The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-04-21
WHY RlEAT PRICES WILL BE HIGH

Chicago. April 16.-The American
 Meat Ps,f fzers' Association, through
 it's Bureau of Public Relations. issued
 the following statement today re-
 gardins present meat prices and the
 probable trend in the future The As sociation's membership includes large
 and small packers.
 '"The situation today in the meat industry is just about what Herbert Hoover and other Food Administra- tion officials said it would be, as far hack as the first of the year, says the statement.
 That high prices are caused large Iy by heavy demands rather than any control aimed to stimulate production has recently been illustrated very clearly in the case of hogs. When the minimum price fixed for hogs was re- moved, the Food Administration pre- dicted that the prices might go still higher The prediction is now being verified.
 High prices will continue for a long time. Each day that brings final peace nearer means a greater call on this country for meat. The supply of meat is dependent first of all on the supply of livestock. European heads have been reducesd' by war. To that extent, world production of livestock is crippled
 Livestock on farms in the United l States at the beginning of this year i exceeded the number at the begin ming of 1918 by 1.036.0 900 cattle, 4.- 21S,o 900 hobs and 963, 900 sheep. But the armistice, instead of hay l ing reduced the demand for meat,
 has given us more than 200, 300 additional mouths to feed, either wholly or in part As shipping be-
 comes available, an increasing num- her of hungry nations will be access ibie for provisioning.
 Great numbers of meat animals have been dressed since the first or the year Hogs are now coming in to American markets in dwindling quantities and in lesser numbers than a year ago. Yet pork products must I form a large part of our exports. The price of hogs remains high. statistics now available as to the effect of war on foreign herds indi-
 cate that swine in Italy have de- creased from 2.5O8, ,0O0 in 1908 70 l. 67O, 900 in 1918; in France from T. O37,00O in 1913 to 4,168,000 in I91T; in Germany, from 25,5e2, ,0o0 in 1913 to 12,0O0,000 in 1918; fin the United
 
 2.E4S, 900 in 1918; in Denmark. from Z 2&9T.0OO in 1914 to 5000 in 1918. ard in the Netherlands. from 1,S50,-
 poo in 1913 to 1,1S5,O00 in 1917 Ger r.any sucked meat animals ou- of the countries she occupied. according ;"
 Mir. Hoover. Belgium lost a tAirtt a: her hogs 2nd moro thar three-fourthS of her cattle. Cattle decrease sev- erely Tn many other countries
 Before the war, England import ed seventy i've per cent of her bacon. About half of the imported b6c 'a came fem America end the othar half from Denmark aud Holland.
 But JuI1ng the war, q, stortaEs of fecdstuffs left the swine herds of Hol- land and T'enmark just adequate for domestic supplies. These cor'' tries cannot resume export until they ub- tain su.licIc1T feeds'ufs
 '.TFa TJIrrsoeTs Of liberated peoples, who were iuacces slI"9 before hostil- rios ceased but wl@,I the JnjieI States now will Ls1D 70 feed, inc:uCo. according 10 a xery recent sfItuplen+ ty zIr. I,oover, IF?s~.,' 7.50o.10j i:i Belgiuna. "L ,0oO.00n '-. Polanf. 12. .eo 6Ga in Czecho-Sirr2 kia, 17.8r".- 900 in Ro1naania, 12,e60, 900 or 13.- GOO Oo6 in Greater Siberia and 21.- coo 6oe in Finland, Armenia and other countries
 This takes no account of the food