URUGUAY: Commercial Cannibalism

When the U.S. Army asked for bids last month to supply 10.7 million lbs. of meat for troops in Germany, the most eager response came from Uruguay. Faced with a slump in the world wool market and harassed by the economic bullying of neighboring Argentina, Uruguay needed additional export business to keep its currency stable.

At the Army's quartermaster office in Chicago, Uruguay's agents offered beef at $27.80 a hundredweight. Several days before the deadline, which was set for noon one day last fortnight, Army buyers assured them that it was the likeliest bid yet received. Taking no chances, Uruguayans...

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