The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-25
PRICES STUMBLING
AND BEEF BARONS
ARE FRIGHTENED
Meat Boycott Is Having
Effect in Many
Cities.
ENTIRE COUNTRY
TAKES UP FIGHT
This Is Becoming Nation Of Veg
ctarians as Indignant Protest
Against Sky-High Cost of ].
Living-Thousands Join
Campaign to Fight
the Trusts.

New York, January 24.-The ocean.
to-ocean protest against the steady
rise in the price OF living, as express.
cd In the prices of food staples which
are controlled by great combination,
OF capital. has begun to have it's effect
In national and local markets. Adj
in the newspapers to-day
announced that one great milk con-
cern. the Alexander Campbell Conn
pany. of Brooklyn. will cut the price
OF milk from . cents to 8 cents on
February 1.
The widespread agitation against
the high price of meat made itself
felt in Chicago to-day, when pork de-
.clined from 81 1-2 to az IL cents from,
Saturdays closing figures. Other pro-
ducts also declined. but to less de.
gree. Pork for January broke from
s20.9o-the closing quotation OF Sat-
.urday-to S2o121-2 within the first
hour of trading. The May option sold
off from 32125 to s20.50. and the July
delivery from 321.25 to s2o57I-z.
Tho boycott against, meat as a blow
at the increased cost of living began
In earnest in Cleveland, o.. to-day. 1t
is estimated that fully $4,000 persons
in that city have either stopped the
use of meat entirely or cut down ma
terially on their allowances.
Petitions asking Congress to irnpose
an export duty upon meat were put
into circulation to-day. Other petit
tions asking the Ohio Legislature to
limit the period of lawful cold stor-
age to thirty days will he circulated
this week.
The " wholcsale price of baefs dropped
L..
and there was 20-cent reduction on
pigs.
( A big consignment of meat. unsaIa-
bic in Cleveland. owing to the great
meat strike there. was sent to Pitts
burg last night, where the retailers
refused to take 1t over at the pre-
vailing prices, and all cuts We're re-
duced 4 and cents or more pound
in Pittsburg.
Philadelphia reported cut of
cents pound in the retail prices OF
pork, and eggs were sold for a cent
dozen less than for the last two weeks.
Butter dropped 2 cents pound.
Spreading Rapidly.
The meat boycott movement In the
meantime Is spreading rapidly in the
smaller cities In this section. Or
ganized strikes, mostly on the part OF
labor unions, have been started In
Poughkeepsie. Holyoke. Mass. and
Pawtucket, r. I. All over the coun-
try. however. pastors denounced hlsi.
prices from their pulpits, and urged
their congregations to join the popu-
lar uprising
Among tho new points to join the
are Minneapolis and Duluth.
Los Angeles, Spokane, BellinEham.
Wash, Detroit, Grand Rapids. Kala-
mazoo. Macon. Augusta, Ga; Hagers-
town and other Maryland cities, Lin
coin. Neb.: Terre Haute. Norfolk. Va:
Nashville, Tenn. and Morgantown, w.
Va.
The Longshoremen's Union Protec-
tive Association. with 4500 members,
probably within a few days. will join
the boycott in this city. It's executive
committee yesterday adopted reso-
luton authorizing the appointment Of
a committee to decide on the best
means Of cooperating with those who
are lighting high prices.
Butchers in Brooklyn say the meat
boycott is assuming large proportions
there. Saturday night the usual crowd
of buyers was missing from Fultont
Smith and adjoining streets.
In Orange, N. J.. officers of tho
Building Trades Council announced
yesterday that they favored the anti
meat crusade. and n circular was is-S
sued to-day. requesting every member
of the council to refrain from the use /,
Of meat for thirty days.
resolution was adopted last night
by the executive committee OF the
Longshoremen's Union Protective AS
ISOLATION committing Its $500 members
to the support OF the country-wide agi-
tation against the high prices OF
food.
Pledges to abstain from meat and
other high priced foodstuffs were Sign
ed In many parts of New York to-day.
and plans for organized movements
are beginning to take shape. a slight
reduction In the price OF meat is eS-
pected to be made Immediately by re-
taIlers In recognition of the gravity
OF the outlook.
Grand Jury Takes Hold.
E What has inspired the agitators with
enthusiasm. however. is an inyestiga-
tion forthwith by the grand fury into
local conditions, and a special inves-5
tigation by District Attorney Whitman
into the part played by cold storage!
plants in maintaining excrbitant
prices.
Mr. Whitman said to-day that he
had been told that the price of meat
seemed to rise in proportion to the ino
crease In cold storage plants. Ono
Wholesale dealer told him IL a law
were passed forcing cold storage goods
on the market within a prescribed
time there would be a drop In price
amounting to from a5 to so per cent.
In meats, poultry. fish, eggs. fruits
many vegetables aud other foods,
z There Is now pending In the Legist
lature a bill making Ii misdemeanor
to sell goods kept moro than sixty
days i'm cold storage. Itfis contended
that the cold storage is the ieasoe's
greatest ally. He can through ".
-torca up prices by reducing the gppolx.