Evening star., 1943-07-06
Butter Joins
'A||.out' Items
In Stores Here
Military Buying
And Price Rollbuck
Blamed by Dealers

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meats on the list of items difficult
to obtain in local stores. survey of
wholesale and retail dealers indi-
Gated today.
Many stores have experienced a
butter shortage for as long as 10
days or two weeks, the survey dis
closed. Some supplies are being
shipped in here, and at least one
wholesaler expects to be able to fill
all orders from his regular GUS
toners by the end OF the week, but
indications are that some stores may
continue to lack enough butter to
meet demands.
Dealers agree that frequent tenn
porary shortages are in prospect for
consumers here. These shortages,
they say, probably will become in
creasingly severe.
Rollback Blamed.
Major reason for the scarcity Is
that the Government now requires
that so per cent of all butter pro-
duced be set aside for military use.
In addition, however, creameries In
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and
other Midwestern States, which sup
ply most of the butter sold here,
have recently decreased their pro-
duction, several of the local dealers
said
The OPA's recent order rolling
back the price of butter by cents
a pound was said by some distribu-
tors to be responsible for this pro-
duction drop. One explanation was
that many small creameries are
selling their cream in fluid form
rather than making it into butter,
because they have doubts about re-
ceiving the money due them under
the rollback. Another dealer said
the small creameries generally op-
crate on cash basis and are not
in a position to wait 80 days or so
before being recompensed for the
rollback.
NO Butter" Signs.
Whatever the cause, it was ap-
parent that many Washington stores
did not have sufficient butter today.
Signs lettered mo butter" were
hanging in a number OF establish
mentS.
One large distributor described
the shortage as very Serious while
another reported he was completely
out of supplies.
The most optimistic report came
from a wholesaler who said he re-
ceived a carload of butter this morn
ing and expects another later in the
week Today's carload was the first
in several weeks and Everybody is
bounding me for it," he said.
Meanwhile, John L. Laskey,. chief
enforcement attorney for the Dis
trict OPA, estimated that poultry
supplies here are only about 80 per
cent of normal.
Shipped Elsewhere.
He said the shortage here is
largely due to strict enforcement of
price ceilings. Enforcement IN Bal
timore and Philadelphia is lenient
and a large number of chickens that
normally would be sold on District
markets are being shipped to these
points, he added.
The meat supply situation re-
manned little changed since last
week.
One wholesale meat dealer esti-
mated he was able to supply only
about 10 per cent of the demand
for beef and veal. Another whole
saler estimated he had approximate
ly third of the meat he needed
to fill orders from his customers.
Await New Shipments.
More pork is now coming into the
local market than has been the case
for several weeks, a survey of the
dealers disclosed. The pork sup
plies are still insufficient to meet
the demand. however, and beef and
veal have almost disappeared from
the market.
Several refrigerated trains were
expected to arrive from the West
today, but wholesalers said they did
not know if the shipments would
include any meat.
Meanwhile, Wilbur La Roe, jr..
general counsel for the National
Independent Meat Packers Associa-
ton, issued statement blaming
the beef shortages here and else
where to the squeeze" being placed
on meat packers.
Urges Cattle Ceilings.
Packing plant operators say they
lose from $40 to $40 on every head
of cattle slaughtered, because they
must observe OPA price ceilings
while prices of the live animals re-
main uncontrolled, Mr.. La Roe re-
ported.
His statement asked that Eco
nomic Sterilization Director Fred
NJ. Vinson take immediate action to
establish ceiling prices on live cattle