MEAT COMBINATION

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 507, 14 May 1909, Page 5

MEAT COMBINATION

BRITISH REPORT. NOT SERIOU3 AT PRESENT. AMERICAN . FIRMS' OPERATIONS IN ARGENTINA. [BY TiLSOßApn—paEss ABSOCUTION—coryntonT.) (Itco. May 13, 9.45 p.m.) London, May 13. •The.report: has been'.issued of-the Committeo apppinted by the Hoard of Trade, under the chairmanship of Lord Robert Cecil, to-inquire' how far and in what manner, the general: supply, distribution, and - .price- of meat in the United Kingdom are controlled or affected b.v any combination of firms. ;; The report-states that tho combination of tha -Armour,.Swift, .and Morris companies (American packers) is not a" serious dangei,at'[present, but-those firms appear to be 'endeavouring -to* acquire, controlling interests in j moreover, inquiries on the part of. United States firms have been made iiv -Australia and New Zealand. V. Estancieros Tn> Argcntina..:aro; opposing the United States invasion of that fearing thijt ' the.-prices' of their cattle will be affected ill the absence of, competitive., buyr rag, but the converging of the Argentine railways on Buenos Ayres is hot unfavourable to a combination, though it is unlikely to arise in tho near future. If such a combination Bucpeeds it;; may. exercise a determining influence ..oh .beef prices, at. Smithfield, "and inay.' i largely' affect prices in Britain generally. Tho evidence, that United States firms control, tho Canadian live cattle trade is- too vaguo. to allow of a definito opinion being expressed.';.':-? ' ■' ■ TO "CORNER" SMITHFIELD. ' THE DECREASE IN BRITISH-GROWN. ' .The -Committee was: appointed by the Presulent or the: Board of Trade (Mr. .Churchill) to inquire how far and. in what manner'tho gene-' i ral - supply,. distribution, and price of meat in the . United .Kingdom are controlled or affected by. any; combination ; of. firms of companies. ' ; Committee consisted of : tho following — Lord Robort Cecil, M/P. (chairman) j Mr. C. W. 3owerman, ;M.P.; ; Sir, T. .H. Elliott, Secretary to _the Board . of Agrioulture; Mr. W. Field, M.P.;,Mr. H. Fountain; Mr. W. Dudley Ward, ■M.P.; Mr.'William:Weddell (of the' well-known meat and produce firm. Mr. Bowerman is <no i :j.,_ os o who, took a lead in drawing.attention to ■ the' tactics. of the alleged American trust.'. The .President of the Board of. Trade, refused to add to the Committee's programme' the question; of removing -the British embargo on Cana-' dian.livo cattle. , - .:-; Consumer's Interest Paramount. , A/hint as to the nature of the Committee's report was contained in the -"Daily Mail" some: weeks ago,; and the "Mail" also volunteered a reason for-the absence of any of ■ interference. : The "Mail". wrote t— - :- ':"We-understand that'the Committefe.'wiil be unable,to .recommend any, interference with the [American: beef companies, for the simple reason" that', this, country needs all the' me'af. America 'sends us, '.and that a restriction of its exports: to Britain—either by . imposing a tai or other-:wise--would'increase the price of'meat to the Homo consumer. ■ :"Tho American'firms are the Chicago- meat : packers,'formerly known as:the,®ig-Six,'now j reduced;to; the T Big ; Three,'. the Armour, Swift,and Morris, firms. - People, concerned in it have .'asserted that-there/is no trust. . V i',c "In'WOS'our; total-imports ,were : 628,421: tons [of:- beef, mutton,: and lamb. Of that quantity ;157,320 tonsjabout a quarter of the wholeJ'camV ,from -: the -United '. States, where 1 the', trade is by.ithe great firms:; ■ ; :."It<is-agreed that for :the -last;twelve-months ' | the.-North. American' operators have been-send-ing moat to Great .at a loss, but some colonial importers declare that, is part: of a :schemei ■ to-'. coriier''-Slnithfield."' - . ; What is Smithfield? Smithfield (says a writer in tho "Daily Mail") s iis the largest meat market in . the world. Tho > [other week thero entered it,.7000 tons of sup- ; ' plies."' Perhii[i4 "a ton'of'-moat" does ilot' con- 1 vey a very clear idea to your mind. Think,: , -then, of a pound of meat. - Now multiply -it by ; .seventeen',and'a half millions./, London lost ' iweek consumed' 17,696,000 pounds of meat— ' 1100: tons; a day.. . And that .was . a small j supply. .Tho daily aycrago for last year, omitting Siindays and Bant Holidays,-was 1611 tons. .'Where does this'enormous quantity of meat : come.fromfiiClterly it is.not.all Home-grown, for •• as' one; looks',, oiityof railway-carriage: windows in; England one' sees ample pasture land, 1 but few' catt'.o or sheep. Our own farmers simply .only,,a, small ..percentage, of the -720,000 bullocks, •6.150,000 sheep, and 800,000 pigs which appetite calis,:for,ih.'a year..,; ■ r Foreign Imports: British Decline. 'The beef' we eat was most of it fattened on ' the rich plains of Texas or tho Argentine. The mutton is very. likely ' Australian or New. Zealand.;: The pork or bacon is probably Dutch. Out'of: the lvhole amount of meat dealt in'at .Smithfield in'l9o7. only . one-fifth was British-' ; groivn. The figuro3 wete;— S •■, Per .United' Kingdom. ........ 20.5 • i American, killed, at-Deptford .16.1 American (North and South) imported I - ■ chilled. or - frozen 24.6 r Australasian- 25.7 Continental ij'j v In 1869 :the'British farfiior supplied- London hrith all its meat—with 97.7 per cent., in fact. 'Ever since that year/the percentage has been, falling.. It dropped to .89. per cent, in 1877; to .77.5 per cent..in 1887; to 47.9 per cent, in 1897; and now.it is only'2o.per cent. - Even the cattlo ;which are shipped alive .and killed at Deptford have' decreased :in' number. : The consequence is there' are a great many ; unemployed at Deptford. .. : v."V, ; y".: """ :