New-York tribune., 1910-01-22
EXTEND BOYCOTT
act IN MANY CITIES.
Union Men Not Alone In Bar
ring Meat.


sumed national importance to-day. Coin
eidently came annonuncements from Mil
waukee and Cleveland that the price OF
meat had dropped. In Milwaukee two re-
tail butchers quoted porterhouse and sir
loin steak at 10 cents pound and other
meats In proportion. The wholesale price
of beef fell off Is cents 100 pounds in
Cleveland
Dispatches from St. Louis. Baltimore.
Kansas City. Omaha. Memphis. Atlanta
Pittsburg. Ell Paso and other cities told
OF the rapid growth of the meat strike
The heads OF the leading packing houses
of Kansas City and Chicago refused to
discuss the effect of The movement on their
business.
From q few places word comes that the
boycott does not find favor even among
union men Toledo and Minneapolis report
that 1t is unlikely that the Cleveland plan
will find favor there. Union men. it is said.
fear that the fast would prove two-edged
weapon.
That the boycott is not entirely union
movement was proved by report from
Des Moines. Iowa, that the meat pledge
had been signed by scores of men and
women who agree to eat no meat for thirty
days. although labor unions have not as
yet taken any official notice of the crusade.
So far there has been no concerted move
ment of local labor organizations and other
bodies to stop eating meat. although the
Chicago Federation of Labor plans boy
cott There appears to be willingness 10
join in the movement when 1t is launched,
and many clubwomen have expressed
themselves I'm favor of such action
Tags bearing the inscription mo Meat for
Mine Until March J. are being worn by
a few.
In Tincennes. Ind, to-day go employees
OF a foundry voted to buy no meat Tor
sixty days. Labor leaders in Lafayette
and Fort Wayne have expressed them
selves as opposed to the boycott Indian
apolis meat dealers blame the farmers for
the high prices.
Cleveland Jan. 21-From an idle Jest in
the lunchreom of a large factory here last
week the Cleveland strike against the eat
ing OF meat has grown to huge proportions
One hundred thousand persons in Cleveland
have pledged themselves TO abstain
from meat eating for thirty days. Practi-
cally every minor city in Ohio has taken .
up the movement.
The Ohio Legislature is the only state
body SO far to take up the question: A
will open its session next week.
In Canton E E. Beard. a retail meat
dealer, declares that the representatives of
four great packing houses have served no.
tice that If the price is cut in Ohio as a
result of the agitation, the packers will
deal in other states. No similar threat is
reported in Cleveland
Since the inception OF the s@ike beef.
lamb and pork have dropped in price, but
further reduction is modified by the fact
that farmers have stopped their shipments
into town. Beef declined 10 cents hun
dred pounds wholesale yesterday, and lamb
10 cents to-day.
Ten thousand householders are reported
to have signed petitions against the eating
of eggs until the price has dropped from 4S
cents dozen, retail, to % cents
Retail butchers have been compelled to
cut down their working forces from one-third
TO one-half, and several have now retired
from business. The City Council will take
up the question of high prices.
Pittsburg, Jan. 2l-The meat boycott by
consumers that is spreading over the coun-
try has a firm foothold here. To-day petit
tions were spread broadcast pledging absti-
nence from meat for thirty days. beginning
next Tuesday. Hundreds of householders
are signing. and the Iron City Trades
Council, which has nnety-two thousand
members is awaiting the word from leaders
before putting into effect resolutions adopt
ed last night binding the members to join
the boycott. From all towns in Western
Pennsylvania Eastern Ohio and West Nir-
ginia come reports of like crusades.
Just before closing hour tonight butchers
who have stalls in the Diamond Market.
the central market house here. held a
meeting to discuss the boycott. They joined
in welcoming a strict boycott, in the hope
that it would force downward the price Of
meat on the hoof. Several vigorous speeches
were made. and G. p. Smith, one of the
leaders, claimed that whiskey was the real
cause OF high prices. He said:
1T is the farmers fault that meat, and
principally pork. is as high as it is. and
the people can blame whiskey. The farmer
will not raise hogs. which he has to fatten
with corn, when he can sell his corn to the
distilerfes for a much greater profit than
he could realize by putting II into his hogs
1t naturally follows that the demand for
pork becomes greater and the supply less
hence the advanced prices"
Thomas Toomey out of work. VINO was
arrested for stealing sl2 worth of meat
from butchers wagon. will probably be
released from his cell through the crusade
OF the boycott leaders. When he was Wis
tied In his cell to-day he said:
MY children must have meat l have
six children. ! am not going to let them
starve. l cannot buy meat, but can get it,"
The effect Of the boycott, as the union
men figure allowing one pound of meat to
each person, would mean that $4,000 pounds
less meat will be eaten each day than has
been the case. In the thirty days the figure
would be 13,500o00 pounds. Figuring the
price Of meat at 15 cents a pound, the loss
TO dealers in thirty days would be s. OPS OOO
Lee S. Smith, president of the Pittsburg
Chamber Of Commerce. said to-day:
This current agitation may produce the
economical Moses who will lead to the
Promised Land Of less feverish haste to
make objectionable profit upon traffic in
the necessities of life"