Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-05-15


II the beef trust thought it could force
the people of the United States to pay any
price for its products 1t desired to name it
must have been pretty thoroughly dis
abused of the idea by this time. Tho at
tempt of the beef barons to extort money
from the people has set in motion a variety
of influences which will continue to work
permanently no matter how shrewdly the
packers may seek to shape public opinion
hereafter, or how low they may force
prices of meat products.
Under the influence Of the operation of
these forces combined, it is stated that
the consumption Of beef in the United
States has diminished fully one-third since
the crusade against the beef trust began,
and the movement may be said to have
only fairly begun. When one considers
the enormous quantity of beef which the
American people had come to consume
previous to the recent elevation of prices
to an altitude to which many patrons alb
solutely refused to climb, the extent OF
the loss the packing houses must be suf-
fering can be partially realized.
In the first place the beef combination
has appealed to the pocket of tho Ameri-
can. which in the great majority Of cases
| is his most vulnerable point. Working
through this avenue 1t has forced him to
devise substitutes for beef. He will not
starve himself or his family, but he has
already begun to learn how he can supply
the physical needs Of himself and family
without beef, and when the lesson Is once
learned, he will never fully relapse into his
former condition Of almost helpless depend
encc upon the beef combination. Sooner
or later the beef barons will fully realize
the extent and character of this new force
they have set in motion and appreciate the
Iegregious blunder they have perpetrated
against their own interests.
Perhaps the most serious and damaging
Influence which the beef combination has
set in motion through its attempted extor-
ticn, however. is the movement for the
consumption of less meat of any kind II
might surprise some investigators to find
how large a proportion Of the people of the
Northern part OF tho United States eat
meat three times a day in some form or
another. Physicians have urged in many
instances that their patients were in the
habit Of eating too much meat, and now
that the beef barons have enforced the at
tention Of the whole people to this subject
in the most emphatic manner possible. the
chances are that a host OF people will dis
cover that their health has been improN cd
by eating meat not over once q day. II
this proves to be the case. the beef trust
will suffer untold loss for nothing gains so
, strong hold upon the American people as
| a fad.
: Another influence which the beef trust
has set in operation, and one which will
he hailed by the farmers of Vermont as
well as of other Eastern States is the di-
rectins Of attention Of consumers Of meat
products TO the possibilities of production
possessed by our own soil. People in his
section of the country had reached point
where they almost believed 1t to he COM
mercial impossibiity to raise meat produc
I ing animals to any extent, and ii must be
admitted that the utter Indifference of Tho
purchasing public had discouraging tend
ency so far as our farmers were concerned
L Residents simply ordered their meat prod
ucts in n way most convenient and, az they
supposed. most economical for themselves
and when the Vermont farmer appeared II
market with any kind of meat for SALE III
found himself frozen out in not few in
= stances by the retail men who in turn wer
in the hands of the beef trust A few les
sons of this character soon served to con
vince a large part Of our farmers that |
. was useless to try to compete In our loca
markets with the beef trust Now, how
y ever. both the retail dealers and the con
. sumers of meat products arc thoroughly
II alive to the desirability Of encouraging tn
d home production OF meat, and the presen
lesson is not likely to be soon forgotten,
u This leads to the consideration of an
- other influence against which the beef trus
&C will be forced hereafter to contend. TIL
: trust has educated consumers as we'll a
Eastern farmers to appreciate the powe
'' as well as tho desirability of combinatio
to protect and promote their own interest.
In the not distant future. there will lie
combination OF some character in the Eas
!, that will show itself fully able to cop
n. WITH the beer combination or the Yves
=, and it will DO able to do this because n
10 long as 1t Is ruled by moderation and fail
10 ness it will be backed by popular syn
:. patty. Whether this combination will en-
brace farmers and retail dealers and cor
-. sumers, does not as yet appear clear, b,
. there will be some union of force now tn,
nc the value Of combination has been 80 tho
G oushly demonstrated, ana it may be bacI
," ed by many millions OF capitol.
The beef trust has emily itself to blan
" for setting In molten thsso various force
It might hsvs millssd TIN public indsnnit
rs ly, II 1t HAD been satsfsd with the larl
!" profits It wss snjoyinA but n Rcuesnssd I
consult wisdom axA Vushs1 0ae public b
- ycnd sndursnce. The lsyscn Of It all
that no man or combination Of men ca
aa afford TO abuse poYer for sooner or Isl,