The suburban citizen., 1902-12-13

L n tualS and drink is famil-
4 y lar IN a general way to
Tz~.cs.rEyz most people. The census
kAa~ |EA tells with at least an at.
tempt at cXactncss how much of
that an average American eats
and drinks. 1t is also an interest
ing problem, knowing how much city
like this consumes 20 consider how far
it has provided for anything beyond its
Immediate needs. How does its store
" food compare with the well.stocked
larder Of provldent housewife? How
long would breakfasts and lunche0ns
and dinners go, in their present abund-
ance and variety, if q hostile fleet held
the Hudson, the Sound. and had cut
the bridges across the Harlem; or Ia
more probable contingency il a hurri-
cane, a blizzard, or an earthquake eff
fectually cut the lines OF transportation
IN two and no one could mend them?
Che resources OF a country or of n
city are apt to be underestmated in
considering n question like this. Peo-
pie do not realize until they have tried
it how far little can he made to go on
a half-ration or quarter-ration basis.
The Germans calculated in 1870 that
Paris was able to stand two months
siege. In fact, the city held out for
I43 days.
Very possibly, as many schools of
dietary experts contend. people would
be better off if they did not eat so
much. Nevertheless. in the hasty sur
vey which follows it has been assumed
that people will keep pretty closely 10
their usual habits Of eating and drink
ing, even i'm time Of severe shortage,
and that they will not pause in this
probably misguided course until the
warehouses, which are the city's pan
tries, are empty.
SUPPLIES FROM TaE WEST.
If the trains from the West should
AtOp coming in for three days the retail
butchers would cease to get their nor
NAL supply Of fresh meat; IL the inter.
ruptlon Of traffic continued for week
they would receive practically none at
all. Now and again the city gets to the
very verge of this latter condition.
Dealers said that in the great snow
storm Of 1900 only day or two sep.
arated the city from an actual meat
famine. But the trains came through
in those two days and the danger
passed
The Western packing houses, which
supply the greater part Of the meat
eaten here, figure on keeping about
enough meat ''in sight to supply one
weeks demand. Generally speaking
there is one days supply in the "cool
en-" ready for immediate delivery. An
other days meat is in the cars ut the
yards This means, of course, at Ho'
boken or Jersey City, in many cases
and, strictly speaking, not in New
York at all. While these ears are
being unloaded trains aggregatlng a
third days supply are coming in. The
allowance for two days more is on the
road somewhere between here and Chi.
cagO Kansas City or st. Louis, and at
the packing houses in the West n sixth
days meat Is being loaded on the cars.
Perhaps n tenth of the city's meat
supply. the greater part Of it killed
kosher" for The use Of the orthodox
Jews, comes from the city abattoirs
which face on the East River. They
could keep up their normal output,
such as il is, for day or two after the
Western meat had given out The six
days supply which they have Sin
sight" is made up substantially as fol.
lows; One day on the "hooks," ready to
be carted away to the retail shops, one
day in the killlng-pen, one days supply
Of live cattle being unloaded in the
yards, one days supply of live cattle
on the train coming East, and one
days supply in the Western stock
yards, bought and ready for shipment.
DAYS SHIPMENT OF CATTLE.
Exactly what a day supply amounts
to is a question more difficult to an
swer than the published statistics
would seem to indicate. Figures show
ing domestic receipts and exports to
foreign countries are made up, but
these take no account Of numerous
small shipments, especially of pork,
made from points near by, or for the
trade Of places in this vicinity which
are supplied from the New York mar
kets. One expert Of high authority has
computed that the people of the greater
city and its suburbs eat about 20000,-
900 pounds Of meat every week, Rough
ly speaking. an average days supply
is about 100000 pounds. A days
supply Of pork is more nearly 100000
pounds. Mutton and lamb are not eat
en- to such an extent, but the demand
for these two meats will reach 250,000
pounds day.
II the packing houses, cold storage
rSoms and butcher shops were ran
sacked, therefore, the amount on hand
ut an average time would be some
thing like this: Beef, 3,500000 pounds
pork, 100000 pounds; mutton and
lamb, 100000 pounds, certainly not a
small accumulation. New York has
come to be the greatest veal-eating city
In America, and three or four days
supply at nearly 300 carcasses n day