Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-06-22
Wholesalers Say There Is Not
Enough Cattle 10 Meet Demands.
SEC. WILSON TALKS ON SUBJECT
He Explana the Recent Increases In
Prices and Says There May Be
Further Advances Good Wages
Mean a Good Table.

tary of Agriculture Wilson today
said to II correspondent that the re-
cent increase in the price of all
meats was entirely natural, and, he
added, that further increase in
prices would not be surprising He
believes that the rise is due solely
To the law of supply and demand. The
American people are eating more
meat and the farmers are not raising
rs many cattle as formerly. Ameri-
can prosperity is at the bottom of the
situation.
Every housewife has noticed that
the price of meats is higher today
that ii was ever before. Here are
some prices of meats:
Lamb chops. 80 cents pound
Sirloin> steak % CENTS II pound.
portcrhouso steak. q cents a
Round steak, 20 cc..ts pound
Leg of lamb. "a cents per pound.
Veal ch2,s, u cents per pound.
P' .fhouse roast. 26 cents per
" And.
Pet roast, is to 20 cents per pound
These are average figures. Some
housewives may be paying less: some
may be paving more. But those who
are paying more today have the cou-
ISOLATION that those who are paying
less will soon be paying more.
Secretary Wilson. when asked about
these startling figures, said that he
had not made any investigation, but
that lie regarded the increase in price
us entirely natural
''Thc American people are eating
moro meat today than ever before in
their lives he said That French
king who buasted that his country
was so prosperous that his humblest
subject had Il fowl in the pot every
Sunday. would cut q small figure in
America today
Good Wages and Good Table.
THE American nottingham has
meat every day. and as matter OF
fact mostt of them have meat for
breakfast and for dinner. And the
! American workingman wants the best
meat IN the market, too. He Is
earning today better wages than he
ever earned before in all his life.
Skilled workmcn are earning easily
$500 day, and unskilled labor gets
| from $l.50 to $500 day. Getting
jgood wages, he wants good table.
Why" said the secretary, "a man
digging Il sewer today Is better fed
than Queen Elizabeth in all her glory
Naturally, then. the prices of meat
have gone up just rs the prices of
ever ything else have gone up and
will go higher.
| Then, too. there are hundreds of
thousands of more mouths to feed in
| NO. n
there were more than million immi-
grants. This year. am told by tho
secretary of commerce, that there
VIII he hundreds Of thousands more
Immigrants than there were last
year. On one day at Ellis Island
| The arrivals of immigrants, were more
Than 10000. All these people soon
find work. Meat was luxury to
them nj home. Meat once week
was the best they ever knew. Now In
America making money, and making
more money, too, than they ever
dreamed of making at home, they
want to live well, and so they cit
meat. Besides, you must remember
That men who work require meat to
sustain their strength.
! Now, with all this constantly in.
creasihg demand for meat. the price
lis going up because thhre is not an
increase in the supply of cattle in
proportion to the Increased demand
There Is an enormous export trade.
which cuts great hole into the sun.
Ply Last year we sent abroad more
Than $323.000000 worth of animals
meats and animal products.
The Farms and p,,aac
Tho farms and ranges are not In.
creasing their supply of cattle pro.
portionately.
u costs more to raise cattle now.
The price of farm labor has risen
enormously. The great commercial
prosperity of this country has drawn
every available farmer boy and farm
hand to the cities to work. In ON.
factories, in our shops and in all
me other many forms af industrial
actlVity. a farmer Is now compelled
10 Dhv wages to his farm hands that
prcportionately are just as high MS
are ne wages that builders and Other
empowers pay in the cities. Tho
p'Icc oi grain has gone IN. and tho
turner can make more money rails.
ing grain, or hay. or other crops that
ne can harvest with labor-savinr ma.
chihcry, than he can in raising and
ial,chlng cattle for the market.
POSSIBLY. too. not so much cattle
reaches the markets now because
.ne rigid inspection of cattle under
'he Meat Inspection law makes n
usoieSs 10 send to the markets cat.
mat might formerly. perhaps.
n,'I passed At all events the sun.
pW mas not increased as much as it
The figures of the Bureau of Sta.
Issues OF the Treasury Department
iully bear out this statement of Sec.
rotary Wilson's. The comparison of
me weekly rcceiDts of cattle at Chi.