The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-18
PRICES ON MEAT
HAVE ADVANCED
TWO CENTS MORE A POUND,
on A CHOICE CUT AS RESULT OF
PACKING HOUSE STRIKE.

Only About Three Days supply OF
Meat in savannah. and II Is Not
known if More Is Coming-Native
Cattle Will HIVE to he Depended
on Entirely After Few Days, I'm
less Strike Is SettIed-PIenty OF
Thought, but Not of Very Good
Quality.
A choice cut of beef win this morning
cost the purchaser at a majority, if
not at all. of the markets in the city,
two cents more a pound than the same
cut sold for Saturday.
The advance will be general. it is
thought, though there has been no
agreement among the butchers. The
advance on the lower grades of meat
will not be so great. and in some cases
no advances at all will be made, ex-
cept on the choice cuts.
There are only about three carloads
of beef in the city, so far as can be
ascertained, and this will be rapidly
consumed. There are usually fifty or
fifty-five beeves in a car, making to-
tai of something over $50 on hand. The
supply will last about three days, it is
thought. Perhaps it will last a little
longer with the advance in price, as
people Immediately begin using less
meat, as soon as there is any advance.
the dealers say.
Butchers Are in Doubt.
After Wednesday. unless more cars
arrive, the butchers will have to de-
pend entirely on native cattle for their
beef supply. There is some doubt as
to whether the packing houses will be
able to get any more meat here with
in the next few days. and some of the
butchers are undecided whether to be-
gin buying up cattle or to rely on the
packers for their supply.
Conrad Winkler who has a place in
the city market, says he will advance
his prices on choice cuts cents a
pound this morning. Mr.. Winkler says
he does not know what the other
butchers are going to do, but feels sat
isfied that there will be a general ad-
vance on first class grades.
Il won't advance the price on other
grades yet" said Mr.. Winkler. "You
know the butchers have no agreement
as to prices. There is bound to be an
advance. though.
There are only three or four car
loads of meat in the city. and as soon
as that gives out, we will have to de-
pend entirely on the native cattle.
don't think there will be any trouble
in getting enough cattle to supply the
demand, but the meat will not be as
good quality as the Western meat.
There will be an advance this morn
ing, 1 think, by all the dealers handling
first grade goods, and / suppose those
handling only the second grade meats
will also advance"
r. l.. Fox also announced that there
would be an advance of 2 cents q
pound on the better grades of meat
He says he understands there are only
about three carloads of beef in the city
though the packing houses will not
let it be known the exact condition of
affairs.
Packing House Men Quiet.
IF we knew just how much meat
there was here" said Mr. Fox, 1--WE
could go ahead and prepare for the
shortage when it gives out by getting
native cattle. But we can't tell how
much the packing houses have on
hand"
Mr.. Fox said he thought the local
cattle would be found to be in bad
condition, owing to the dry summer.
great deal of cattle has been killed,
he says. The class of cattle that can
be secured here now is not near so
good as formerly, Mr.. Fox thinks. He
says during the railroad strike of 1894
he alone handled more native cattle in
Savannah than all the dealers in the
city are handling now.