GERMANY'S BID FOR MEAT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1012, 30 December 1910, Page 6

GERMANY'S BID FOR MEAT.

FRONTIERS'TO BE OPENED. HIGH-PRICES HAVE THEIR EFFECT, \ It was unofficially announced to-daj (wrote the Berlin correspondent of the "New York Evening Post" on November. 1G) that the Imperial Government contemplated the early opening of the frontiers for the.importation, of foreign live stock in .order to counteract, the liigh price of meat. Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg has already given permission to the governments'of Baden and Alsace-Lorraine to. . import a considerable weekly amount s of French animals. The Bavarian Government also intends to admit French live stock, and will appeal to the Berlin authorities to modify the restrictions-on the Danish ■ frontier .it is said that Baron Schorlemer, Prussian Minister of Agriculture, proposes to open all of the frontiers except the Russian. ■ However,- the sanitary will be maintained to the extent that all ' animals imported must-he immediately slaughtered. The yielding disposition of. ■ the Government is described as dne to the fact that the Socialists are profiting from 'the present "agitation '' over tlio famine prices for. meat. The Govern- ; ment finds it advisable to take the wind out of the Socialists's sails before tho -- general elections to the Reichstag. This striking effect of the high prices of food in Germany has hot been altogether unexpected. Although that country is described in a general way-nr some of the books of reference as supporting nine-tenths of her population-'of- about 64,000,000 by her own produce, the Empire,lias been becoming .more and" more ■ a manufacturing country, and, witb. the. continuous. increase;;.'of population, the' question of footl-supply has been'growing pressing. ."1n.1907, 27.95 per cent, of , the population were supported by agriculture,: against 34.9 per cent: in 1895: The opening of German frontiers to the importation of foreign live stock may ' havo the effect of bringing.Germany.more., into the market as a competitor at certain food sources now largely monopolised by C-Veat Britain., It is also a rule in the latter country that lite stock brought., in for food .purposes must be slaughtered immediately. : Bearing on the subject are inter-; esting .figures. In 1909, Germany contained about 20,0D0,CC0 cattle, four -times as many as the English agricultural re^'' cords showed, and twice' as many .as there were in-England; Scotland, . and . Ireland' together. On the other -hand.v the United Kingdam contained two and ' one-half times as many slieep •as : Germany.. France in 1908 had 17,000,009 sheep and 14,000.000 cattle. v . • " ; In the year 190S Germany' imported live -, animals to the extent of 45,000,000' dollars, and' foodstuffs to the value of" about 400,000,000 dollars, one-third ; of, • : these being grains'. Great Britain, in "' 1907, imported meat products alone _■ to the value of above 250,000,000 dollars. Of -' this total 40.000,000 dollars was for live oxen, 52,000,000 ■ dollars for fresh beef, 43.000,000 for fresh mutton, and 90,000,000'" dollars ;for" bacon and hams. . . . . .