Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-17
A CHANGE IN PRICES NOTEBOOK NOT SEEN
Nothing Meat inspection Law Real Reporter Not Like the One
So to Cause 1t. Represented on the Stage.
LOCAL BUTCHER TALKS DEPENDS ON HIS MEMORY
Lavatoy Planned for the Alb Place for the interviewer
attoir Than Washington
SUPPOSED TRUST PLANS VARIOUS WAYS OF WORKING
the
Hoof and Then Put Up the Capitol at
Purcha
A LOCAL BUTCHER TALKS
New Lavatory Planned for the Alb
attoir.
SUPPOSED BEEF TRUST PLANS
Knock Down Price of Meat on the
Hoof and Then Put It UP
on Purchasers.


law that ought to cause 6 variation in the
price of meat If man has been running
his business on the level and keeping his
place clean" said Andrew Loeffier of the
by a Star reporter today about the prob
n good thing for us because 1t will make
able effect of the new law. II see there
was a scare story printed in local paper
today, predicting a general rise in the
price of meat. Now, there may be a gen.
eral rise, but l say for our firm that
we wSR not meet it. The inspection law is
a good thing for use because it will make
everybody do what we have been doing all
along. good meat and put it up under
decent conditions.
80 far as our local sausage and smoked
meat business is concerned, it Is not going
10 affect us at all. If the government in
spectors can get the place any cleaner or
make the men keep themselves any cleaner
than my mother does this minute, l would
like to see them do it. You know" he added
with laugh. "she is the president of the
company, and she looks after the house
keeping of the factory just as she does
after her own housekeeping, and, We
have never used any bad meat or kept a
sloppy insanitary place. it is not going to
make any difference to us how much 1t is
inspected. In fact the more it is inspected
the better we will like it.
Will Not Put in Laundries.
dries. that will not be done either at our
sausage plant or out at the abattoir, in
which our firm has third interest. 1 do
not like the idea of running a laundry
In connection with Il meat business. The
men will have to keep clean, of course a 8
they have always done. but they can have
their washing done at home or send it to
an outside laundry, just as they please.
do not want any laundry run in connection
with the meat business.
we are going to some expense out at
the abattoir. but we would have done that
anyway. You know the abattoir is situated
at Benning. 1t is inside the District line,
but the three firms that own it, ours, the
n. Auth Company and T. T. Keane, have
always had the District inspection there.
and l think we were the only people who
ever did have ii. Now there will be
United States inspector there, but beyond
the fact that We will have to furnish him
office | do not see that it is going to
make any difference to us.
What we are spending a good deal of
money on is a lavatory for the men better
than the one We had; The lavatory has
always been in a small brick building sep
arated from the main house. But we are
getting bids now on new house, for which
we have had the plans drawn. that will be
up the line along the edge of the cattle
pens There will be two sections of the
building, for the white and colored hands.
and there will be about as swell showers
and porcelain wash stands and that sort of
thing as you would find in a good club.
1t will cost about $500 or $4,000 to
make this Improvement, and 1t is thing
we would have eventually wanted to dc
anyhow This row about sanitary meat
may have hurried the directors along a lit
tie in making the change, but think ii is
money well invested
Change in Prices.
Now is the general question of change
in prices. There may be fluctuations, but
that is happening right along, inspection or
no inspection. The whole matter is gov
erned by the price of hogs and cattle on the
hoof. and IL there is a general rise in this
price, we will have to meet that rise what
ever 1t is. There is little enough profit in
the sausage and smoked meat business now
IL you do the right thing by your customers
and handle only good stuff. But the price
of meat goes up and down a cent or half a
cent every day almost, according to the
supply the market. l do not believe
there will be any material change In the
price of live meat as the result of the new
law. l think 1t will vary right along, as 1t
has been in the habit of doing, but that is
not going to affect the consumer to any
extent"
The general situation seems to be about
as Mr.. Loeffier outlined 1t. The advent Of
the inspection law October ! will not
make any essential change in the methods
or the expenses of the firms that have
been doing the right thing anyhow The
1HCdbo Whose pants ana whose
methods were about bad as could be
imagined, have been put to lot of ex-
pense in cleaning up and getting ready to
meet the demands of the inspection law
But 1t Is practical certainty that they
Will take the expense out of both the
cattle seller and the consumer, twice over
That is the way of the beef trust. The
trust fixes the prices In the Washington
market to very large extent They are
the biggest sellers. and they can name the
price OF meat and put 1t either up or down.
The fact Is, however. that the local butch
ers are not obliged to follow them II the
change is unreasonable. If. as the result
OF the new inspection law, the beef trust
KNOCKS down on the price they are paying
for cattle. as it is generally understood
they intend to do and then put the price of
meat up 10 per cent In Washington on the
plea that they have to. owing to the ad-
ditional expenses of inspection, there is no
need for the local meat firms to follow
their example.
Stick to Local Dealers.
AS one of the dealers said to a Star man,
IF we can sell meat at a fair profit for IS
cents. there is reason for our charging
20 merely because the Chicago firms do,
and will not do it, But If any local dealer
thinks 1t is good business to squeeze the
consumer and run up the retail price of
meat simply because there are other firms
doing 1t, he is welcome to. I don't think
1t is good business, and 1 know a good
many other dealers who look at 1t the same
way. Chicago can fix the minimum price of
meat here II the people will run around and
patronize them simply because they are cut
ting prices. But they cannot do II IL the
local firms want to give their customers a
square deal. and If the customers have the
sense TO stay with the local dealers. You
can be certain that the beef trust is going
10 come back and make up in high prices at
some future time whatever they drop IL
they are cutting prices to hurt the local
trade.
1T may take the public some time to learn
this, but II is true as the gospel and IL you
have decent dealer who is handling Clearly
killed local meats. it will be a mighty good
thing to stick to him if he does not raise the
price on you now. We are going to get q
severe test of moral fiber in a few weeks
The Chicago firms going TO jockey
prices all around on the pretext of the new
Inspection law. But il you have a good
local butcher, you had better stick to him,
as you will find it cheaper in the end