Waterbury Democrat., 1902-08-01

The communication published in yesterdays Democrat signed "A. E.. B." attracted some attention and prompted many to remark that 1t would be mighty strong argument in favor of the trusts were it not for the fact that what the author of 1t claims to be true can be so easily disproved. A. D. B. who boasts that he is a socialist, appears to be afraid that people will continue to buy meats from the trusts and pronounces the suggestion that we do a little beef raising and butchering here in Con- necticut retrogation. This, so far as a Democrat reporter has been able to learn, is the doctrine of the trusts and the thing has worked so well that people who are in a position to pro- duce enough to maintain themselves refuse to do it lest some one should call them back numbers so that really almost everyone of us has been train ed In the interest of the trusts. The following is few comments made on "A. E. B's" communication by one of Waterbury's retired butchers:
 T don't know who "A. 10. B." is but I think wouldn't be far out of the way if I should say that he is someone in the employ of the meat trusts. I was in the butchering busi- ness in Waterbury when we bought our beef on the leg and dressed it our selves or had it done by somebody else, who didn't live in Chicago. Tn those days we bought most of our stock in this state and it is very amusing to me who knows something about the farm land of Connecticut to hear man re- fer to stone and sand hills as if the term was applicable to the whole state. I should like to ask your cor respondent how much he knows about the farming districts of Connecticut. No man who has had q glimpse of Litchfield, Washington, Roxbury, Woodbury, South Britain, Middlebury, Watertown and other places would have made such a blunder as to haz- ard the statement that Connecticut is not good beef raising state and that it's stone walls and sand hills are what made the trust a reality. l want to inform this gentleman that he is entirely mistaken. I was in the meat business when the trust started to do business here and many years before so ought to know something about it.
 When the trust agents first ap- peared they were willing to accept any terms in order to get our trade. Meat that they charge nine aud half and ten cents pound for now twas delivered at your market for six and q half and this, was kept up until the cattle raising business in Connecticut was practically killed. Then the prices commenced to creep upward until fi- nally they got to a point where they cannot go much higher if the poor man wants to eat any meat During the years that the farmers competed with the trusts meat was on an aver age of five cents a pound cheaper than it is to-day. Tn those days some of us made an effort to induce local butchers to buy of the farmers and many did, but enough could not be got to hang together to save the farm CTS from the corporations and in the long run the native stock disappeared altogether. 1t was an Interesting fight. The farmers worried the trusts for several years, but after the Chi cago people got to be master of the situation it didn't take them long to get their money back. When the farmers were short in beef the trusts used to run up prices temporarily, but