Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-04-02
BOERS FED BY AMERICA.
THEIR coMMlSSARlES FAIRLY BURST.
INC WITH OUR FOOD PRODUCTS.

EmbattIed Farmers of South Africa Ans
ply ProyIsioned For a Long Siege
Their Stan of Life is Indian Corn-How
the National Dish is Prepared.
Exporters in New York City who
make a speciality of the South African
trade are doing great deal of think
ing at the present time over the prob
lem that is greatly perplexing the
British Government-tha is, the ex-
tent to which the Beers are prepared,
as far as food supplies are concerned,
to withstand the protracted siege that
seems likely TO ensue on the British
advance. These exporters appear to
believe that the Beers are remarkably
we'll proyisioned, and that any at
tempt to starye them out is hardly
likely to succeed soon.
The extent of American trade wit.
the Transvaal, especially in the mat
ter of cereals and foodstuffs, according
to the statement of one versed in the
statistics of international trade, was
something of which the American peo.
pie had no just conception. 1t was
added that the Beers and South Afri-
cans generally, although nominally
farmers. raise very little of their own
food, but are fed almost entirely by
foreign nations. AS to canned meats
and jerked beef-or, as the Beers
themselves call it, bill-tong -practi-
cally all of the immense quantity con-
sumed in South Africa is supplied by
American firms, shipping through the
port of New York.
':sThe British Government has shown
remarkable lack of foresight" re-
marked one of the largest local food
exporters to South Africa, Sin forming
a just estimate of the preparedness of
the Beers for war, and the work of the
intelligence department in gaining any
accurate information concerning their
military supplies is only one aspect of
the case. As matter of fact, the
Beers have not only been laying up an
almost inexhaustible supply of powder
and cartridges, but an abundant sup
ply OF food as we'll. If the British sue.
ceed in getting as far as Pretoria or
johannesburg and attempt to lay siege
to the cities, they will discover that
the inhabitants will suffer little from
the lack of food; that their granaries
are fairly bursting with the products
of American and Australian farms; and
that in all the other food d-staples of war
time, such as canned beef, the Dutch
are plentifully provided.
81 base these conclusions upon the
examination of my own books. My
firm sends great quantities of flour
and canned goods to South Africa
every year, and especially to Delagoa
Bay, Port Natal, Durham, East Lon
don, and Port Elizabeth, which are
the chief ports of-entry to the Trans
vaal and the Orange Free State. i
have never known the South African
trade to be so brisk as it has been
during the past year, and especially
the past few months.
at was perfectly apparent that the
Transvaalers were ordering a great
deal more stuff than they could readily
consume; and the trade in that direc.
tion has for some time been looked
upon as abnormal.
Take the case of -four exports, for
example. Flour, under the most
favorable circumstances, can hardly
be preserved over a year, but in spite
of that fact the Afrikanders have been
increasing their orders during the
past few months in most surprising
way. In the year 1899, according to
my figure, some 800, 900 sacks of tiou,
were sent from New York to Delagoa
Bay, and about 400, 900 sacks to the
other South African ports-a large
amount of which also finds its way
into the Transvaal.
"This amount is about twice the
normal annual trade in -four. The
largest flour shipments ever known
were sent in April and May, which
are not ordinarily busy months in the
South African trade. [ know one
firm that sent 80, 200 sacks a month in
the spring of the present year, and
the shipments of other New York con-
Germs were equally large.
"Other commodities than -four,
however, have been sent in vast
amounts to South Africa during the
past few months. One of the choicest
delicacies to the Boer palate is the
cereal know as samp. Samp is
cracked corn, degerminated. tits al
most the staff of life with the Beers,
and is also largely used by the aborig-
ines: The Beers boil it into sort
porridge and bake it with pork--after
the fashion of American pork and
beans. Shipload after shipload of
this, to them, indispensable article
has been sent to Delagoa Bay during
the past few months, and you can
make up your mind that it is coming
in handy at the present time. Canned
beef is also a favorite article of diet
with the people of the Transvael, and
thousands of cases of this have been
sent by American packers.
"Those who have visited South
Africa recently will have no occasion
to ask where this is stored away. All
over the Republic are scattered i'm
mense sheet-iron storehouses, and |
have not the slightest doubt that these
are at the present time crammed full