The times., 1899-08-28
CHEAPER MEAT IN VIEW
Plans of Retail Dealers to Fight
Western Combines.
More Than "a Million Dollars Said TO
Have Already Been Subscribed in
City VIII Probably BE the Lo-
cation of the Associations Plant.

NEW YORK, Aug. 27.-"Unless unfore-
seen circumstances arise, the organized re-
tail butchers of New York will within sixty
days have completed their plans for I'M
porting and slaughtering cattle bought by
them in the West, in opposition to the
Beef Trust, and will be supplying the pub
lie with the finest grade OF beef, and plenty
OF it, at prices below those which the
trust has recently compelled the retail
butchers to adopt said Louis J. Wagner,
President of the Greater New York Retail
Butchers Association, yesterday.
Our present intention is to obtain
capital of 81, ,O00, Co., he continued. More
than ST. 900, 600 has been subscribed up to
this time, although our plan has been
under consideration less than one week.
You may state positively, and without hesi-
tation, that our association vii! have no
difficulty whatever in obtaining all the
funds necessary. If the trust imagines
that We shall be hindered in carrying out
our plans through inability to command
capital, then the trust will shortly meet
with a surprise.
Two meetings were held on Friday be-
tween members of the executive board Of
the association and persons representing
large financial interests desirous of invest
ing in the enterprise. The executive board
will make report TO the association at
special meeting called for next Tuesday
evening at Bloomingdale Hall, in Eighth
Avenue, to hear our report as to the prog
ress made and the general situation. che
board does not desire nor intend TO act
hastily or without advising the association
fully and at frequent intervals, and, be-
sides, plans such as we contemplate cannot
be completed in a day or two.
Capital stock of the new concern will
be fixed at 50 ,000, 600, divided into full
shares Of S100 each but there will be half
shares of $50 and quarter-shares of go
each 1t is probable that the association
will decide that no person shall hold more
| than twenty shares of stock, in order 10
| prevent the beef trust or other interested
parties from obtaining control of the con-
cern, and either carrying it on for the
benefit of the trust or stopping its operation
| altogether.
Counsel to the association, now busy
preparing articles of Incorporation, will
| look into the question as to whether 1t
would be constitutional to prevent any IN
dividual from holding more than twenty
shares and to devise means whereby 1t
will be impossible for a combination to be
formed to obtain control of majority or
the stock.
Personally, 1 am not in favor OF divid-
ing shares into less than quarters at SIS.
To sell shares at 81 each to customers OF
butchers, as has been suggested, would, i
am confident, result in much confusion and
entail great unnecessary expense for book
keeping and other details. II the public
can buy beef of the first quality at fair
price, and not be subject TO the extortion
of the trust, they will become interested
in the new enterprise quickly enough.
while no decision has been reached as
to a location for a slaughter house, l
think we shall decide on Jersey City.
There is one plant there in particular
which is fully equipped, and has capacity
for killing 1900 beeyes per day. We are
by no means limited in our choice of
places, however. OF course, we shall en-
ploy union labor. A representative OF the
Amalgamated Meat Cutters Association,
which consists of men employed in slaugh-
ter houses In New York, who do the kill
ing of all the beef brought here for the
New York market, has visited me TO ascer-
tain whether we intend to employ union
labor. told him there need be no fear on
that score. He also spoke about the terms
on which the slaughtering would be done,
offering to have the men work for wages
be killed for As cents per head the assoeia-
/ ton to retain the offal, which is an i'm
! portant item, its sale bringing in quite a
| large sum in itself.
| Probably, to begin with, three hundred
| beeves will be slaughtered daily by the as
sociation but the exact number is a matter
that will, of course, be regulated by the de-
mand.
THE executive board has received many
communications from concerns which offer
to take a financial interest in our scheme,
| from persons who desire to act as promot-
ers, agents, or buyers of cattle. and from
| those who desire to act for us in other
| capacities.
II am fully prepared to see the Beef
| Trust commence to fight US in a short time,
! perhaps not until our enterprise is more
fully developed. They will start shops in
different parts of the city, probably, and
by selling meat below the price at which
they think we can sell Will try to drive us
out of business But it is very different
for the trust to have to fight several mil
lions of dollars of capital than TO have only
individual butchers to fight who have not
| the means to hold out against the i'm
mensely wealthy trust"
ANGEL DANCERS JAILED.