Evening star., 1935-08-19
lrate Housewives Demand Wallace Cut Meat Prices
Q
BY BLAIR BOLLES.
Detroit housewives, leaders
l. in a three-week boycott of
butchers because Of high meat

1--WE Detroit housewives. leaders
l. in a three-week boycott of
butchers because Of high meat
l. costs in the automobile city, to-
day brought their woes to Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace.
He listened patiently 10 their pro.
tests. answered some of their COM
plants and then left the room as Mrs.
Mark Zuk, leader of the group, was
demanding:
Aren't you going to give us def
mite reply?"
Just then the door closed behind
Wallace and Mrs zuk exclaimed;
well, there he goes. But If we don't
get some action. we're going to strike
until the strikers bring down the price
of meat It's time to end this racket v
Hurry to White House.
The women then hurried to the
White House with their platform,
which calls for:
/. An immediate investigation Of
packers profits. to be held in Detroit
and ended in two weeks.
2. Prosecution of packers for
''profiteering, especially so now.
when prices were raised in order to
intimidate the Detroit populace."
3. A 20 per cent reduction on all
meats as Of July Is.
Wallace mopped his brow in the
packed, small office of DR.. Calvin
Hoover, consumers counsel of the
A. A. A., when he was confronted by
the strikers.
Mrs. Zuk began by demanding Gov
ernment investigation of packers
profits.
Question of Conspiracy.
1--WE might be able to do something
along that line if it we're shown there
is a conspiracy in Detroit to make
prices to the consumer higher there, "
Wallace said.
Mrs. Zuk-"Don't the Government
know we want to live? Why does 1t
try to starve us?"
Wallace-"Have you thought about
the farmers end of it?"
Mrs. Zuk-Yeh. I've thought about
them poor farmers. But they ain't
getting anything now. Maybe the
rich farmers are getting good prices,
but the poor farmers aren't"
Everything in Detroit has gone up
but wages" interposed Mrs. Pearl
Alderman a member of the delega-
ton. We think it's about time We
have an opportunity at enjoying an
American standard of living"
Blue hated Mrs. Zuk did all the
talking to Dr. Hoover for the house
wives. She opened by asking:
why does the Government pay
the farmers not to produce pigs?"
Hoover replied:
Because the prices were so low to
the farmer that he was in dire
straits. The drought could not be
foreseen at the time the reduction
program was put into effect. The
aim Of the A. A. A. now is TO increase
the supply of meat"
Then" Mrs. Zuk pursued, why
does the Government have a reduction
program this year,"
To keep the supply of corn and
hogs in line" Hoover said. I'VE
could not increase the production of
pigs because there is so little corn to
feed them"
Mrs. Zuk then leaned forward In
her chair and asked in louder
voice:
Why do you raise prices when the
people are hungry?"
The principal reason was that II
was an effort to increase the farmers
income and spread the purchasing
power" Hoover said. Claude Wickard
chief of the A. A. A. corn-hog sec
ton, at this point came to Hoover S
aid and said:
When hog prices in Detroit were
So hundred in 1882, there was much
more suffering than there is now
We're rtying to help everybody. We
want to arrive at a happy medium for
the farmer and the consumer"
Mrs. Zuk's lieutenants, known as
the Central Action Committee Against
the High Cost of Living, are Mrs
Elizabeth Moss, Mrs. Katherine Mudra
Mrs Pearl Alderman and Mrs. Irene
Thompson.