Arizona republican., 1919-06-16

which has always contained canned to- matoes. This will entirely dispose of our stock and eliminate surplus.
 T trust this will relieve your mind and those of your associates in the canners' association
 Much Meat on Hand
 At the time the inventory of canned vegetables was made for the surplus classification, the government had on hand in this country, in addition to fresh and refrigerated meats, and classed as surplus, more than 100000 900 pounds of other meats, listed as follows:
 Kind Pounds Bacon q. ..4 ,783, ,087 Corned Beef ................2 A, ,832, ,S68 Roast beef. .......-...........21 .21, 401 .5S0 Hash .. ......s............ 10, ,197, ,63S . Besides the above 100000 pounds of bacon were turned over to the Serbian government and 3,600,000 pounds were transferred to Herbert E. Hoover for the Belgian relief work.
 Two Years Packing Output
 The inventory is only partially com plete, at that, as some stations were unable to make a complete list in the time specified and many did not in clude the articles coming is as "un- delivered materials on contracts" But sufficient figures are available to indicate the enormous meat supplies on hand, estimated by some as equal to two full years output of the packing 1 plants under normal conditions i It is this meat surplus that is causing a great deal of hard thinking on the part of the government officials with ! respect to the proposal from some quar- ters that it be dumped on the market regardless of what happens to Chicago's 1 packing town folk.
 l The packers went to Washington re- gently and urged the war department ! to withhold the entire meat supply or | hand from the commercial trade here at home, urging that it should be util- ized, if at all at this time in the export trade.
 At first it was announced that sucf an agreement had been tentatively reached and the government owned meats probably would not be permitted to enter into competition with the pack CTS business this year. Since then there has been renewed importunities that the high prices of meats be smashed by dumping the government owned meats on the open market
 One plan suggested was that the government turn it's country postof- fees into grocery stores and dispose of the canned meats and bacon direct to the rural populations through these lagencies.
 These are only two of the foot lstaples-vegetable and meats-tha- have put the high officials at Wash. ington between the devil and the deer Isea-the cry for cheaper foods and tho urgent demand that until the indus trial situation settles down a bit the government should not break the pric. les by turning the stuff back to tn, commercial trade, lest it demoraliz, for a time the whole industry, prin. cipally the packing business, ant thereby result in laying off thousand. of worllmen.
 The strenuous efforts to meet the unrest as far as possible by gettine everybody job pulls at one hand, ant the cry of the people for a government sledge hammer landed squarely on tn, top of the head of old High Cost O. Living tugs at the other side. TherC may be something to be said on botI sides.
 Meantime the rate for hotel room. goes up, ice cream cones are selling Ior ana ceHlS, lHSledu OI tluAur, tax), while soda with thimble ful of ice cream hits 17 cents. The thea ters and the baseball parks have load ed the war tax on the ultimate con sumer and a measly little sack of roas peanuts in Lincoln park costs 10 cents Likewise a tender little package O popcorn, 10 cents.
 And the price of milk is going to | cents a quart before the summer i lover.