Evening star., 1943-05-29
D. T.. Grocers Expect
Rush 10 Cash Coupons
That Expire Monday
Some Butchers Doubt
Meat on Hand Will
Supply Todoy's Demand

Already in the throes OF an early
Saturday rush, grocers today looked
forward to an unpleasant few hours
late this afternoon and evening as
housewives clamored to cash in their
remaining food coupons before they
expire over the holiday week end.
Although many housewives still
have large blocks of their red E. F..
G and H stamps left in Ration Book
No. 2, meat dealers reported their
stocks were strictly limited Many
persons who have visions OF Juicy
steaks or beef roasts for the Me-
mortal Day week end will be dis
appointed and will have to settle
for less desirable cuts Some butch
ers doubted even that they would
have enough meat of any kind to
see them through the day.
Holiday InterveneS.
The four series Of red coupons
don't expire until Monday at mid
night, but because of the holiday
most stores will be closed after to-
night until Tuesday morning. Also
expiring Monday is the No. II stamp
IN Book l. good for pounds of
sugar. The No % stamp in Book |
valid for l pound of coffee, expires
at midnight tomorrow.
Many dealers felt the periodic
shortage of meat near the end of
each month is due to the OPA's pol
Icy OF making the red stamps valid
on cumulative basis. The result
Is, many dealers have observed, that
a large number of housewives stav
away from butcher shops when ONLY
TWO or three series of stamps are
Valld and wait until the last week in
the month when they can cash in
five rows of stamps all at once if
they choose. Besides the four sets
OF red stamps which expire on Mon
DAY, red stamps marked j also are
good today.
Better Meat Balance Awaited.
The OPA has promised that red
stamps would be placed on month
ly basis the same as blue STAMPS.
thus permitting the housewife to
budget her purchases throughout
the month. II she wants to treat
her family to roast or a ham. she
could do so at any time in the month
instead OF having to wait, as she
Goes now, until the end of the month
when she has enough valid stamps.
up TO now, the OPA has hesitated to
change this system until the distri-
button OF meat to all parts of the
country came into better balance
Meatmen say, however, that the
system itself tends to keep the SUM-
ply unqualified. Most of them be-
lleVe that If four sets of stamps
were made valid at the beginning of
each month and remained good un-
I'll the end OF the month. with one
set overlapping into the next month
housewives themselves would helm
| to equalize distribution by spread
Ing their purchases more evenly over
the month.
Potatoes Still Scarce,
meanwhile, most of the homes
which will have no beefsteaks on the
table tomorrow and Monday prob
ably will have no potatoes either.
Although supplies of this scarce
commodity were improving a little
1t is still not possible to find them
in most stores. The places that have
them are doing them out in small
quantities.
Supplies of other vegetables and
fresh fruits were coming in salts
factorily. although citrus fruits were
becoming somewhat scarce as the
season declined.
In a further effort to break the
black market on potatoes. the War
Food Administration yesterday de-
creed that shipments in 80 more
counties in Florida, Georgia. North
Carolina and Virginia would be
placed under control to enable the
armed forces to obtain supplies and
to provide for equitable distribution
among civilian markets. All shippers
in these counties, as we'll as in others
named previously, will be required
to get licenses before sending pota-
toes out of the county by rail or
truck.