The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-23
FARMERS URGED TO
RAISE BEEF CATTLE
Only Way to Avoid ! a. = NO.
Famine, Say Pa ss'1D''-
PRODUCTION SHRINKS
Is Decreasing at an Appalling Rate,
Says Report Of Executive Com
mittee of American Meat
Packers Convention

Chicago. September 22.-rhe respon-
sibility of averting a future meat
famine was put up to small farmers by
speakers at the eighth annual conven-
ton of the American Meat Packers con-
vention today. All the speakers agreed
that If the decrease in meat production
of the last 10 years is not stopped the
question of the meat supply for the peo-
pie of the United states will be most
serious.
Among the remedies suggested by the
speakers were:
Every small farmer should raise at
least two beef steers a year to offset
the decreased production of the great
ranches of the west
The remaining ranges should be cHt
up in farms to put all farmers on an
equal footing.
Development of the hills of New Eng
land with their bonntiful springs and
prevailing shade as beef producing
country.
Substitution of corn for cotton in the
southern states and the consequent de-
duction.
The report of the executive commit
tee sounded the first note of the dam
ger of famine
Cattle Shortage Intensified
"The American meat packing house
af nf
meat food products in this country are
both in a condition more precarious
than at any other time in our history"
the report stated
I'VE are facing conditions in the pro-
duetion OF meat food products which
would have been thought impossible
10 years ago The shortage Of live
stock, which has been impressed upon
as, as packing house producers for
several years has been intensified dur
ing the last year. our population Is
growing at it's normal rate. We have
passed the point where demand has
overtalen production and we are now
on a basis which shows that demand
exceeds the supply of meat food prod
ucts to such an extent that we have
abnormally high prices for meat food
products.
..'rhe farmers are not furnishing
nearly a sufficient number of animals
to keep the packing houses in opera
tion on anything like full time, and
this results in heavy losses, owing TO
lack of volume of business, and there
seems to be no prospect of relief De-
spite the higher prices for live stock
of all kinds, statistics show that the
farmers not only are not increasing
their production of meat food animals.
but that such production is decreasing
at an appalling rate.
Among other causes for the shortage of
meat the report pointed out another loss
of meat food animals through prevent
able diseases and the unthinking slaugh-
ter of young calves and especially heifer
calves"
To Confer With Officials
They appointed committee to
confer with government officials re-
garding pure food laws in it's
report challenged the wisdom of
the federal government debating what
ingredients shall be used in meat prod
ucts.
"Our principal difficulty has been that
those in power know practically nothing
of the actual conditions of packing house
operation. We have been in the hands of
capable. we'll meaning scientists on one
hand and political officehoders on the
other
The report declares that the action of
the government in changing the charac-
ter of labels on canned goods, after once
they had been accepted by the govern
ment. cost the packing industry S25O,00O
annually. .
Speakers at the national convention of
butter and egg men urged the need Of
national legislation to regulate the stor-
age of these products, in order TO avoid
repeated charges of price raising and
monopoly.
This conference should advocate ma
tional legislation on the subject of stor-
age, said J. l.. Homigman of New York.
in an address. IF every state has its
own laws with regard to the length Of
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