The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1943-12-01
Supply, Demand
BY PETER EDISON

II you can stand Just one more serving of
hog meat as subject for discussion, an effort
will be made to guide you through the half
dozen steps which the various food regulatory
agencies of the government have taken in an
effort to bring the hog market back on an
even keel after hog ralsers all started offer
ing their fat porkers for sale at the same
time Cutting the market and knocking prices
below the government Guaranteed support
levels All these actions, you understand, are
in strict violation of the divine law of supply
and demand which, as pointed out in this
space few days ago. takes terrible beat
ing in wartirnes. This is just more of the same
First livestock slaughtering Limitations on
hogs were removed for a. period of 90 days.
thus permitting farmers to butcher all of their
own pork that they want to, up to mid-Feb-
ruary. In 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 slaughtering restrictions
were of course violation of the law of supply
and demand. But lifting tae restrictions serves
to diminish the over-supply.
Second, though home butchering by hog
raisers was permitted, farmers were advised
that before they could bring CT ship hogs to
market they would have to cal up their mar
keting agency and get clearance for sale and
delivery. Hog pens at the slaughter houses
being full and the slaughterers being unable
to handle the hogs as fast as they were offer
ed, many animals were actually dying in the
pens or requiring feeding at the sellers ex-
pense for two or three days, until they could
be slaughtered.
Third, the government announced that 1t
would buy all federally inspected pork Of
fered 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 $1375
per hundredweight at Chicago
Fourth, the War Food Administration issued
an order to the Defense Supplies Corpora
ton, handling the pork subsidy payments, re-
quiring DISC to withheld subsidies from any
slaughterer whose monthly average purchas-
ing price on live hogs was below the govern
ment guaranteed support price OF $l3.75 per
hundredweight, Chicago Again. an absolute
violation Of the good old law Oh $. ana q. by
the use Of those hated things caned subsidies.
Fifth, the War Food Administrator and the
Office of Price Administration working to-
pether. extended their system OF support prices
to all the principal hog markets. guaranteeing
the hog raisers minimum price OF 81 per
hundredweight below the local ceiling prices
on live hogs already established regionally by
OPA Still again, an artificial raising OF prices
on falling market, in VIOLATION OF the law
OF supply and demand.
Sixth, OPA lowered the point value on pork
meats by two points a pound. lnis IS tne
only step in this six-headeo operation a.a which
If course is to encourage consumers to buy
more pork and reduce the over-supply, thus
making more space in cold storage ware.
houses 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 70 work, ana a
has hoo, for weeks # this condition con-
t thu SIT It viii not be due to allowing free
play to the law Of supply and demand, but
M s All it proves is that life in wartiuas
is truly complicated.