MEAT AND BUTTER IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 144342, 5 March 1914, Page 8

MEAT AND BUTTER IN SAN FRANCISCO.

The San Francisco correspondent of the Melbourne Ago thus describes 'he condition of the San Franks:o market at the end ol .January, when the nai* mate arrived from Sydney and Wellington with 1000 tons of frozen prodnee and 168.0001 b, of button—The tactic adopted by the S;ui Francisco meal re* tailors are now. and have noon tor several months, to sell the meal as meal, and obtain the prevailin'?; prices, thereby reaping a rich harvest ol jfront. They flatly denied they were handling Australian meat, and refused to hill it ;us such, although the size and quality of tile imported article was patent tv all purchasers. The prime ajq>ea ranee of the foreign commodity ju-.-id U‘yond a doubt consumer.-, were getting the Australian product, hut the retailers maintained it was American meat only ihit they purveyed, and accordingly demanded iho local higher prices. One unbiassed official aptly remarked: "If retailors say that it is Australian moat the public naturally expect a reduction in prices, but this the retailers do not fool disposed to give.’* Immediately upon the arrival of the Waimate, the San Francisco memmlile manipulators ol the market initiated a movement to “freeze 0111* the imported commodity. HutW of rut almost parallel quality was quoted at San Francisco at 27 cents a pound for tho local article, as against the Australian butter, which cost about 20J cents to land in the Californian metropolis. 'Jlie depreciation ot local juices was caused by tho extraordinary rains in California and tho promise of a good season, the market manipulators pleaded. Apart from this plea, the general reduction in prices was obviously brought about to prevent Australian butter being .successfully handled. Tho consumer sizes up the situation as an effort by the American trusts to kill tho operations of Australian exporters. Air. FricJce. Commissioner for the Victorian Government at San Francisco, fjiud:—‘‘The best local butter, in San Francisco bos been brought down to tho price of tv hat it costs to bind Australian storage butter in California. The imported butter is classed with die local second-grade—called “firsts"—ami much of it lias hern in cold storage. The fresh local butter is held to be snjxu’ior, yet its prico lias been lowered to 27 cents a pound. Fresh dairy butter in San Francisco is known jus ‘extras, 'file cut in price of 2$ cents prevents the Australian butter being handled. Tlio only cni'O will be to petition (Engross for a further reduction in the. butler duty imposed by the Vnited States Government on the landing ot butter from abroad."