Evening star., 1942-11-21
Butter Stocks
Here Unaffected
By WPB Order ::
Capital Area Expected
To Fare Better Than
Most Of Country
BY JAMES Y. NEWTON,


Washington will fare better
than the rest of the country
under the War Production Board
order freezing 40 per cent of the
Nations cold storage butter to
make supplies available for the
armed forces and lease lend, a
spokesman for the Office of
Civilian Supply said today.
The order, issued last night, to be
effective Immediately, froze half of
the supply of cold storage butter in
the IS principal markets of the
country 40 per cent of all in stor-
age) until March g. The action was
recommended by WPB's Food Re-
quirements Committee because the
butter supply has reached the lowest
level since 1882 and that Army and
Lease Lend Administration were eX-
periencing difficulty getting enough
of the commodity to meet their
needs. The order sets aside for
their uses between 30,000,0OO and
35,000,000 pounds
The committee also recommended
to WPB that the freeze order be
superseded as soon as possible by
an order limiting to a percentage of
production the butter for civilian
use. or reserving a portion of cur
rent production for the needs of our
military and Allies. In this way
requirements for war purposes will
be worked out and supplies assured
for an entire var.
d. c., Baltimore Not Included.
Neither Washington nor Balti-
more was included among the IS
markets where butter stocks were
frozen. DR.. Roland Vale of the
Office of Civilian Supply said the
two cities were not on the list be-
cause they are not markets from
which the Government regularly re-
celves reports of supply stocks. He
added that, while Washington is not
one of the large butter markets.
stocks in storage here will be free
TO move into civilian trade, and that
residents of the Capital will be
better off than those in other sec
tlons and will not feel the pinch of
the butter shortage so quickly.
Effect of increased requirements
for the armed forces and lease lend
Will be that the average person will
have about two pounds less butter
a year than he normally had. The
war purchases are expected to re-
duce average civilian consumption
from II pounds year to about Is
pounds.
! DR.. Vale estimated that the sup
plies of butter for civilians in the
future would fall about 10 per cent
short of demands. He said high
officials hoped it would not be neces-
sary to ration butter. Rationing, he
added, would not be brought nearer
because of the freeze action. Gov
ernment purchases for our armed
forces and Allies would have aver.
aged about 100000 pounds
month anyway. The action enables
the Government to fill it's needs
, easier.
No Immediate Pinch Likely.
The effect of this huge lump"
| consignment of butter out of civilian
trade, DR.. Vaile said, would not be
| felt Immediately by the housewife.
He said it would be January before
the public felt the pinch" and dis
covered it could not purchase all the
butter it wanted to.
Officials said there are plentiful
supplies of butter substitutes, mar
garines for table use and other fats
for cooking.
WPB declared the shortage of
butter in storage is so serious that
vessels having space available for
butter are leaving with other cargo,
because of the inability of the Gov
eminent to purchase the commod-
ity. This situation, it was said. "re-
quired prompt and drastic action"
The freezing action applies to any
person in the IS market areas. who
between November and November
20 had butter in his possession or
under his control in warehouse.
He is required to set aside until
March 6, so per cent of the supply
on hand November or 20, which,
ever is greater. The butter may not
be delivered except with specific
permission of the WPB. If the
(See BUTTER. Page AL