The Wilmington daily Republican., 1899-08-31
|SAYFARMERS
ARE TO BLAME.
But New Castle County
Beef Raisers Say They
Are Not Responsible.

A dispatch from Chicago says II there
Ia combine among the packers to boast
the price Of beef, the heads OF the four
great frms-Armour, Morris, Swift and
Hammond-deny Ii 1t. But the price Of beef
has been going .up and will go higher.
The packers blame the farmer for 1t.
They say the stock raiser is receiving
moro money for his products than he has
In eleven years past. The explanation
for this Ia increased e1portstions, and In
creased use Of ineat by tlie industrial
classers, who use meat freely whom times
are prosperous and work Rlsapty.
At, the Armour plant it was said: ut Is
believed that prices will continue to be
high for considerable time to come.
Cattle receipts arc very large-in fact,
much in excess Of tho receipts of one year
ago The market is more than good, and
there is not an over.SuppIy."
At the Nelson Morris plant this explan.
alton was made: The farmer will have no
reason to complain this fall of the prices
he will receive for his hogs. sheep and
cattle. The demand for cattle from abroad
is very lively and affords partial explain
alton OF the reason for the going prices
1t Ia trne that meat consumption on the
part of the laboring classes diminishes as
work grows scarce and increases as work
grows plenty The homo use of meat at
the present time Is something enormous
and with improving conditions as to
wages and labor will increase.
Ono of the representatives OF Sir Thomas
Lipton's Company said "There was new
er time in the history Of this country
whom thers was such demand abroad for
American beef as now. The Same sta to-
mint applies to American provisions
Much of the hostilities to these product
once displayed has disappeared. The for
eign countries have come to keen realiz-
alton of tho fact that the supply market OF
the world is to be found In this country.
This demand to be grow greater instead OF
diminishing, as American products,
through their high qualities, gain greater
reputation in new markets
The coming cold months Is promised
will shove this increse far higher and
make 1899 the best year known in the his
tory Of the yards
Where the activity in meats and provis-
ions will end no one pretends to say. At
the stock yards there is an enormus vol
ume of business being transacted. The
receipts of cattlo and sheep at tho stock
yards for 1898 were: Cattle,2 49,, ,9S7 ;shee
$3.50 i39. The shipments for tho same
period were : Cattle s65, ,6i2; sheep 543, 4s1.
City consumption and packing for the
Same period were: Cattle, l,6l5 sheep
3,Oi6,014.
FARMERS HAVE THEIR SAY.
New Castle County raisers Of cattlo who
were in the city to-day declared that while
they were retailing cattle at higher rate
than for several years the large fines com.
polled them to do so. Western agents
here have been compelled to pay IN in
crease by their Chicago managers and as
they controlled the market local pro-
ducers mado corresponding increase In
their retail prices as all dealers would
naturally do. Had not the price of west-
ern cattle been raised, New Castle county
farmers say there would have been no In
crease in the cost of home raised beef.