The Coconino sun., 1917-05-25
MEAT AT OLD PRICES
 THINGS OF PAST IN J. s.
By BASIL M. MANLY

Chicago, May l7.--l have spent to- day in Packingtown attempting to discover for the readers of the Daily International the truth about the meat situation.
 Will meat prices go back to the old figures which fitted the average mans pocketbook or will they go even high CT?
 Is there an actual shortage or are the American people victims of hold up?
 Have we enough available meat to 20 ahead with our normal consump- ton or are we in for meatless days?
 Have prices for meat reduced meat consumption
 How much meat is being shipped abroad and what kinds?
 What is the hope for the future?
 l have talked to the best meat ex- parts in the country, editors of meat trade journals, representative cattle men who are in Chicago to sell live stock, packinghouse buyers and man. agers, and Chicago wholesalers and retailers.
 wouldn't accept the statements of any one of these alleged authorities. Each has his own alleged authorities. Each has his own business interests, and however honest he may be, his view of conditions is sure to be biased. The composite opinions of all these varied interests ought to be some where near truth, however.
 Plenty of Meat? Never Again!
 There are only two points on which these varied interests are in accord: The American people will never again be able to eat in the care-free style of the good old days when a company dinner without two kinds of meat was a snide affair, nor will meat prices ever go back to the old levels. There isn't enough meat now on the farms, the ranges, and in the feeding yards to supply the demand of people who are ready to pay fancy prices for meat.
 Some of the cattlemen think it will be possible, under stimulus of present high prices for stock on the hoof to keep the supply up to the increase in population, but that's all.
 If you are going to blame anybody you will have to pick on old Dame Nature, who provided that cattle, hogs and sheep should be able to in- crease and multiply their kind only a little faster than human beings. If we could plant cows like corn there might be way out; but we can't.
 The limitation on increase has been increased by cattlemen, who special ized on steers, which unfortunately don't reproduce, because they brought the highest price, and by the sale of calves, lambs and young pigs, which went to slaughter before they had a chance to multiply.
 We Loved Our Lambs and Veal
 But you will have to bear your share of the blame for this-spring lamb and veal always looked good to you, and you were deaf to pleas of agricultural experts, who for ten years have proclaimed that unless we quit killing young stock we would face shortage.
 It is a fact established by official statistics that our population increas- es faster than our meat supply. This being the case there are just two ways in which prices can be brought down to anything like the old levels "a decreased demand through gen eral curtailment of meat consumption, and the looping of of any excess pro fits that may exist in the business of meat production and distribution
 Is the demand for meat increasing? !? Note first that we are now supplying meat for almost the whole of the civil ized world-Germany, Tibet, and Gen. tral Africa not coming within the de- finition of civilized. During the years just preceding the war our exports of meat had been constantly decreasing, and it looked as if we might keep our meat supplies up to our own popula- ton increase and get back to the days of 20-cent steak. But fighting men don't get results on the rations that had been considered good enough for Europe's industrial workers, so We are back again as big exporters. The in- dications are that as long as there are ships, purchases for foreign consump- ton will increase.
 It might be expected that with the constant increase in the price of meat American consumption would de- crease. Everybody knows families that have cut down their meat con- sumption at least by half in the last two years. But all the figures avail able show that in spite of high prices Americans, taken as a whole, are eat ing more meat now than ever before: Nobody knows exactly what happened but indications are that high wages paid munitions workers have put large number of people who before had been eating only little meat in a position where they could afford to buy all they wanted.
 Whatever the cause, the fact re- mains that there is no prospect of de- crease in consumption, unless the gov ernment takes hand and establishes meatless days or meat cards or some other drastic scheme.
 Instead of increasing the supply, the record prices for all kinds of live stock now being paid at the stock yards are actually working strongly to decrease it. Farmers and cattle men lured by the high prices are sending to market breeding cattle and young stock. Also lean cattle which should be fed until they gain 200 or 300 pounds are going to