The Washington herald., 1913-10-12
DANGER Of MEAT
famine IS SEEN
Experts Say the Country
Faces an Era of Short
Production.
WAYS TO BRING RELIEF
Establishment of Public Abattoirs Is
Suggested-Pnees Likely to
Continue to Advance.

A bulletin issued yesterday by the De-
partment of Agriculture contains the
most thorough analysis of the situation
confronting the people of the United
States in regard to their meat supply
that ever has been prepared. The de-
partment's experts can see no possibility
of relief through shipments of beef from
Canada, Mexico. Argentine or any other
country. Prices in their opinion, are
bound to continue upward unless i'm
proved methods are adopted by meat pro-
duCers of the United States.
Among the proposals for relieving the
situation by far the most interesting is
the establishment of public abattoirs, as
in many European countries. Through
these public slaughter houses many Of
the middlemen. il is asserted, would be
eliminated, local markets would be
created for the small farmer and the
so-called beef trust would receive blow.
Other remedies lie in more economic
methods Of stock raising on the farms
and the improvement of waste lands for
pasture purposes.
James NJ. Pickens of the United States
Bureau OF Animal Industry, summarizes
the situation in the bulletin in part as
follows:
The high cost of meat is a serious
reality, and il is now obvious that the
rise in prices in recent years is the result
of an actual shortage in production. This
condition is reflected in the per capita
consumption of meat in the United States
estimated to have fallen of 10 pounds
in four years 1t is evident that the
country is facing an era of short produc-
ton of meat and that some Constructive
means must be adopted il the American
appetite for this class of food is to be
supplied.
Decline In Production.
The decline in beef production is espe-
Cially marked This is shown by the
number of cattle and the number slaugh-
tered. \ decrease in market receipts and
in the slaughter with a corresponding
increase in the number remaining in the
country would not be alarming; but when.
with a diminishing slaughter. we are
depicting our stock of cattle, there can
be no doubt OF the gravity of the situa-
ton
In the last six years the number of
beef cattle in the country has apparently
fallen off over 30 per cent. while the
population, of course, increased. Accord
ing to estimates of the Bureau of Statis-
tics, of the Department of Agriculture,
the beef cattle in the country on jan
uary l, 1907, numbered 5,566, 600, and at
the beginning of the present year the
number was only 36,O30,OOO. Meanwhile
the number of dairy cows has remained
practically stationary.
THE receipts of cattle at six of the
livestock markets-Chicago
Kansas City, OMAHA, st. Louis, st. Jo-
seph, and Sioux City-for the first nine
journals, were very slightly in excess of
the receipts for the same period of 1912,
but in comparison with 1911, there was a
decrease of nearly 10 per cent.
Less SInughterinE.
The slaughter of beef under govern
ment inspection, which covers more than
half of the total slaughter of the coun-
try. shows a steady falling off since 1910,
the total decline amounting to over SOO,-
900 carcasses, equivalent to about $1,000
coo pounds of dressed beef. Applying the
ratio of Federally inspected slaughter to
total slaughter, according to the census
figures for 1909. this means a falling off
of l,l9,0O0 cattle, or approximately $50, |
100000 pounds of beef, in the entire
slaughter of the country from 1910 to 1918. |
with our diminished production in the !
face Of the heavy demand and high
prices of the home market we nc longer !
have surplus for export, and il is no
wonder that our export trade in meat |
animals and products has declined heav- |
lily. Our once great trade with England !
in cattle and fresh beef has vanished, |
and the only considerable items now |
shipped to foreign markets are prepared |
hog products, such as bacon. hams, and |
lard. From 1904 to 1906 our exports of live |
cattle approximated 100000 head annual |
ly For the last fiscal year, 1913, they
numbered only 24,7l4. about one-tenth OF !
which went to Great Britain.
while future imports may afford some |
measure of relief, too much reliance |
should not be placed upon this source of |
supply. study of the statistical situa-
ion in other countries does not disclose |
where we are likely to obtain any large 1
quantity of beef for an extended period. |
Besides our nearest neighbors. Canada |
ind Mexico, the sources of imports are |
limited to South America