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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1912)
THE SUNDAY OREGOTOAX, PORTXA1TO, NOTTOrBER 10. 1913. " "-V.s, n mi Ik- AV 1 J 5 An Account bf. . Billions in Food Products Ten Acres of Meat Markets Huge Meat and Bread Bills Duke Who Takes Toll From Every London Dinner Plate Amazing Growth of Cold Storage. ! ,' . ' - I 1. ill tm-sff-ii JwC f VI t.,.V' jm .jm&t MfW&yS' MklBijiJ r f ll 1 f ' sf - 0 ' v f155 WuJa8fcAia1.'ti,.irli..,,t. 1 (BT RUPERT NEVILLE.) LONDON. November 1. (Special Cor respondence.) Everybody these days is feeling- the nip of soaring prices. The outcry comes from all countries, most of all from the cities. II any have wondered how great cities obtain and distribute their supplies. How. for Instance, does great London live? When, last Summer, a strike broke out among the London transport workers it was startllngly demonstrated to the people of England that their capital might as easily be placed in danger of famine by a strike along the Thames as through a blockade by foreign foe. No more than a month's food supplies are held in the store houses and wharves of London; and long before that time the citizens" would have to cut down their demands to hort rations. For every day London's five million residents consume 430 tons of mutton. 00 tons of beef, TO tons of bacon and bam. besides great quantities of pork, rabbits and poultry. On that head alone the daily bill Is $200,000. Every 24 hours fruit to the value of $60,000 passes from the market and store to the home. In the same time London con sumes 160 tons of butter, 1G2 tons of cheese. 1700 tons of sugar, 912,000 pounds of tea. 14,000 tons of meal, rice and sage, 2600 tons of wheat. 60 tons of coffee and 114,000 pounds of cocoa. The fact that nearly half of the huge dally supply comes by way of the river Thames proves once more how powerful la the Influence of that busy stream on the life of the British people. At a time when New York and other great cities are considering the reform of their means of food distribution, an outline of how London manages to sup ply five million hungry mouths will be of more than usual Interest. It should be borne in mind that London is an accretion produced by time. Not so very many years ago there were men till .living who could remember hedge rows running down to within easy dls tance of Trafalgar Square. But today London reaches far out into Middlesex, Essex. Surrey, Hertfordshire and Kent and is ceaselessly extending all the time. Loadom'a warrtw Limits. Thus the old authorities have been outgrown and London now Is adminis tered by several bodies, not counting the Fort of London Authority, which keeps watch and ward over the Inter ests, trade and commerce of the great Thames waterway. Visitors to London often are surprised to find how small a space in reality is covered by the Corporation of the City of London that portion of the brick and mortar ruled by the Lord Mayor. Roughly speaking, "The City" proper Is but a square mile, from Temple Bar In Fleet street to Aldgate In the East. Beyond that lies a great expanse of urban area administered by the London County Council, whose authority extends over 115 square miles, while outside that again la the Irregular belt of Greater London, consisting of rapidly growing suburban areas, extending from 25 to 30 mllea Into the country and forming the outer dormitory of London's business follows that In that great triple area there la some confusion of Inter ests, and the vast, unwieldy whole Is not served as comprehensively by its markets as would be the case if a fresh start were to be made today. But like everything else In London the markets have risen with the town. Like Topsy. they have simply "growed." Still, even so, something of an orderly plan Is discernible. In way back times the erection of markets and fairs formed part of the King's prerogative, and none could ex ist except by direct grant from the crown. Henry III. covenanted by char ter with the City of London not to grant permission to anyone else to set up & market within a radius of seven miles from the city, and this privilege was subsequently confirmed by a char ter granted by Edward III In March, 1326. This power, more or less, remains to day; and, while the corporation has from time to time waived Its rights in order to permit of the establishment of markets in London by private enter prise, where a special demand existed, its franchises as the market authority tor London have been recognized and confirmed by recent acta of parliament and decisions of the law courts. As a matter of fact the value of all markets must be governed by some such power as that, for unless there Is Immunity from competition within a given area there will always be a region abutting on a market which will tend to weaken the market Itself by evading tolls and diverting business. Cattle Market Old One. The corporation controls the live cattle market at Islington, the foreign cattle market at Deptford. by the Thames side, the great wholesale cen tral meat markets at Smlthfield, the retail meat. fish, game and fruit mar kets at Farringdon street and Leaden hall, the vegetable market at Spltal flelds and the famous fish market at Billingsgate. Of these the most import ant Is the Central Meat Market, cover ing 10 acres of historic ground that was formerly part of a vast open space Just outside the city walls. Smlthfield was the scene in those days of many tournaments and feasts, fairs and arch ery contests. In 13S1 the Lord Mayor, Sir William Walworth, killed the rebel Wat Tyler there. As long ago as 1150 It Is known that horses and cattle were sold at Smith field. After Charles I. gave the corpo ration control, his successor deprived them of their rights, but William and Mary restored them, and since then no body has seriously contested their powers. For a long time It was a live cattle market. In 1593 a writer named John Erswick wrote "There were 60 butchers, freemen of the city, who ach killed five oxen dally, or 300 per week; the non-freshmen, or 'foreigners,' as they were called, killed altogether four times as many as the freemen, or 1200 weekly." Hardly anything could dem onstrate more effectively the growth of London's population and food demands than those figures In contrast with the figures of today. The time came when a live cattle market In the heart of London could no longer be tolerated. So the dead meat markets ' were established at Smlthfield and the present buildings were erected In 1860 at a cost of $10,- 000.000. All renting In the market are weekly, the charge averaging 4 cents per square foot for ground-floor space, including complete fittings and a sup ply -of water. Besides that a rurtner charge of 1 cent for every 42 pounds of meat, poultry or provisions Is made on all that enters the market. The scene here between 6 and 11 In the morning Is Impressive In Its stir and activity. Compared to the quieter doings of the great fruit and vegetable market of Covent Garden, London's meat emporium is a throbbing hive and a cleanly one, too, for the Inspec tion of the market and the meat Is very stringent. There are 622 stalls or shops, of which 400 are wholesale, and over 10,000 men are employed In the mar kets. Nearly half the Imported meat consumed la the whole of the United! Kingdom Is dealt with at Smlthfield. Last year 435.S16 tons of meat were thus handled, on which tolls were paid to the tune of over $735,580. Of this the fresh killed supplies totalled 154,041, Including the live stock Imported and killed at the Deptford slaughter houses. Real English supplies were only 86,870 tons. Nowadays the cold storage -companies handle most of the supplies, and South America, New Zealand and Aus tralia are the lands of origin of the greater part of lc No less than 80 per cent of the supplies are brought In re frigerated chambers from overseas, and the last official report gives the start ling fact that the whole supply of for eign imports, -Lonaon i mainstay as regards meat, depends upon open unob structed sea passages ranging up to voyages of six weeks' duration." The United States, up to 10 years ago, pro duced 41 per cent of these supplies, but "the population and requirements ap pear to have overtaken that country's surplus meat production, and it may safely be said that the United States of America, in patrlcular for domestlo needs. Is within measurable distance of becoming a competitor with ourselves for the output of South America." Food From the Dutch. Formerly, too, the continent of Eu rope used to loom largely as a sup plier of London's meat market, but Germany now eats the products of Schleswig-Holsteln herself. Only from the Netherlands does considerable meat now reach London, and these supplies are In admirable condition; Indeed, after the Scotch, Dutch mutton, veal and pork are considered the best in the market. For the future Australia and South America are mainly looked to for supplies till they too are ex hausted, and then what is to be fed to the great mass of the metropolis no one knows.- Australia and New Zea land supply already most of the mut ton, while the Argentine sends nearly half the beef. As the meat shortage in Germany, France, Austria and Italy Is driving those countries Into the mar. ket as buyers, there is keen competition coming for the world's available meat product. It was not further back than 1119 Joor - gents J&o&t 2rex-f drier brcvi Ceji trZ J e that the first consignment of. frozen meat was Imported about 30 tons In all. The London corporation did not grasp the importance of the new de velopment, with the result that they let private companies step In with cold storage accommodation and today a rich reward is being reaped by these concerns, for there are now over 200 specially fitted steamsips engaged In the trade, capable of carrying 13,000,- 000 carcasses. To accommodate this huge bulk of frozen meat there are 30 large cold steres within the city area. able to accommodate over 3,00U,uuu car casses; but the strike in the early Sum mer demonstrated the need of more and it is being urged that the corporation should provide them. Besides the central meat markets, the corporation has public slaughter houses and chill rooms at Islington, built at a cost of $300,000, designed to secure the most cleanly and hygienlo methods. In these 37,670 cattle, 101, 646 sheep, 11,722 calves and 34,981 pigs were slaughtered last year. All car casses, whether killed In England or not. are Inspected and. If' found In any way unsound, are condemned to be de stroyed. This 4s done by throwing them into a huge machine along with the Inedible offal, subjecting them to steam pressure and then crushing them into powder for agricultural fertilizing purposes. Whatever offal parts are edible, however, are sold to the poor, and it Is calculated that the editde offal of a steer provides a meal for 40 peo ple and that of a shep for eight people. So much for London's enormous meat bilL As to fruit and vegetables, the markets are more widespread. Covent Garden Is, of course, the most famous and most important, and as an early morning spectacle draws every visitor to London who can rise early enough to Its locality. But it Is by no means the only market. There are others at Spitalflelds and Stratford, in the East End; the Borough, south of the Thames, and at Kew, on the West. But these are mainly for the rougher supplies potato as, cab bares tod the like, that are brought In by wagon overnight from farms in Essex, Kent and Middle sex. Covent Garden remains the clearing-house of all the Continental produce and the finer supplies of home grown fruit, vegetables and flowers. Dnke Reaps Big Toll. Covent Garden was once attached to Westminster Abbey and was' then known as Convent Garden, but on the dissolution. of thex monasteries this garden, together with a neighboring field known as Seven Acres, now called Longacre, was given by Edward VI to Edward, Duke of Somerset, and, when that dignitary was condemned in 1652, they were transferred by the monarcn to John, Earl of Bedford, who built a house at the bottom of what is now Southampton street, leading from Co vent Garden to the Strand. Ever since that time the Bedford family have held the place and today the present Duke of Bedford draws a huge income from this and the adjacent neighborhood, amounting soma say though no defi nite figures are available to close on $10,000,000 a year. In the market Itself he not only draws rents from standholders, but exaots a toll on everything sold there, and as he owns all the property round about, he can enforce his rule of having no compet ing interest within half a mile of the market. Every wagon sent to Covent .Garden with produce Is charged not less than Z5 cents, while the stands on which the growers display their samples are charged 25 oents a day. The regular tenants of stands on the market pay not only 25 oents per square foot of space, but a varying charge on the pro duce, of which a few samples will suf ficecarrots 86 cents per score dozen bunches, potatoes 4 cents a sack, and garden fruits 28 cents a bushel. Thus does the Duke of Bedford take toil on every dinner plate In London. The origin of the market was casual. People used to come to sell goods In the Covent Garden square, round which the famous architect Inlgo Jones built houses for the Bedford family, and gradually the market grew from that. There was snly one bridge over tne i names in those seventeenth cen tury days, but the building of West minster Bridge led to the final estab llshment of the market. The buildings so used were for generations, however. very mean structures, so, In 1827, the jjuko or .Bedford obtained parllamen tary powers to rebuild the market and the foundations of the present market were definitely laid. Market Transactions 4,nlet. Very little is obtainable about Co vent Garden In the way of statistics. because ef this private ownership. Per haps because of that secrecy, or per' haps on account of the picturesque scenes to be witnessed there when the sun first kisses the roofs of London In the morning hours, Covent Garden re mains the most romantic and attractive of London's food centers. Like Smith field it has historic associations, and more than one duel was fought there in oiaen days. Today the nearest ap proaoh to dueling is found in the N tional Spsrting Club, the headquarters or British boxing, located In an adja cent street. . Formerly the market was mainly supported by growers, who sent their produce in by wagons, and some 'till remain. They are the only annual tenants of the Duke of Covent Garden. But the tendency of re cent years, since London has grown so wide, has been for the grow ers to be represented by dealers or commission men, who are mostly weekly tenants of their stands. Some of them have so earned the confidence of retailers that the largest orders are handled with the least talk. Two things. In fact, are apt to disappoint the visitor to the early market the ab sence of the street traders, or cost ers, and their barrows, and the com parative cairn of the market transac tions. Yet the man who is going so quietly from dealer to dealer Is very J self peopl latest statistic 1 likely placing rapid dally orders wort' many thousands of dollars and Is oi his way home again In half an hour. As for the coster, he usually come after the fruit store buyers and hotel' have finished buying. He Is often ; good purchaser "at a price." Tha means that he can handle a big quan tity from his donkey carts, but It mus be cheap. So when a dealer has a bi. lot over after the ordinary demand I finished, or a consignment of straw-l berries or bananas in danger of becom-l ing overripe he gets In touch with the! costers, sells them tlie lot at a low fid ure and they peddle the fruit from asorl to door, for quick consumption. I But this generation is to see the las of the street traders, so far as thf "square mile or city is concerns' Traffic congestion has made thejl presence on the streets undeslrablfc, ' ther has Just been put In force a la onmnelline- all such traders to wear a official badge and obtain a permit. Bi as on the death of the present holder! the permits will not be re-Issued, streH tradlns one of the most ancieni London occupations will Bpeedily dlH appear. Equally Interesting to the Londo rrioitn,- i tha Pedlar'n Market, hel every Friday afternoon on the cattl market at Islington. To that corn? of tho metroDolis all the oddment modern or antique, from thousands cJ homes, seem to have been carteo n-, the cuVious to examine. Amid stack of rubbish, too, one may find from tlm to time a real gem In old books, si: verware. furniture or art, while Soot land Yard sleuths have an eye on m pedlar's mart for glimpses of stole goods being turned Into cash amid th miv of wares. But the city gain over $10,000 in pedlar's tolls paid this market every year. Lone Vlgtl of Eel boats. Rut the fish market is as notabl as ever. Last year there were abou 1,000,000 tons of fish disposed of ther. of which 64 per cent came by ranroa. and 36 per cent by sea. Great steai vessels follow the fishing fleets thi. rov round the coast of Britain an th.ir catches to BUlingsgatH In this connection one of many cur! ous facts of ancient foundation ma ... Thnre are always tw Dutch eel boats Just on the Thame side of Billmgsgate marReu , j a ... or.. the right was give for two such boats to be located ther.. but the fear of tne ow. .m if they ever vacated the loa''n tn would lose It; so every -i h.i. come in from Hollan IVj .. .V motr ones slip out. to re .-.hr iargo later on Rents and Tolls at Billingsgate br.n J in nearly $175,000 a year, ana porters, with their UtlnoUT leathe r - mninvtwi in the marKei Time was when fighting and horse tO.v were the oonstant accompanl ' .v.. .riit. and a strange 4.v of being pelted wn Hsh and assailed with foul epithets But today daintily dressed women maj pass through without any violence t, eve, or ears. As one of the salesmei remarked to an overseas visitor morning. "Billingsgate 1 changed to what It was 30 years agH NOW II S III lor " . . Thus, on all sides London has " rfi.trthutins- centers. The -tigm jn w island" does much Denor nrtin way than many 7 t- the Lm?Br thr annual amount of horn md as $00.ouo.wu ani imported- produce at ,830 0000 Nevertheles in SDent on lmporieu iuuu. spam oa the noli T.tworthy source of wheat suppl and last year the Dominion ser. anO J , . V.on nv nth. -1 w. mare wactti J - BlIIW" . , , T-, .. . . . country in tne worm, oui tin' does not take it all. in ract. only 3 cent of England's food comes froi nituh nossesslons. Englishmen ea nil nounds of meat per head ever ir.ar and 243 pounds of wheat an riour. Thirty per cent of the butte used In home proaucea; mors man na the cheese Is Canadian. The decreas Ing production of butter and cheese ii England is due to the Increasing del mand for fresh milk, the supply which annually has to be augmente by 120.000 gallons from France an Holland. Adding condensed milk, Enjd land oonsumes 900,000,000 gallons milk every 11 months.