THE MEAT TRUST.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1109, 24 April 1911, Page 8

THE MEAT TRUST.

SOME SAMPLES. OF ITS WOKEINGS; "Noboby seems to know very much abont .how far a. certain projected meat trust, -with an American backing, has yet advanced" . (says an . Australian file to hafld by the last mail. "Presumably, it has a material understanding, seeing that the largest- cattle-owner in Australia recently, elected to take tho public into His confidence,- by means of an interview in tho press of his State, as" to the benelikely to accrue therefrom, to him"seii and to all other cattle men. 'As to whether'such aii influence would ultimately be of benefit to those directly concerned as breeders, must bo highly problematical, . seeing ' that combinations of this character are not entered upon for wholly disinterested reasons. For some months past beef has been bringing less money per hundred pounds in all the capital cities of the .Commonwealth, than ■has been the case for quite a number of years. Benefits arising therefrom seeni to be passed on more. directly. to the . butcher than to the consumer. ■ So far the last-named party to the question has remained surprising dumb on the subject. It seems to have quite escaped the latter's notice that the price per lb. ,to himsolf is as high to-day as it was when ' tho butcher was paying fully another ten shillings per hundred for his supplies. In the light of existing conditions, of" the Australian cattle industry, it -isworthy of notice that the most important aspect of the' meat situation in another , great cattle, country is the growing influence of American capital, in its. direction , and mauagenient. American capital entered the Argentine , field barely six-years ago, but it Has already attained a commanding position;— -•-•-< .- ■-.:-...„ 7 .. "Americans do not yet control a majority either of .the Argentine .companies, or of the .'cold storage output of. . that country, but (note this) their production is .increasing, more rapidly than that of the Argentine, or English plants, and they have purghased. land .on one of the most conveniently-situated rivers, , prssura.ably with a view to erecting new freezing works. Two companies, which, are avowedly.American, are already.shipping about a third, of. the-.total, export-, of frozen beefand imutton,/and more than half of: the chilled beef. This particular" branch "of the meat industry (chilled beef) has practically,. been built up in the 'Argentine by the Americans, and all within the space, of five years.' Beginning at almost nothing in 1905,' the export of chilled beef from the Argentine hns grown until for the first six months of. last year it-out-stripped the frozen .product. None of this output goes to America.' It .all goes to Europe. , By virtue of much hysterical outcry, regarding 'nodules/ somo.iriflue.ico has been keeping the Australian product out of this same market, It would bo of considerable interest if one could definitely locate this influence,- and ascertain whether it has atly relationship to the ulterior aims of the much-discussed, and but little understood, American meat trust that is to bo in Australia."