The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-30

you understand, are in strict viola
ton of the divine law of supply and
demand which, as pointed out In
this space few days ago, takes a
terrible beating in wartimes. This
is just more of the same.
First, livestock slaughtering limi-
tations on hogs were removed for
a period of 80 days, thus permit
ting farmers to butcher all of their
own pork that they want to, up to
mid-February. In a way, this is
return to normal, free marketing
conditions, permitting a hog raiser
to do what he wants to with his
own hogs. The original slaughter
ing restrictions were of course a
violation of the law of supply and
demand. But lifting the restric-
tons serves to diminish the over
supply.
CLEARANCE REQUIRED
Second, though mountaineering
by hog raisers was permitted, far
1ners were advised that before they
could bring or ship hogs to market
they would have to call up their
marketing agency and get clear
ance for sale and delivery. Hog
pens at the slaughter houses being
full and the slaughterers being I'M
able to handle the hogs as fast as
they were offered, many animals
were actually dying in the pens
or requiring feeding at the sellers
expense for two or three days, I'M
til they could be slaughtered.
Third, the government announc-
ed that it would buy all federally
inspected pork offered for sale by
the slaughterers, buying at prices
that would enable the slaughterers
to pay hog raisers not less than the
government guaranteed support
price minimum Of $13.75 per hun
dredweight at Chicago.
Fourth, the War Food Admins
tration issued an order to the De-
tense Supplies Corporation, hand
ling the pork subsidy payments, re-
quiring DISC to withhold subsidies
from any slaughterer whose month
ly average purchasing price on live
hogs was below the government
guaranteed support price of $13.75
per hundredweight, Chicago. Again,
an absolute violation of the good
old law of S. and d. by the use of
those hated things called subsidies.
MINIMUM PRICE
GUARANTEED
Fifth, the War Food Adninistra-
ton and the Office of Price Adj
ministration, working together, eX-
tended their system of support pric-
es to all the principal hog mar
kets, guaranteeing the hog raisers
a minimum price of 81 per hun
dredweight below the local ceiling
prices on live logs already estab-
lished regionally by OPA. Still
again, an artificial raising Of pric-
es on a falling market, in violation
of the law of supply and demand.
Sixth, OPA lowered the point val
ue on pork meats by two points a
pound. This is the only step in
this six-headed operation which di-
rectly touches the consumer. Its
purpose of course Is to encourage
consumers to buy more pork and
reduce the over-supply, thus MAX
ing more space in cold storage
warehouses for the great flood of
hogs still backed up on the farm,
awaiting slaughter.
Reports from hog market centers
right after Thanksgiving indicate
that the six controls outlined above
are beginning to work, and that
marketing is now more orderly
than it has been for weeks. If this
condition continues, it will not be
due to allowing free play to the
law of supply and demand, but by
violating it at almost every level
of the market. All it proves is that
life in wartime is truly complicated.