Detroit evening times., 1945-05-31
BEHIND
The NEWS
BY Paul
-MaIlon

AlASHINGTON. May 30.-A
w housewife found her
butcher this week with nothing
but ducks. The enterprislng
store manager had gone out
into the country and bought
them directly from a farmer.
He was selling them for around
S4 apiece.
She tried another store. There
the proprietor said he had
arisen at the crack OF dawn
that day and gone 10 the Ar
mour packing plant TO he the
first In line. There was no line.
Armours had closed The plant
could not remain open without
meat.
She was told she might get
some chickens in the black mar
ket for SIS to S6 apiece, but she
went TO the fish market instead
and there paid 81 cents apiece
for soft shell crabs-imaglne it,
81 cents apiece for those fiimsy
little critters.
THESE experiences comprise
Il an average day of shopping
for food hereabouts. Few peo-
pie have had a piece Of beef in
more than a month. Meat fare
is largely confined TO hot dogs
and soup bones.
Occasionally some ham is
available. but no bacon. no but
ter, no chickens, and now eggs
are getting scarce. They Will
be scarcer In July and August.
The condition cannot improve
before next spring. Not even
Mr.. Truman new Agriculture
Secretary Anderson can rem
edy the accumulation of errors
IN Judgment. which are being
brought TO fruition, IN time 10
do any good this year. -
The government sfmniv made
every possible mistake in man.
aeement of the production of
food for the last Is months,
and better management can
not bring results before 1916.
WHAT happened in cattle 10
w make beef practically ex-
tinct.- is typical. The cattienen
came into Washington last win
ter screaming that the OPA
ceiling prices had been fixed so
low AS To make the production
OF beef Improbable all along
the line.
Yet. not until a few weeks
ago did the OPA raise the cell
ing prices. Meanwhile the gov
ernment regulations had caused
the destruction, or failure of
production, of a great quantity
of our normal beef supply in
this way:
Ordinarily the range cattle
from the West are taken by
feeder lotmen in the central
states farming regions, and
these men put 200 to 500
pounds IN weight on the cattle
feeding them corn, silage, meals
and such.
Last January !, more cattle
were in feed lots than ever be-
fore in history. But the OBJ
stinacy of OPA in retaining low
ceiling prices served notice on
those feeders that they could
not make enough money 10
make their part of meat pro-
duction worth while.
INCIDENTALLY, no ceiling
Il was put ON the cost of feed
which they had TO buy, and the
rise in feed prices further ham,
pered their operations. Their
labor was drafted and they
could not get machinery re-
placements. So they rushed all
their cattle 10 market without
further feeding.
This development alone de-
prived the country of about 20
per cent of its beef production.
A grass-fed steer gives only
about 40 per cent usable meat.
whereas lot fed cattle give so
to 65 per cent.
The government food mana
gers (largely in OPA) also
made the same mistake in hogs
and poultry last year, foolishly
expecting an over production.
They urged poultry producers
to sell chickens and many
hatcheries closed. The January
chicks, which would be about
ready for fryers now, simply
were not produced.
I DO not fully understand the
L phenomenon of the COM
plant that OPA prices are in
sufficient to prom tote food
production. while at the same
time fantastic prices are being
charged in the stores--for in
stance 81 apiece for ducks. and
81 cents apiece for soft shell
crabs.
In any event you are not
going to get any relief in meats,
poultry or fish U understand
the fantastic fish prices are due
to the government restrictions
on eOuipment. nets. sails and so