New-York tribune., 1910-01-26
SMALL NEAT DROP
CIT By WHOLES4LERS
Retailers Not Yet Ready to
Comment on Boycott.

Wholesale meat prices. In general. de-
cline6 slightly yesterday. IL was said at the
Offices OF Swift & Co. Whether the dealers
believe il TO be result of the meat bov-
oott none Of the officers would say. The
retail meat trade was light. because OF the
weather. some Of the dealers said and
prices were about the same as on Monday.
except that pork was reduced H. cents q
pound The wholesale reduction. II was
said, would not affect retail prices until TO-
dsv or tomorrow Eggs fell one cent a
dozen from Mondays prices
Al official of one or the great meat
houses said last night:
The agitation against the use of meat
nas hurt the trade very seriously already
There has been II general a cut of about
q per cent from the prices which pre-
vailed al the close of last week Pork
lo;n. which sold al l. cents q pound on
SATURDAY.. was at Il cents and u cents TO-
DAY Beef selling at from ss TO 80 hun
dred pounds on Saturday was quoted to-
day a. s. TO Sc Il viii take a day or two
for those prices 10 affect the retail con-
sumer proba bly,.
TIE retailers complain 10 us that their
trade mas dropped. Saturday It fell OF
as m--h as - or so per cent from the
usual Saturday figures in many shops
Monday and to-day the trade was very
small. indeed.
I tElnk on the whole the dealers will be
Eisd 70 see The boycott take effect. We
don't Ike high prices; We shall be glad 10
So them 20 down It is q mistake to sup
pose. as has been repeatedly said by sensa-
ronal tnvesugarors. that there is no real
shortage OF meat al present: that the big
concerns have enormous quantities in stor-
age. Al the present tine the supply in the
storage houses is low OF beef pork and
mutton there Is practically none in storage
q all
TIE retailers are not making light of the
boycott by any means. The men IN the
shops W-o see the meat go over the counter
and hear what their customers have TO say
sss rocks ahead. The talk viii do no good
ro rhs business, they say. ". b Nauss.
head q g large retail house with several
branches, said:
AS Yet We have seen no falling of in
r-aoe. Business to-day is light, but our
t1ade i very sensitive 10 the weather Our
n1f-of-Iowu and suburban curtor1ers.-zur
curse. dont come near Us on z day like
this when they can patronize their home
dealers. L VIII take g week TO see whether
ne strike Is taking hold. Undoubtedly II
XII have an effect sooner or later: any such
agitation does Undoubtedly. too, II will
affect rle price Any. reduction. however
viii not appear for several days. probably
TO- fer z week. The supply is about as
usual. and I have not heard of any pro
posed reductions in the amount brought TO
Jls city"
The Mutual Milk and Cream Company an
ncUncec reduction in the price of bottled
mia from nine cents 10 eight cents a
Quart beginning January 81 Al the Offices
of Ire Borden Condensed Milk Company and
th@ Sheffield Farms -Slawson- Decker Com
ps-v + was said that no reduction was be-
'ng contemplated.
H3sh prices don't help Us in our busi-
nsss. or the wholesalers IN other lines"
Julius . AIahr, president OF the Mercantile
Exchange. said High prices curtail the
consumption very seriously What we want
is low prices and q reasona bic margin of
pro1l- At low prices We can feed every
boy ard carry q large business. There is
a. trust in butter or eggs.
The high prices just now are due prin-
clpally 70 the awful weather in the West,
~nere most Of our supply comes from In
No--h Dakota and Iowa they have had zero
Test-er for weeks; in Kansas the ground
has oeen covered so deep with snow for
starvation The storms recently have inter
Tered win the transportation Of the butter
WnicE was coming on from the West and
before that there was the switchrnens
strike Together they have delayed produce
hearly three weeks.
I1e weather has moderated already cut
fnere, and the hens are laying again: prob
soly 5y the middle Of February we will have
larger supply OF eggs and the price will
70 down That is. unless more bad wealth
3 cones along.
L Is more than a temporary condition,
however. Here IN the East we have q
population q twenty-five million 10 thirty
million which produces nothing at all In
Ne way CT foo6stIffs. The drain on the
iarns Is growing with every year. There
are great areas Of producing country in
canaoa from which We could import but
NE tariff is prohibittve. There is a duty Of
s'z cents pound on butter, that is SO so d
oio Of sixty pounds and s1440 e carload.
0n eggs The duty is five cents a dozen.
-1ose charges mean q considerable in
creased cost 70 the consumer"
ne price Of butter declined from 36 cents
{ pound On Monday Of last week TO 81 cents
on Monday. Eggs fell three cents dozen
04f-ns the week Both changes, the whole
s1lers said, resulted from natural fuctua-
@ons Of the market