Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-07-29

current Readers Digest, gives a
most interesting, if grim, overall
picture of the food situation in
this country. Every thinking house
wife would do we'll to study his
facts very closely, for from them
she may we'll see the shape of
things to come. Not pretty read
ing-far from it-but if anything
can be done to remedy some of the
ills to which Mr. Bromfield refers,
the opinion and cooperation of
women throughout the United
States will be tremendous factors
This is no time to sit back and let
George do it-Georgette will have
to get out and push, too. if real
privation is to be avoided in the
months ahead.
Conditions in Washington are
we'll known to every woman who
keeps house and who reads the
papers. Scarcities of this, short
ages of that, soaring prices, dealers
barely able to do business, contradict
tons and false starts, changes in
ration point values, confusion in
general-all combine to make house
keeping greater headache than
it ever was in the days of the early
settlers! The management of even
the smallest household nowadays
calls for the patience of JOB, the
ingenuity of Thomas Edison, the
mathematical ability of Einstein
and the physical stamina of Joe
Louis pretty big list of
requirements for any little woman
to fill! When this war is over there
should be medals struck off and
presented to the housewives, who, in
the majority of instances, have
shouldered their complicated and
thankless burden with a gallantry
and courage that is equal to many
deed of valor in the field.
This past week, to get back to
our usual Thursday business, has
seen few more chickens and even
some ducks for sale in local mar
kets. Squads have been good, too,
but are selling at luxury prices.
Dealers are reluctant to predict
whether the trickle of poultry arriv-
ing in town will continue or dWindle
away, but are hopeful that some
fowl will be available for the week
end buying.
Fresh meats, for the most part. are
about as scarce as last week. Some
stores have few cuts of beef and
lamb on hand, with little pork and
veal being offered in other markets
Meat sundrieS seem to have been
somewhat more plentiful. with
brains leading the picture. Smoked
meats, luncheon cuts and sausages,
with a few spareribs, pigs feet, tails,
bacon and neckbones round out an
uninspiring list. In general-start
on your marketing trip with an open
mind and a fair degree of optimism
the chances are that you won't
get what you want, but you will get
something.
The fish situation is still poor,
as far as fish from the North is con-
cerned. New England fishermen
continue to sit tight, and no catches
are being brought in to Boston in
Consequence. Therefore, you will
find salmon, haddock, cod and sole
Just about nonexistent in Wash
mgton markets. On hand, in good
quantity, however, will be butter
fish, trout, sea bass, croakers and
porgies. Crabmeat-both claw and
lump-is available. together with
fresh shrimp, which now sells for
about what the cooked variety
used to
The additional two points clapped
onto butter by OPA will really put
that commodity in the think-tWice-
-you-buy-it" class. Scarce and
hard to find as it has been, butter
still remains an important item in
most households, and tipping the
ration value will hurt in a lot of
places. Thank goodness, margarine
is what it is today-tasty and re-
inforced. so that, except for personal
preferences, we can use it satisfac-
torlly in many ways. Despite the
reported scarcity of cheese Wash
ington markets show very little indi-
cation Of this as vet. There seems
to be q good supply of cheddar and
iolisiIolii, SIldI dllu iuliu ClleeSe
about, together with Swiss, cream
cheese and similar items So at
least you can fall back on one of
these to supply some of those hard |
to-get proteinS this week end.
Vegetables from nearby are ap-
probably lower in price this week
but, unhappily, there are not too
many Of these on which we can de- |
pend. Tomatoes, snap beans, spin |
ach and kale are about the best
bargains in this line. Carrots are
more plentiful than they have been,
and little cheaper. Potatoes, corn,
cucumbers and green peppers are
also recommended. Celery, of varl-
able quality, is priced little lower
than last week. Okra is good
buy-don't forget the trick of cook
Ing it with tomatoes to make