The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1921-05-25
WARS EFFECT ON MEAT
Pork This COuntry's Great Meat Ex-
port Surplus

Popular misunderstanding is mag
nifying the superficial fact that this
country has a beef surplus-a surplus
that has had a precarious existence
both before the world war and since.
There is something more to the story
than the experts of several hundred
million pounds of beef and it's prod
ucts in a year. To the extent that
this is balanced by imports of beef,
beef products, and beef cattle, it is
not a surplus.
Not only did the imported exceed
the exported beef in 1914, but the
equivalent beef and it's products and
edible offs! of the cattle imported
from Canada and Mexico greatly ex-
ceeded the exports of beef cattle, SC
that, within the scope Of the terms
here used, the United States was
deficiency country with respect to
beef in that year to the extent of
480, 100000 pounds. Similarly in 1915,
the national beef deficiency was 3d.
100000 pounds.
War demands turned the tide in
1916, when the national surplus of
beef was 153,OO0,0OO pounds; in 1917
it was 206,000,00O pounds; and in
1913 the surplus was 576,0O0,000
pounds.
But the debts so far offset the
credits in 1919 that the beef surplus
| fell to 100000 pounds, or less than
per cent of the production, including
edible offal.
The United States has been a sur
plus mutton country, since 1913, only
in 1918 and 1919, by 100000 and
100000 pounds respectively.
On the other hand, the enormous
export of pork and its products hac
been unfailing year after year for a
great many years, with totals of hun
dreds of millions of pounds, even ex-
tending beyond two and one-half bill
lions of pounds in 1919.
With regard to excess of either pro-
duction or consumption of beef and
mutton, this country may be said to
be in seesawing position, except as
influenced by such high-priced for
eign demand as that of a great war
After all, the constant great nationa
meat surplus is one of pork and its
products.
Meat is exported by the surplu:
countries of the world in greatly in
creased quantities in response to the
wars demands. The better to under
stand this, continues the bureau o.
crop estimates, it is well to company
the change in supply for the fiv'
years from 1913 to 1918, with tn,
change for the Is years from 1895 tt
1913, or period 3 3-5 times as long
The total exports of all kinds O
meats increased by one-half in eacl
period; animal, fats and oils gaines
by one-fifth in the earlier period, blu
remained stationary in the war pc
Rod; mutton nearly doubled in tn
earlier period, but declined about one
half In the later one, or to the origi
nal quantity; pork gained only one
tenth in the IL years, or hardly at al
yet it almost doubled in the fiv
years.
What was substantially the world
export meat trade of the surplu
countries in 1895 was 2,734, OO0,O 90
pounds, as determined by the bureau
: of crop estimates; by 1899, the guam
: tity had risen to 1887 900 900 pounds
and by 1913, the year before tn
world war began, it was 4,101 900, 90
! pounds. In 1918, the last year of tn
war, the worlds export meat trad
: was 6,46O,0O0 900 pounds.
!. Brazil, China and British South Al
: rfca rose to some prominence durin
Z the world war as exporters of mea
Brazil especially. From normal e,