Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-03-19
MADE A MOUNTAIN
OF A MOLE HILL
Not Much Of Fight on Between
Butchers and Armour & Co.
10 HOLD NO MASS MEETING.
one 10 convene Tonight IL Regular
"eetins OF III RetalI Butchers,
Ass, ella ion,

There has been considerable talk the
the last day OF two with reference TO
a hand-to-hand. life-or-death struggle
between local meat dealers and the big
packing and shipping firm OF Armour
q Co. This talk went 80 far as to say
That the local men would hold mass
meeting tonight IN order to boycott the
hotels ana restaurants which are sup
piled by Armour a Co., Cudahy and
The Hammond packing houses. one
local man said today.
II Is true that we are going to hold
a meeting tonight, but IL Is only one Of
Others which nave been held By The
Retail butchers association. The OBJ
lecl Of this meeting, as much as any
thing else Is the mutual protection Of
members Of the association In The mat
ter Of credit and other things which
directly concern them / Do not know
OF any hight between the local butchers
ana Armour a Co. / presume that II
there were any such d controversy Oh,
the firm Of Armour q Co would not on
ly be opposing he local men, but the
CudShy ana hammond firms because
there is no reason TO believe that these
three houses. which are competing with
each J,hrr. can come close enough 20.
gether 10 unite In a hight On the local
men. or course. We should ike 10 sup
ply al our restaurants am hotels with
their l0ins. etc, which We do not at
present furnish, but We get along any
way. Besides. sc can not help peoples
likes and diglikes, ans some OF them
viii have imported meats"
When asked how the supply Of Utah
beef was, this gentleman said that his
house had already purchased their en-.
tire summer supply
WHAT MIR. wERTZ SAYS.
Mr.. Wertz. the local representative
Of the Armour Packing company. when
interviewed 10y a representative Of the
News this afternoon. said
1 really know OF no such difficulty as
has been reported, and am sure that
none such exists AS 10 our house, we
are simply here doing business In a le-
climate way and are furnishing local
butchers as well as hotels and rtslal-
rants with meat. As 10 the statement
that We intended opening shops here,
there IS nothing TO that have simply
said that We do not propose to be frozen
out. and there Is no danger that We
VIII be. The whole proposition has
been maenliied and caused by one or
two disanected dealers. The truth Is
that the Utah market has been practi-
colly depleted and that good meat can
only now be obtained from the East.
That Is recognized by all OF the dealers
and why there Is an effort to make II
appear otherwise Is entirely beyond my
comprehension"
PRESIDENT WARDS STATEMENT.
President Ward Of the Salt Lake Re-
tail Butchers association said this after
noon.
The trouble that has arisen does
not amount 10 very much. Such as there
is has been caused by the petty jeal-
ousles OF two or three individuals. why
there should be a kick over the ship
ment Of eastern meat into this market
now is hard 20 Understand as that prac-
tce has gone on every spring for the
past ten years. Local dealers are en-.
tirely unable to furnish the finer cuts
Of home beef az this time OF the year.
that Utah stockmen have for a long
time been sending their best cattle 10
the East and leaving the poo< quality
10 be disposed OF at home. But this
practice cannot 20 on all the time.
Restaurants, hotels and private individ-
uals are demanding choice cuts OF corn
beef. and In order to supply their wants
we are simply compelled 20 do business
with eastern concerns who are shipping
In their meats IN carload lots. The thing
for Utah farmers TO do Is TO raise a bet
ter class OF beef. also to let US have
the best OF that which they DO raise in
stead Of dlsDoslng Of II to dealers 10
ship out OF the home market. when
they do that there win be no trouble at
all"
President Ward said that the meeting
tonight was not for the purpose of con-
sidering the alleged difficulty. but that
II was called for the purpose OF eonsid-
ering a line Of action for the best in
terests OF the local dealers who are
anxious TO protect themselves from
credit-asklng and non-paying patrons.
The meeting he further said would be
executive In character and only such
items would be given to the public as
would be officially passed upon.