Smyrna times., 1936-07-30
TO HELP CATTLE
MEMS DILEMA
Chain Stores To Help Six Mil
lion Cattle Raisers Meet
the Emergency
DUE TO THE DROUGHT

an important pert in a far reach
ing program to be employed by
leading food chain organizations in
a nationwide effort to relieve an
acute situation which faces the
country's live stock producers. The
campaign was requested by repre-
sentatives of important live stock
groups to aid a large percentage
of the six million cattle raisers
throughout the country. Farmers
and ranchers, forced by the
drought to rush their cattle to the
market, combined with the heavy
seasonal shipments from other Sec
tions are causing large tempor-
ary oversupply of beef.
G. B. Denman, of Chicago, Presi-
dent of the National Live Stock
Marketing Association, stated "The
National Domestic Beef Sale was
prompted va serious situation
confronting the beef industry. June
slaughter of beef was the highest
on record" he explained. THE
spread in price between choice and
common grades of cattle was one
of the narrowest on record. These
factors caused heavy losses to cat
tie feeders and were a depressing
influence on the seasonal market
prices for fat cattle as well as for
feeder animals. In an effort to
stimulate the sale Of domestic
beef" Mr.. Denman continued, rep
resentatives of producers first ask
ed and obtained the assistance of
food chain stores. Subsequently
independent meat dealers, packers
and other agencies joined in the
campaign to move a seasonal sur
plus of beef during the month of
August at fair prices to producers
and consumers"
Commenting upon the plan to be
adopted by Retail Food Chain
Stores, Hunter G. Phelan of Nor
folk, Virginia, President of the
Food and Grocery Chain Stores of
America, Inc, stated:
Large national, sectional, and
small local chains. operating over
1000 retail chain food stores,
promptly responded to the cattle
raiser's request for assistance rec
ognizing in their situation an un-
usual opportunity to employ the
organized forces of retail food dis
tribution to the joint advantage of
producer, distributor, and consum-
er alike. Wholeheartedly the chain
grocery industry Joined the move
ment. For the duration of this in
tensive Producer-Consumer cam
paign, special advertising copy
featuring beef and beeg products
at reasonable prices will be run in
thousands of newspapers from one
end of the country to the other;
supplementing this newspaper adj
vertising, unusual SALE promotion
will be conducted throughout the
organizations of all these cooper
ating retail chain fod store COM
panies and special displays featur-
ing beef and beef products will be
made in all stores, windows and
markets. Such concerted sales eff
fort will inevitably lead to increas-
ed consumption of beef.
This present undertaking of the
food industry" Mr.. Phelan states,
"is most representative in its scope
and includes such prominent live
stock organizations as National
Live Stock and Meat Board and
The Institute of American Meat
Packers. Retail chain food store
operators are paprticularly enthus-
iastic over the campaign for, coop
erative action, such as is proposed
during August will again demon
strate that, whereas arbitrary reg
ulation of distribution invariably
works hardships upon some phase
of the complete cycle Of produc-
tion, distribution and consumption,
orderly procedure throughout these
three phases of merchandising OBJ
tains the maximum benefits for all
with excessive costs to no one.
The retail chain food store indus
try is confident that the result
which win be obtained by this
united effort at orderly marketing
will represent a forward step in
efficient food distribution"