Evening star., 1943-03-31
Meat|ess Days
Plan Studied
ByCity Heads
Sunday Tuesday Ban
Proposed by Hotels;
Cote Men Opposed

A proposal that Sundays and Tues
day be proclaimed meatless days
for all public eating places in the
District was being studied today by
the Commissioners.
The recommendation came from
the Washington Hotel Association,
which pointed out that under new
rationing regulations, hotels are
having their meat supplies reduced
from 40 to 30 per cent of what they
used last December.
Because Friday is normally a
meatless day for many people, the
hotel group said that, in effect, two
and one-half or three days meat
supplies could be saved as the re-
suit of such proclamation by the
Commissioners.
Opposed by Restaurants.
Restaurant men in the District
went on record late yesterday,
through the Washington Restaurant
Association, as being opposed to
any meatless days at this time. Rep
fesentatives of the restaurant group
were to confer with the Commission
ers at 3 pm. today to discuss the
proposal.
John Russell Young, chairman OF
the Board of Commissioners, pointed
out that the Commissioners had no
legal authority to order such meat
less days and that any proclamation
would, in effect, be merely request
for cooperation. He said that if
there Is any division of thought on
the wisdom of instituting meatless
days, the plan probably would be
unsuccessful.
Would Test Reaction.
Commissioner Young also sug-
gested that the question be submit
ted to. the Federation of Citizens
Associations for its reaction as a
test OF public sentiment toward the
plan.
Engineer Commissioner Charles
w. Kutz called attention to the fact
that the plan proposed by the Dis
rtict hotel men would differ from
that initiated in New York some
time ago by Mayor La Guardia in
that the New York meatless Tues
day was not restricted to public eat
ing places but was supposed to ap-
ply to private families as well.
In a letter to the Commissioners,
dated last Monday, L. Gardner
Moore. president of the hotel asso-
citation. explained that the meat re-
duction for hotels would range be-
tween 40 and 80 per cent of the De-
cember supply.
This severe cut" he said, means
we are compelled Immediately to re-
wise our menus by reducing meat
items to the minimum"
Mr.. Moore said he was afraid "the
public generally will not under
stand" and will be reluctant to
accept" statements of hotel men that
their rations have been drastically
reduced.
Explains Hotel Stand.
Arthur j. Harnett, executive sec
retary of the hotel group. said the
hotel men would be willing to go
ahead with the two meatless days.
even without the concurrence of the
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the Commissioners"
He explained that under the point
system of rationing meat. the small
est hamburger stand could now get
as much meat per customer as the
hotels. even though previously there
was considerable difference be-
tween the size of the portions served.
j. Willard Marriott. president of
the restaurant association, urged
that the rationing program be given
trial before meatless days were
inaugurated. He said the Board of
Directors of his association yester-
day decided they were in favor of
trying to continue serving meat each
day. Instead of meatless days, he
said, his group was advocating the
inclusion of more fowl and sea food
on menus and the use of meat
extender recipes.