The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-04-16
BECAUSE MEAT is 50 HIGH
The Unusual Action of New York
Retail Butchers.
MANY FORCED TO SHUT UP.
High Prices Attributed Both to a
Corner In Cattle and to Real
Scarcity. A Meeting of Cattle
Raisers. A Prominent
Butcher Interviewed.

Some Of the big retail butchers of
Washington market, New York, have
CLOSED their business for the singular
cause that meat is high. Says we'll
known butcher to New York Sun re-
s porter:
1T is simply impossible for the retail
Butchers TO do business at profit so
aong as the present wholesale prices pre-
Taii. That seems absurd, doesn't il?
& We'll, let me give you some figures. A
2 whole steer weighing 500 pounds costs
ns l01a cents a pound Before We can
sell that steer it has to be cut mp, and
Eor the different cuts we get prices
! (which In some cases are higher and i'll
Others lower than 10I. Tho quantity
for which we get prices less than 10 -
gents exceeds that for which we get
pnere. SO that in the aggregate we loso
S1s cents, and in thu no account is
made for shrinkage.
1.-THE worst of it is the price is not as
High as it will be. We are looking for
"a further rise next week. Just now we
are selling primo roasts, sirloin and por-
Fefhouse steaks, respectively, for 90
cents and 80 cents a pound and leave
\ Nheibone in. Some days since our prices
dor the Same cuts were IS cents and 25
GENTS, respectively, and we cut out tho
bone
~ 'Or course there is n reason for the
present prices, but precisely what that
reason Is it would be difficult to say.
Personaily don't take any stock in the
reports that tho big wholesale dressed
ibeef firms haveia corner Oh all the cat
.tle Of the west. 1t would be impossible
ITO keep great number of cattle, after
fFhey were ready for the market, without
entailing great loss If Armour & Co.
and the others of tho Big Four owned
all the cattle west,and south of Chioa-
.lgo, they couldn't hold them on tho
farms and feed them, after they were in
condition to kill, without losing moro
money than they could mako by reduo.
ling the market surply.
Then, again, each ono of the Big
-Four is an active bidder in the Chicago
market against tho others and against
} inc Enstmans company, Hammond 81
60 and others not in tho Big Four. )
fIhe Swifts have q number of large con-
Tractst to fulfill, and they must got their
beef at-the lowest possible figure 1 be-
theVe the present nigh prices are due
8 solely to tho scarcity OF cattle. "
Another, cattlo grower us we'll as q
Butcher. says:
IN my opinion, two reasons account
1or the fact thatwe are now paying
more for meat here than we have for 20
years, and one reason is dependent up-
ION the other. l believe, first, that the
present prices arc due to the scarcity in
cattle, and, second, tog.t fact TINT
TsVhat cattle there are axe all owned by
the men who make up vsllat is familiar
w known as the Big. Fhur. y
The scarcity of cattle is not due so
much to any failure of tho corn.crop. as
yso the fact that over IL yearsago livestock
men gave up feedingCAttle because there
wac no money in marketing thaRl after
they were fattenod. Consequently the
majority of raisers let their cattle run.
1T did not take the wholesale dealers in
tdressed beef long to find out that there
were comparatively few farmers feeding
stock, aud that stock. was bought up by
}sh@r representatives as rapidly. as pos
side Armonr-& CO., the Swffts, Nel-
SOD, Morris 81 Co-,and Schwarzschild e.
SnlzDurger own almost MI the, fed cat.
Ole of the west
+ And they can hold livestock on the
farms at aproft. The longer steer is
ifed the moro weight he takes on, and
the more weighthe takes ON the more
fhe will soil for. The wary farmers from
whom the cattle were bought would be-
very willing to contract to feed them. as
nong as the purchasers care to- have
them
But it won't boaways that the SBig
-four or any one else will DO able to
control tho live cattle market One of
the objects OF the cattlo growers meet
Ping in Miles City is to perfect plans
for building packing houses of our own.
When that is done, We viii slaughter
.lonr own cattle, and MIR. Armour, Mr..
Swift and the rest will have to purchase
their stack elsewhere. Them you and l
Will pay less for our meat"