Evening star., 1943-06-19
Meat

Meat
Continued From First Page)
cries already operating under but
ter subsidy need such financing the
RFC will aid them in the same
manner.
Meanwhile, a CRISIS in the Nations
meat supplies was developing as
reports of packers closing down
their plants In Ohio and of live
stock men in Neb' aska threatening
to withhold marketing of all animals
unless the Government rescinds its
price ronback and subsidy program
were received here.
The situation. underscored by a
report from Chicago that shipment
Of cattle to processing plants had
dropped sharply in the last few
days. was brought to the attention
Of President Roosevelt when a group
OF Iowa and Nebraska livestock men.
meeting in Omaha. appealed to the
| White House to intercede in their
behalf
A telegram to the President de-
clared that during the last week,
because of the break in prices of
live animals marketed. producers
and feeders have lost hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
Halt in Beef Purchases Urged.
In New York. Mayor La Guardia
went on the air. appealing to con-
sumers to halt the purchase of beef.
The supply of meat in that city
was reported by the mayor to be
"as low as it ever has been in the
entire country"
Five packing plants suspended
operations in Ohio Nine others
in Chicago and elsewhere previ-
ously had stopped slaughtering or
reported they would do so this
week. They attributed their de-
cisions to Government price regu-
lations or uncertainty on their part
over the Federal meat subsidy
program.
A step farther back on the farm
to-table production line, new sta
tistics showed sharp drop in the
number of cattle shipped to mar
kets for sale to the processing firms.
From Monday through yesterday
only l32 400 salable cattle were re-
ceived at the IL major American
markets. The total was far under
the l6l 400 that arrived in a CORE
spending period last week, and the
179, 400 delivered in a similar time
span one year ago.
Farmers Object to Prices.
The principal reason mentioned
for the slump in beef on the hoof
was that the farmers didn't like the
prices being paid. Sheep receipts
were somewhat smaller, but there
was a substantial increase in the
flow of hogs to the sales centers.
While cattle shipments were fall
ing off in the middle of the week,
meat subsidy rates, ranging from
0.95 cents to 103 cents a pound
live weight, were announced by the
Defense Supplies Corp, the RFC
agency which will finance the pay
ments to packers to compensate
them for 10 per cent rollback in
retail prices.
However, virtually all beef, veal
and lamb packing plants in the
Greater Cincinnati area were closed
or in the process Of closing, and
officials stated they could not op-
crate under Government price CELL
ing regulations. President Arthur
Rehn of the william G.. REIN Sons
Co. commented:
Meat Strike Threatened.
I'VE stopped slaughtering Thurs
day and will not reopen until given
Federal aid. We have lost s45 900
in the last six weeks. Beef has
been costing us about 27 cents a
pound and we sell at o.
Another plant ceased operations
| in Columbus, Ohio. Four others in
| the State of Washington took SINH
lar action recently.
The Cleveland Union Stockyards
reported some packing houses had
stopped slaughtering beef.
At Fremont, Nebr., approximately
30 Nebraska and Iowa livestock
feeders threatened a pork, beef and
lamb strike" unless the Government
revokes its rollback and subsidy pro-
grams.
Corn Price Increase Demanded.
Meanwhile from Capitol Hill came
demands for an increase in the price
OF corn as means of encouraging
farmers to release their stocks need
ed to feed livestock and poultry to
produce grain alcohol for the war
effort and to provide starch needed
in manufacturing other products.
The original demand came from
Senator Lucas, Democrat, of Illi-
nois, and was Immediately backed
by Senators Hatch, Democrat, of
New Mexico; Maybank, Democrat,
Of South Carolina; McCarran, Demo-
crat, of Nevada, and Wherry, Re-
publican, of Nebraska.
Senator Lucas read letter from
Food Administrator Chester C. Davis
saying that farmers were holding
their corn because they could realize
$1.35 to $l60 bushel feeding
it to hogs, while they could get only
SLOT at the Chicago market. The
price of corn has been frozen by the
Once Of Price Administration.