90 THE HIGH COST OF LIVING 



local meat-dealers and the local slaughter-houses 

 by the packers. This control was brought about 

 in a variety of ways. The packers erected cold- 

 storage plants in the cities. Local butchers had to 

 come to them for meat and especially for canned 

 meat and by-products. And the packers refused to 

 sell to them unless they accepted their terms. If 

 the local butchers insisted on buying local meat, 

 the packing-houses opened independent butcher 

 shops and sold meat at so low a figm'e that the in- 

 dependent butchers were driven out of business. 

 Or they bought out the local slaughter-houses and 

 closed them down so that the farmer had no place 

 to kill his cattle. A quarter of a century ago almost 

 every town contained a slaughter-house. To-day 

 they do not exist or do a veiy small business. In 

 every other country of the world, with the excep- 

 tion of the United States, cattle are killed at local 

 abattoirs. And everywhere, with the possible ex- 

 ception of the United States and Great Britain, 

 cattle must be slaughtered in public abattoirs. 

 Private plants are not permitted. As a result, in 

 Germany there are one thousand public abattoirs, 

 every city of any size having a meat-killing estab- 

 lishment, which is one of the show-places of the 

 city. 



The railroads derived no revenue from cattle 

 driven to market on the hoof and little revenue on 

 cattle from the neighboring country. They desired 



