The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-08
FORCED 70 USE OUR BEEF
BRITISH ARATY ORDER CALLING
FOR HOMEGROWN MEAT OF
NO PRACTICAL EFFECT
THEY DON'T GROW ENOUGH
Draft ON Domestic Supply for Mill
tary RatiOns Must Inevitably
Be Replaced by Inn
pOrtatiOns.


exclusion of foreign beef from the Brit
lsh army use, the state department in
structed Ambassador Choate to report
upon the matter. Information has been
received at the department which would
indicate that the notice issued by the
army contract Office of the British war
department on April last, excludes
from army use for six moths, from June
l next, all foreign beef Of every descrlp-
ton, whether imported dead or slaugh-
tered in Great Brta n. DR.. Wray, in
spector of American cattle, appointed by
the department of agriculture who has
investigated the subject. is of the opinion
that the order when carried into effect
will not result in a great or considerable
direct loss to American exporters of beef
and cattle for the reason that the dom
este supply Of beef for all purposes IN
Great Britain and Ireland is so limited
that whatever beef by the new ruling
and notice may be shut out from army
use necessarily will be absorbed by the
general market There is no over-suDplv
now. The annual report Of the British
board Of agriculture for 1859 showed the
total number of home bred cattle in the
United Kingdom to be as follows: Cat
tie in the United Kingdom, in milk or
in calf, cows and heifers, 2,562,GO0; other
cattle, 4.078.0o0; total, 6,64O,0G0
Assuming the ACTS, Geo to be all that are
properly available for slaughter they
would furnish something less than one
OK or bullock for each ten persons Of the
population, If the population amounted
to 100000. Dr. Wray thinks it clear
from the statistics that for whatever
beef the army may draw on the local
markets for an equivalent will have to be
furnished from abroad for the general
market. The quantity Of beef imported
from the United States and Canada
(Which Is equally affected by the ruling
and notice. is very large and is increas-
ing every year and is brought to Great
Britain only to supply the demand or
the aggregate consumption, so that, &C
cording to the views of DR.. Wray and
many exporters whom he has consult ed,
there Is no cause to apprehend any ap-
preciable direct injury to the American
trade. If these views are correct the
probability is that 1t will not be prac-
tfcable to enforce the new rule for even
the six months for which the experiment
is proposed to be made and that contrac-
tors in order to fill their army contracts
with the requisite quantity of beef Of
good quality will have to be permitted to
furnish some imported meat.
DR.. Wray IS equally emphatic in ex-
pressing his opinion that the operation
of the new order is not likely to in
crease the existing prejudice against inn
loss to our exporters. He has been in
formed at the army contract Office that
the reason for making the new order is
not because Of any such prejudice either
in the war Office authorities or among
the officers and soldiers of the army who
are to be fed; but solely to try to meet
complaints from the British farmers. es-
pecially in the immediate neighborhood
Of the places where the army authorities
n
are shut out by the foreign article.
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION.
The industrial commission today began
it's May meeting, with P. j. McGovern
of Atlanta, chairman Of the Southern
classification committee, as the first wit
ness. Mr.. McGovern stated that there
are forty-two rail and steamship lines in
the committee, and that it covers the
territory South of the Potomac and the
Ohio rivers and East of the Mississippi
river He said that the organization had
been effected in 1889, and he contended
that except in the items Of Iron and steel
the advances in transportation rates have
been technical rather than real.
He declared that the committee had no
purpose Of fixing rates on carload lots
so as to build up the jobbing trade Of the
South at the expense Of outside points.
Explaining the charges in classification
since the matter had been placed in the
hands Of his committee, Mr.. McGoyern
said that previous to that time there had
been many incongruities and It had been
necessary to remove many of them and
in cases in which there had been advances
they were made largely because of the
prevailing extraordinary conditions. The
general advance in price Of railway ma
terials and supplies, for instance, had
been an influential factor. In many
other cases the previous ratings had been
unreasOnably low. For these reasons
there had been three different revisions
of the classification since 1899. The rates
creased, but Mr. McGovern cOnteuded
that there had been no genuine general
advances. He referred to the charge
made from New York and elsewhere that
there had been an increase in rates on
about 1,700 articles. Mr. McGoYern saId
the assertion had grown out OF the fact
that the committee had abolished the
carriers risk in the column in the classi-
fication sheet, putting all articles in the
limited liability list and making an ad-
vance of twenty Fer cent where the com
mon law liability bills of lading were is-
sued. This, he commended, was no ad-
vance, because while the common law
guarantee could be secured under the old
system without extra charge, it was not
demanded IN one case out or a hundred.
On the other hand there had been reduc-
lions in the rates on other articles, which
were far more radical than these adj
vances were.
Celebrating his testimony concerning
carload rates, Mr.. McGovern took coca
sion to contradict the charge that his
committee had attempted so to arrange
them as to build up the jobbing centers
Of the South. He admitted that there
might be cases In which the charge for
the short haul Is greater than that for
the long haul, but said he could recall
no such instance. But if there had been
such an exception it had not been due to
any deliberate effort on the part Of
classification committee. IL deny most
positively and emphatically," he said,
that the classification committee has
made any effort to discriminate against
New York or Chicago. or any far-off job
bling point in the interest of interior job
bing points OF the South by reducing
the rates on carload lots. We have no
intention Of preventing the outside ship
per from doing a 5obbng business at
small points In the South, nor of aiding
the outside shipper at the expense OF the
nearby jobber. Why try to settle each
case on its merits
Mr. McGovern said that a charge in
the classification Of cotton goods Is con-
tempIated for the first of July. These
goods will then be taken from the fifth
class and included in the fourth class