St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-07-30
PRESS COMMENT
INC Meat SupplY

The Meat Supply
The secretary OF the department
of agriculture believes that when
the new tariff admitting free of duty
meat and meat products becomes eff
fective prices in this country will be
lowered, provided exports from
South America and Australia can be
! directed to the United States. He
has asked DR.. A. D. Melvin, chief of
| the bureau of animal industry, to go
to South America to investigate the
packing business there, and DR.. z.
FC. Joss of the same bureau will
make a similar investigation in Aus
ltralia.
I The democratic party has prOmis-
ed to reduce the cost of living, and
the secretary of agriculture seems to
lbelieve that beginning can be made
by lowering the meat bills. Every
body hopes that he is right, but it
| is too early to determine whether
the consumer is to pay less for beef
when the tariff is removed. Ameri-
! can packers have for several years
/ maintained establishments in South
! America, and now they are enlarging
their plants in anticipation Of the
/ free entry into this country of their
| products.
The chief reason for the rapid
advance in the price of beef here is
that the supply of cattle has not
kept pace with the demand. DR..
Melvin complains of the failure to
permit cattlemen to lease public
range AT present" he says, the
government has no satisfactory leas-
| inc system so that cattlemen would
be justified in making plans fol
the future. In brief. the present
policy OF the government has SO
worked out that the cattlemen OF
small resources who were once sc
numerous on our western ranges 10
FIonger exist" Then there has been
a great increase in the price OF
corn, (which has made cattle feeding
a risky and expensive undertaking.
The chief of the bureau of animal in
dustry gives these figures
Estimates by the bureau of stats
tics of the department of agricul-
ture show that in the last six years
the number of beef cattle in the
United States has fallen from ST.
$4,000 to $1,000, 900, a decrease OF
about 15,000,000, or 80 per cent
Market reports show that the re-
ceipts Of cattle at six western mark
cts from January 1 to March IL
have decreased to the extent OF 3,
600, while sheep show a decrease
of 100000 and hogs at II markets
have fallen more than 959, 900. This
decrease is reflected in the number
of animals slaughtered under the
meat inspection act. In January and
February. as compared with the
same months of last year, the de
/ o1,,n41nfnd n II OIL cattle
E21.22S calves. 391,3O4 sheep, and
896,86S swine.
While the supply has decreased
the home demand for meat has in
creased with the population. Boil
movements have been rapid. The
question whether under the new tar
if the supply will catch up with the
demand is one that cannot be
answered now Rutland Herald.
The Telephone in Europe
The troubles of the British posta
authorities in their attempt to re
organize and improve the telephone
service of the United Kingdom have
suggested comparison with the cos
of the service in other European
countries. The British government
took over the entire service in Jan
uary, 1912, but after a year and g
half of government control the ser
vice is still costly and unsatisfacto1 y
The London charge for unlimited
service is eighty-five dollars a year
for the first line and seventy-five
dollars sor each additional line. Or
the continent, typical figures are;
Italy, sixty dollars; Antwerp and
Brussels. fifty dollars. In Copen
hagen. connection with a district ex
change covering twelve hundred
calls cost thirteen dollars. In Swed
en- the installation of a business tel
ephone costs thirteen dollars and sew
ty-five cents, and the maximum fol
unlimited service is only twenty-five
dollars. 1t is little wonder, in view
of such comparisons, that the Lon
'doners are disconnected with the
cost of a service which is unsatis
factory in other respects than the
price charged Meanwhile the gov
eminent is spending money freely
in an effort to better the conditions