Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-25
FOR ENGLAND
Efforts to Get the London
Market.
MEAT SOLD AT A LOSS
PRICES LESS THAN IN CHICAGO
THE SAME DAY.
Struggling for Years for the British
Trade, Which Americans Have
at Last Gained.
MEAT SOLD AT A LOSS


LONDON October Is, 1902.
English people have heard as much about
the so-caIled .beef trust during the past
few months as did the people of the United
States in the earlier part of the year. In
the meantime the London importers OF
American beef have smiled grimly at the
sensational stories Of their "extortions' and
have done their Nest to reduce the margins
Of their losses.
P 1t is true that American beef has been
sold in London at lower prices than the
same beef would have brought in the Chi
cago market on the day of the SALE Il is
also true that prices have fiuctuated vio-
Iently. these fluctuations being due, however,
to conditions peculiar to the English trade
and not to any mandate of those doing the
selling break or rise Of cents Il pound
within an hour is not uncommon In the
great Smithf1eld beef market of London. A
rise or falk of 1scent pound in a week Is
regarded - mort or less sensational In New
York. &
There are sevefal reasons for this uncer-
tainty in the English trade. The British
butcher expectssto sell out his stock each
day, as he seldom has conveniences for
storage for holding over. The American
butcher has his dee box, and II the meat is
not sold tDday 1T can be sold tomorrow, or
able time II the English market Is over
stocked down comes the price, and il there
Is any scarcity up it goes, as the business
is done on the hand to mouth principle.
Struggle for British Trade.
For years the great American packing
house firms have struggled hercely and sue
cessfully< fpr the British meat trade. In
certain lines they have obtained almost
monopoly at reagonahls prices When beef
goes up, however. the Englishman takes
| kindly to the frozen beef or mutton Of Ar
gentina and Australia and the demand FOR
the more expensive meat Is vastly reduced
in addition to this competition from arar
there Is always meat to be obtained from
Scotland, Denmark. Holland and other
nearby places. AS one of the big dealers
recently expressed 1t, when the price OF
beef goes up the telegraph offices near
Smithfield are crowded with men telegraph
ing to all nearby sources of supply to send
on all the meat obtatnable. This meat ar
rives from here, there and everywhere, ana
down goes the price 1t Is regular see
saw"
The big packing concerns OF the united
States have secured their English trade by
the hardest kind OF fighting. They have
chartered whole trains and entire space ~
scores Of vessels to bring down the cost OF
freight They have sold on close margins
and have paid big bonuses for meat shops
and market stalls which carried good
volume of trade with them. They have ar
ranged many sales to English butchers so
that the latter could sell the American meat
as native English and not realize the diner
epce except that it was better than usual
To educate the British buyer into boldly
calling for American meat instead OF pre-"
ferring to eat 1t under misleading name
has exhausted the ingenuity of packing
house experts without success.
Rise in Prices.
Tho great rise in the price Of meat In the
United States, rise due largely to a WORLD
u,de shortage and a poor corn crop, rem
dared useless, for all temporary purposes at
Least this great effort to capture a foreign
msrket Every pound Of meat sold IN Eng
,.rd this summer by Americans could nave
haa, cold at home with less trouble and
Generally at a better profit. The question
naturally arises as to why TINS was uoiis'
Eaced with a fine demand at big prices at
1900 ths packers had the choice between
sTnnlvinp that market, sending their char-
tsred shfps to Europe empty, maintaining
their English offices ana plants lu.e anu see,
ine their hardly won trade drift away 10
n,Sars or of sending enough meat ana cat
Ne 70 england to hold their tdade and keep
.hsir neople occupied even IL the product
was sold at times at a loS'
of course there was no cholce lot Keen
hs;,ess men who were looking to the fu-
t,Ira when beef would again be cheaper IN
tho Tinted States and foreign trade Wouid
",
anoueh live cattle going to England this
summer to occupy, say, one-half the avail
ahIe space in their chartered ships. They
have sent enough meat to keep their Lon
AZ, offices employed and to hold the best of
their trade There has been no profit In
This other than what 1t may mean for the
future. The many sensational statements
made in London as to the operations OF the
aIJeeed .sbeef truse'' taking advantage of the
Rrjtish meat consumer are on a par with
those made by people in the United States
Who refussfto admit the great shortage IN
the meat Supply Tot the world. which has
threatened for several years past and which
is the result of natural and well recognized
Small Margin of Profit.
The great American packing houses are
accustomed to dsing business on a small
margin. The recently published financial
statement of one OF the largest concerns in
Chicago shows a net profit of less than
three-ouarters ofsone per cent in the ham
ding Of two hundred million dollars worth
of what is really q perishable product. This
Ia why Americans have secured the English
trade They furnish better meat at lower
prices, guaranteeta regular supply, handle it
more scientifically and take greater pains
TO give the buyer what he wants than any
other purveyors in the business. They have
made no money here this year In this de-
partment Of their trade. They expect lower
to the development of the supply of feeding
cattle and the more plentiful crop. Then
thew will again trade in England with a
profit, as they will not have lost their hold
upon a market through unwillingness to con-
tinue a temporarily improbable trade
Dead meat Is admitted to England free of
duty and under practically no restrictions
The shipping industry OF the country Is SO
great and all parts of the, world are in
such close and direct touch with the En-
giish markets that rise In price In any
commodity means an almost instantaneous
response from everywhere. OF course this
could not be kept up long. but as a rule
needed somewhere within easy reach OF
! England, and these extra shipments serve