The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-18
Salt Lake Butchers Talk of Re-
taliati0n.
ARE AGAINST ARMOUR
SORE ON RESTAURANT AND
HOTEL KEEPERS.
Many of These Buy Their Meats
From Outside Packing Companies
and Local Knights of Cleaver Will
Endeavor to Even Things Up
Mass Meeting is Scheduled.

The existing local conditions among
the Salt Lake butchers are rapidly
coming to focus. For the past three
weeks circumstances have been point
ing to a practical demonstration of the
well-known doctrine of the survival of
the fittest, if not the ultimate squelch-
ing of the individual butcher business
generally. The local tradesmen, real
fZing their precarious predicament, pro-
pose to call mass meeting of the
trade tomorrow evening to discuss the
ways and means of heading off the in
vasion.
The urgent question Of the hour is
how to combat the movement inaugu-
rated by the Armour, Cudahay and
Hammond packing concerns. who have
succeeded in tieing up most of the
leading hotels and restaurants in the
city with meat contracts during the
past three weeks. Already the butch
erS are feeling the pressure; with one
of their principal sources Of income
cut off short, bad debts and the cast
iron rule of paying cash on each steer,
or carcass delivered at the store, sew
eral of the retail dealers are already
seriously contemplating putting up
their shutters and going into the kim
ding wood business.
Something Must Be Done.
In speaking of the situation yester-
day, one of the leading butchers said:
unless something is speedily done,
Salt Lake will be in the same condi-
ton as is Denver at the present time.
For the past three months there has
not been single beef killed in Dem
yer. while out in the state at Colorado
Springs, Manitou, and other swell
places, the leading residents are hav-
Ing all their meat shipped in in boxes
by the packers for their own table use.
OF course, I do not blame the hotel
men and others here for getting their
meat as cheaply as is possible.
But. taken in the long run, il is a
cent wise-dollar-foolish policy, for Just
as soon as Armour gets a firm footing
here and all the prime steers in the
state have been shipped out of the
country-for butchers cannot keen on
buying them at present prices and I'M
der existing circumstances-up will go
the prices again and every dollar ex-
pended in meat will go out Of the
state"
Boycott Is Proposed.
Another dealer had the following to
say upon the subject:
ABOUT the only Lhlng we butchers
can do, and which VIII probably be
adopted at Monday nights meeting,
viii be the complete boycotiing of the
hotel and restaurant men. If they
want veal cuts. liver or anything else
let them go to Armour and get tran
and if they cannot obtain the stuff let
them go without"
In speaking of the quality of the
meat which the big packing companies
are shipping into Salt Lake in refriger-
ator cars, he said: For the major
portion the ribs and loins are cut from
COWS and Gamers, and have been put
in cold storage for goodness knows
how long; then before the meat is de-
hvered it is thawed out. The meat is
sold to customers for 10 cents a pound.
while we butchers, if we sell the same
cuts for IA cents would not make a
single cent, but would lose money on
account of the waste"
Such is the condition which fares the
Salt Lake butchers at .sa present time.
Indications point to a stormy meeting
tomorrow night. without any definite
conclusion being arrived at In case
united movement is put on foot to
combat the invasion, it is said that
Armour will raise the bluff and start
the freeze-out game along the same
lines as were put into operation in the
east when the packing firm put in a
store and practically gave meat away
until the butchers howled for mercy
and agreed to handle the meats.