chief done a thousand miles away. nrs-
peratc men In a remote quarter are
facing the shots OF soldiers in their ef-
forts to obstruct lines OF transportation
and burn and pi,nge carloads of go,da.
and here peaceful men and women are
compelled to pay heavily for the dam
age.
In the last week almost everything In
the provision line has advanced in price.
While 1t ~ difficult to trace directly to
the Western blockades the cause for this
advance, II Is certainly Colncident with
1t. and provisioners unite in the dcclara-
ton that the strike has done 1t.
The bound in the price of beef which
Is the staple meat diet of civilized man,
is directly and undisputably due to it,
Not head of living stock. not II carcass
of dressed beef. Is arriving from West
ern markets. There is plenty of Eastern
cattle at hand. however, but the opinion
Is universal that even this supply VIII
be curtailed by the demands of the big
towns I'm the immediate stock-raisinS
regions II the strike continues to shut
out far Western meat for a few days
longer.
Mutton and lamb, which are largely
drawn from the Central states, he
East and the South. are exempt from the
present stringencv. and have held to a
uniformly low figure. But mutton Is
very far from being an item of daily
fare as beef Is. Few men could stick to
Il Ii nFaNF
siderable length of time, and large
percentage cannot eat II at all.
Poultry in all forms, although locally
raised has advanced In the past week
could be bought July ? for II cents a
dozen, to-day bring 20 cents.
The retail selling prices OF ham, bacon
and all forms Of cHyed meats x 80 on arf ier.
ward about three cents pound on
each.
Flour and cereal products have not
yst advanced, but there is not shadow
of doubt that they will cost more In a
few days This line of provisions Is
usually received In very large consign-
periods The slightly perishable quality
of these goods makes 1t convenient TO
carry them in large stool k.
Present supplies have been IN for two
weeks and the delay to traftic has not
yet begun to he felt, but there Is not
-four dealer In the city to-day who
does not feel apprehensive for the in-
mediate future.
The shipments from grain and milling
centres for next week are under way, or
| ought 10 be. and IA prolongation of the
blockade is bound to he ielt IN TN"
priCo of bread If 1t continues week
longer. .
Even at present it is n very reasonable
estimate to state that living IN Greater
| a day more than It did n week ago. and
so the people of Greater New York are
| even now paying nearly a quarter OF
million of dollars day for the destruo.
| tive passions Of men. whose cause the!
| barely understand. ,
Mr. u. II. Sherman, manager or the
stock yards foot OF sixth street. Jersey
City, said to an Evening World re-
porter this afternoon: ,
I've have received 200 cars of cattle
to-day, or about 3,4Oo head. There was
not a single shipment from chicago ~
| has there been since Tuesday last. We
do not expect any from those points .or
some time to come.
Even If the strike is settled this
week the Western markets Will not be
ready for some days after to begin IL
ship meat, live or dressed. as usual"
Where do you d, get your present osi:sd sup
"F'rom points in Virginia, Ohio and
Kentucky principally, and some from
parts of New York state"
! ''Is the supply sufficient
I've are receiving here just about
enough cattle To supply New York,
| Brooklyn and Jersey city. The small
| towns in the Eastern States are on the
verge of IA famine Any one who has
travelled ABOUT much has noticed the
storage houses of Swift. Armour. Ham
| mond, and the other big Western
butchers, and on these depots the local
| butchers depended for their supply of
| fresh meat. Now, the meat for such
depots was killed in Chicago and rushed
through to the East at express speed
| in refrigerator cars.
"Now the Western market cannot sup
| ply these houses with live or dead mea t,
and so the people are suffering In con-
sequence. Why. friend of mine, one OF
the largest wholesale butchers In the
| business, told me that he received a
| letter yesterday from man who runs
big Summer hotel about eighty miles
up in the State. asking him II he could
| not send him some beef at any price.
THE prices are about the same as
! they were last Monday. Then there was
an advance Of from 70 cents to 81 per
| 100 pounds over the prices prevailing
prior to the strike Inferior to primo
| steers are selling at $40 to 81, and
scrubs at $i.20 and $3.50.
- have talked with several butchers
who are retail as well rs Wholesale
meat met, and they tell me that in
| New York City and Brooklyn the price
of meat has gone up from three TO four
cents per pound ut retail. The price OF
smoked meats has also been raised"
ri EhRlNC lip THE WRECK