The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-04
AS WAGES RISE DE-
 MAND FOR MEAT GROWS
Meanwhile Edible Animals Are Steadily Decreasing in Proportion to the Worlds
 Population.
By John F. Hobbs. Editor of 9Th. National rrovison.r"

have only 75, ,ooo 900 now In the menatims
 their joint population has increased fully 25
 per cent. The combined population of Ger
 many, France, Switzerland. Austria- Hungary.
 Denmark. Sweden, Holland and Belgium in
 1875 was l4o,ooo, 900. Ths population of
 those same countries now is 75ooo. GOO.
 Their edible live stock has not increased in
 proportion. While the inhabitants of those
 countries have increased nearly 2S per cent.
 the herds of cattle have only increased
 20 per cont. while the sheep. goats and hogs
 show startling falling of. Hogs are becom-
 ing more and more minor commercial factor.
 The British Isies are in . worse condition. We know of our own meat shortage and of
 the limited supply of live stock for our home
 and foreign trade. The foreign trade in live
 stock and meat products arises out of the European demand created by the scarcity of
 European live stock for food purposes. With . population of 76,ooo 900 we have e7,0oo.- 900 cattle. while Continental Europe. with c
 combined population of I75. ooo. 900. has only 6a. 900. GOO cattle. Nearly o0.ooo. 900 more
 people to feed, and nearly 10000. 900 fewer cattle with which to do iti It is no surprise.
 then, that the American meat factory, begin ming about 1872 on scientific lines. hase gone to the front. pioneered our export trade blazed the road of much of our industrial progress and drawn in its wake the development of our live stock and cold storage interests, upon which 1t depended for it's renewal of energy and impetus for . still further move ahead. Thirty years ago the fresh beef of the Ameri- can packing plants entered the English mark ct and beat the frozen mutton of Australia eight years. for the first shipment from the antipodes was not landed until i8So
 The South American meat trade began sev.
 erai years later still. The progress of the for eign trade is best seen in Great Britalns i'm ports of our factory products. In 1874 the United Kingdom bought 800, 900. 900 pounds of foreign meats, and 1000 900. GOO pounds AAn naAa l..s h. Na.xs At~k Ntr British population had increased about 30 per cent. while the home hocks and herds had decreased The new people had to be fed The food was imported.
 While our population has been bounding ahead by the double impetus of the natural through the immigration office. this country has been forced to feed all ct home. and. al the same time. meet the foreign demand foi our stuffs which their own scant supplies make necessary. The effect of all this has been to retard the increase in our home live stock The herds and focks are larger than they
 were, but in a much smaller ratio to the in
 crease of population.
 The seeming vandalism in the slaughter oi
 edible animals In this country for meats and provisions may be seen from the following statistics. the data for which were gathered with much care and labor: There are nearly twelve hundred public and private abattoiri and packing houses in this country engaged | in the killing of animals for human food and
 the packing Of provisions. Besides these fac. tories. there are hundreds of thousands ei formers and butchers. who Kill few hogs sheep and cattle each year, either for family use or for sale. The method of estimating this slaughter. as well as that of the ofhcia kill, was to find out how many hides, skins and pelts were stripped from edible animals 1 in twelve month. Estimating in this way
 there were killed In the United States in l9oc nearly ,0oo 900 cattle and calves. 4l ooo.- | 900 hogs and about A2. COG. 900 sheep, equal. l ling about 5000. .ooo. 900 pounds of beef 6,ooo. 900, 900 pounds of pork and 2, ooo. ooo.- 900 pounds of mutton or l6,ooo. 900 ooo pounds of fresh meats in all To this mus, be added the edible portions of the by-pro- ducts of the animals. It means 2Io pounds oi | fresh meat for every man, woman and child | in the land. The bill of fare however, in the
 United States has fsh. dairy products game and the increment of the poultry yard. The annual output of eggs and poultry alone
 amounts to about $500. 900, 900 in value.