Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-19
LONDON FEARS
BEEF COMBINE
ALARMED BY RISE OF SOUTH
AMERICAN BUSINESS
Morning Post Points Out Spread of
Octopus as Endangering British
Packing lndustry-No REM
edy Suggested

LONDON, Sept. 1S-rhe Morning
Post says:
Questions asked by Mr.. Bowerman
in parliament recently as to the
operations of the American beef trust
indicate that the menace to Smith
field market and consequently to all
the provincial markets in the United
Kingdom is in no danger of diminishing
1t is true that the supply of meat from
tho United States is falling off, but 1t
must not be imagined that the trust
is weakening in its endeavors to cap
ture the English market or that It's
operations are becoming less.
The fact is that only the sphere OF
operations is changing. In the United
States the center of gravity of popu-
lation is moving westward at the rate
of five miles a year. Land which was
held for growing purposes is abb
sorbed in urban areas; land on which
cattle were raised is given over to
corn, and thus while the population Is
increasing in number the cattle raised
are becoming fewer. and on these TeWer
beasts a greater demand is made for
home consumption, and still fewer are
available for export purposes.
In the year 1904 the United States
sent us 390,672 live cattle, and in 1908
only 259 700, which, even allowing for
local influences on food and breeding,
is q considerable drop. In the former
year we received about 2,6S5,000 nun
dredweight Of chilled and frozen beer
from the states; last year the quantity
was as low as ,432,142 hundredweight.
These figures, Of which many more
might be quoted, show that the Beer
Trust must look for supplies outside
the borders of its own country. 1t has
found the happy hunting ground IN
South America, where its enormou
wealth and it's ruthless trade methods
-F.VI IL 20 TNWa
easy-going Estancieros of the southern
continent. In 1884 Argentina sent only
500 hundredweight of chilled and frozen
beef to us; FIVE years ago the amount
was 9S7, ,0S4 hundredweight, and in 1908
the enormous total of S07 hundred
weight.
South America Exploited
It may not be true that the new
capital, amounting to several million
dollars, raised a short time ago by the
Armour company, one of the principal
firms of the trust, was intended solely
for the exploitation of Argentina, but
no one knowing the Beef Trust methods
can doubt that a portion of the capi-
tai will be so spent.
They have no tender feelings for the
English trader. As one witness said
to the departmental committee on
combinations in the meat trade. "Busi-
ness is business all the way, and we
are not in business for love-"
At the present time the trust has
two huge establishments in South
America, where the animals are
slaughtered, dressed and prepared
ready for expectation to this and other
countries. Two years ago, as was
pointed out In the committees report,
Messrs. Swift & Co. bought out one
of the largest Argentine companies, the
La Plata, and still more recently the
La Blanca was purchased.
The last deal was made by the Ma
tional Packing company and supplies
sent to the United Kingdom are divided
for sale between the Armour, Swift and
Morris companies.
The tendency, therefore, Is for the
Beef Trust gradually to assume con-
troll over the whole Argentine supply,
and in such a position, commanding
the whole of the imported live cattle
and the chilled and frozen beef, they
would, as the committee suggested,
''even be able to exercise a determin-
ing influence on beef throughout the
country"