The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-08-26
Local Packers Not Allowed to Buy Cattle From the States Adjoining
 Alabama
SUPPLY ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THE PLANTS
 AT FULL CAPACITY
Stock From Adjoining States Is Shipped Through Alabama to Large Packing Plants in
 the North

That the state live stock sanitary board,
 in its desire to eradicate the cattle tick,
 is liable at the same time to eradicate the packing industries of Alabama, Is
 the opinion of many of the packers and
 cattle dealers of the state.
 Packers claim that under a recent rul-
 ing of the board, placing an embargo
 on shipment of cattle into Alabama from
 practically all of the southern states,
 markets and are seriously handicapped
 in their competition with the large pack
 ing houses of the country. Under the ruling of the state board, it is claimed, tcattle from the tick in- fected states may be shipped through the state of Alabama to the large pack ing houses in the north, stopped, fed and watered in Mobile, Montgomery and
 Birmingham. They cannot, however, be slaughtered in the state.
 DEPEND ON SOUTHERN CATTLE
 For many years the packing houses of
 Alabama have depended to large ex- tent on southern cattle to supply their demands. Birmingham alone 1t is said has been a heavy purchaser, and on ac- count of it's nearness to the southern cattle raising sections, Alabama packers were able to compete successfully with the big packing companies, It Is said that the meat industry in Alabama now represents millions of dollars, which in vestment will be seriously affected if the | state board persists in it's embargo.
 "One of the reasons,'' stated F. N. Phillips, secretary of the Birmingham
 Packing company, 'the present tick reg ulations are so embarrassing to Ala bama packing industries is that to make a packing house a success you must l be able to operate continuously the l year round. It is common knowledge I that AlAbama's cattle supply is exhaust ed by the first of each January or
 February, and that the market is closed until August or September. By being l able to purchase in Florida, southwest 1 Georgia, southern Mississippi or Louis jana, we can get sufficient cattle to
 supply us through the spring months for the reason that the grass in these sections is about month earlier than in the middle and northern parts of Alabama. If we are able to get cat tie from the extreme southern points during the spring months we are able to operate our plant continuously and
 keep our organization intact
 PLAN LARGE STOCK YARDS "Our company is considering the con- struction of large stock yards adjoin- ing our plant and we hope to make Bir- | mingham a live stock center. To do this, however, we must be able to re- ceive cattle under the same conditions | that exist in New Orleans, Natchez, l1O Nrofir ~o1r 1 Yards, H., and Chicago.
 Since the boil weevil has infested the
 state, Alabama farmers are raising and producing more cattle and hogs than 1 ever before, and we expect to see the | live stock and meat industry of the state 1 grow very rapidly, but if packing houses are to locate within the state,
 they must be permitted to draw their cattle from all sources possible to be
 able to operate the entire year and to
 meet the big outside competition. | Birmingham is the largest meat dis | tributing point south of Pittsburg. The state should be proud of this record
 But we should produce the cattle and l hogs in the south, have them slaugh- | tered and manufactured into meat food | products within the state of Alabama, 1 and not permit them to be shipped to I St Louis, Chicago and other points and slaughtered and returned here for sale l We are frequently asked why Ala bama has no large live stock centers, such as New Orleans or Nashville. There :, are thousands of cattle shipped to these ] two markets that are prohibited from Alabama. Under the present tick regu- 1 lations existing in this state a large I live stock center at any point in Ala ! bama is impossible.
 BE REASONABLE AND FAIR 1 "All we are asking our live stock sani- 1 tary board is to be reasonable and fair; l that they do not become soA absorbed l in tick eradication that they will eradi-
 cate the packing houses as we'll. We are i strong indorsers of tick eradication to the fullest extent and hope the time is l not long when the entire United States will be tick free. Packing houses are
 just as essential as the destruction of I the tick.
 l "Our country is now engaged in a | great war and one of our most import I ant duties is to be able to furnish the necessary and needful supplies: and it would seem that at this time, especial