Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1912-10-19
TARIFF AND MEAT PRICES.
High-Priced Meat is Not Caused by
the Tariff.

The morning and evening editions
the New York Sun are adding fuel
to the free-trade flame by printing
transformation of the subject of the
tariff and the high price of meat. The
Morning Sun gives tables showing that
American" beef sells in England 80
to 40 per cent cheaper than in the Uni
ted States. Tie Evening Sun clinches
the argument by saying that our tariff
on dressed beef is ~ per cent" All
this in the face OF clear proof to the
contrary
In the first place no dressed beef
is now being, or for some time past
has been. exported from the United
States to England. 1t is rot this beef
that is being quoted as selling SO much
lower abroad. If it were, it would be
quoted as States" beef and not as
american" beef. TIE American"
beef that is being sold so cheaply in
England is beef from South America;
frozen carcasses from Argentina;
much cheaper beef than States" beef;
a beef that the people OF the United
! States, accustomed to the best, would
not but even at the cheaper price.
In the second place the Suns quota
tons that seem to show 80 to 40 per
cent lower price in England for the
same grade of beef are on their face
absurd They presuppose that Ameri-
can packers are selling beef in London
at 20 cents pound and paying over
sea freight and refrigerating charges,
| when they can sell the same beef in
| New York for 81 cents pound There
| being shortage OF beef in this coun-
| try. it is likely that American pack
| ers are supplying the English market
with beef at loss? No, they are do
ing nothing of the kind No United
| States beef is going to England What
| England gets and calls American"
beef is, as we have explained, South
! American beef
Now as to the effect of the tariff
on beef prices The Evening Sun
says that the duty on dressed beef is
p per cent How can that be? Par
agraph 2S5. Schedule G, Agricultural
| Products and Provisions. reads as fol-
lows:
2S5 Fresh beef. veal, mutton. lamb.
pork, birds, one and one-half cents per
pound.
According to the Evening Suns
statement that the duty is p per cent.
oreign dressed beef could be laid
down in New York at less than cents
a pound. with a total cost, duty paid,
of less than 81 cnts a pound att
would sell at retail at not more than
20 cents for the choicest cuts, and
from that down If that were true,
there should be heavy importations of
South American frozen beef There
would be big money in it. But there
are no frozen beef importations. There
must be mistake somewhere Ar
gentina would not be likely to lay
down her best meat in New York at
less than 7 cents per pound when Lon
don stands ready to pay much high
er price. AS matter of fact, our tar
if of ~ cents, as affecting retail
prices, amounts to not more than S
per cent on the cheaper grades
1t cannot be possible, then, that our
tariff of ! y cents pound is RESPONSE
bic for the great increase in the price
| of re in the 81 txxro thra
A better and truer explanation of this
advance is to be found in the marked
decrease in the supply of good ami
mails in the United States.
In 1900 the beef cattle in the United
States numbered more than 70000,O00
In 1910, with an increase of nearly
20,OO00,000 consumers, the supply had
fallen to 6l,225,79l Here was an in
crease of nearly 20 per cent in pop
ulation and decrease of about Ia per
cent in the domestic beef supply. In
the same ten-year period the number
of sheep and lambs was reduced from
100000 to 5l.000.000. and the num-
Der of swine fell from 66,000.000 to
5S,000,000O Again big decrease of
meat food and big increase of popu-
lation.
Clearly it is not tariff of u cents
pound that keeps up the price of
drssed meats The removal of that
tariff would probably not lower the
fraction of cent per pound.-Ameri-