The New York herald., 1921-12-16
SAY PACKERS HALT
SLAUGHTERING HERE
Control All Space Needed by
Independents, Is Charge
of the Unions.
us. INTERVENTION ASKED
Retail Meat Prices Meanwhile
Advance 80 Per Cent.
All Over City.

Leaders of the meat strikers charged
yesterday that the big Five" packers,
by means of the powerful lever which
they have through the control OF vir-
tually all the slaughtering space in this
city, have prevented the score of in
dependent concerns, against whom there
is no strike, from increasing their out
put Meanwhile housewives in every
part of the city arc paving an average
of 30 per cent. more for their meat than
before the strike began.
A statement from the Institute of
American Meat Packers said the
bulge" in the Wholesale prices OF meat
was being corrected and In a few days
prices probably would be normal. But
if any change has been made by the
packers and wholesalers il was not re-
Elected in the retail prices, which
showed in most parts of the city a
slight increase over the day before. The
union charged the independent packers
are not allowed to kill enough animals
to meet the increased demand, because
the big Five subsidiaries want to
keep the prices on a profiteerng level"
The public interests" said a state
ment from union headquarters last
night demand immediate Intervention
by the United States Government to
settle the entire strike on the basis of
peaceful arbitration and negotiation
coupled with immediate investigation
by State and Federal officers of every
evidence OF Illegal activity on the part
of the packing interests and rigid en-
forcement of the law. The fight OF the
Big Five" against unionism has now
become a fight against the people of
the United States. Meat prices have
risen 80 per cent. and all the people
suffer-
Subsidiaries of the big Five" ac-
cording to the union, control 80 per cent
of the three sAughtering spaces in New
York and New Jersey. One of these is
at the foot of Sixth street, Jersey City.
The other two are in Manhattan, one
along the Hudson River. between Thirty
eighth and Forty-second street, and the
other above Forty-second street. near
the East River. The independents sub
lease their slaughtering space.
According to the Labor Bureau, Inc,
which handles the publicity for the
Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union,
10000 cattle are held UP in yards near
this city and as far west as Buffalo,
ing. Inquiries among some of the in
dependent concerns brought the reply
that they were working at full capac-
ity."
The packers said that with police pro-
lection they We're making about so per
cent of their deliveries and that the
strike was not of sufficient proportions
10 be serious. Two hundred strike
breakers were brought from out of town
yesterday and lodged at the plant Of
Wilson & Co, Forty-sxth street and
Second avenue Unskilled labor is
plentiful. it was said, but 1t Is necessary
to go out of town for skilled labor.
Collapse of the strike OF packing
house employees in Chicago was denied
last night by the Labor Bureau. The
denial said that a representative of
the bureau reported that the Chicago
plants are operating at less than 25 per
cent. of normal; that police protection
has not been withdrawn, and that Sec
retary of Labor Davis thought enough
of the seriousness of the situation to
make a trip on Wednesday to urge arbi-
tration.