The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-05-24
MEAT MARKETS TO
CLOSE FOUR DAYS
HERE NEXT week
Meat Quotas for May Will Be
Exhausted at Closing
Time Saturday
Markets Close Two and One-half
Days This Week Due to
Depleted Supplies


resulting from OPA cutbacks in the
amounts dealers may sell, will as
sumo even more serious proportions
next week when the towns two mar
kets will be closed on four of the six
days they normally operate.
With meat quotas for May nearly
exhausted, Bluffton operators said
their supplies for the month will be
gone by Saturday night, and that they
must close for the remainder of the
month until Friday of next week when
June slaughtering can be started.
Since the meat crisis has arisen
here, sales have reached unexpected
proportions as result of which
stocks were so badly depleted that
two retail markets were closed all day
Monday and Tuesday afternoon. They
will also be closed on Thursday as
previously announced. Markets were
opened Wednesday and will operate on
Friday and Saturday.
From Saturday night until Friday
morning of next week, both markets
will be closed because they May quo
tas will be exhausted, it was announc-
ed Wednesday morning. This will
mean that during the first four days
of the week the only meat available
in town will be limited supplies of cold
meats in some grocery stores.
Better in June
June's meat supply probably will be
better than it now is, but stocks will
not be as. plentiful as the early part
of May because operators will try to
average their quota over the month.
This will eliminate the end--of-the-
month shortage experienced in May
when the bulk of the quota was prev
iously sold.
Because of the critical shortage of
meat, Bluffton restaurants are serv-
ing only eggs and fish on Friday of
each week. Fish supplies also are
short, however, because storms on
Lake Erie have hampered fishing op-
erations for the last several weeks.
Poultry is practically off the mar
ket, because of an off-season which
finds most of the old chickens already
sold and younger friers not yet avail
able for marketing.
Bluffton's meat shortage assumed
critical proportions by the middle of
last week, and markets were practic-
ally swept bare at closing time last
Saturday night
Close Monday
With no meat on hand, operators
closed all day Monday, and heavy
buying Tuesday morning again ex-
hansted supplies. Much of the short
age now developing is resulting from
customers buying everything available
in inordinately large quantities, seek
ing to store meat ahead.
All of the Bluffton's pork was sold
early Saturday evening, and supplies
of beef and hamburger were exhaust
ed. AS result purchasers had to
take higher ration point value steaks
which ordinarily move very slowly.
Plenty of steak was available, and
it was a question of spending more
ration points for it or taking nothing
Dealers say it lately has been a prob
lem to move hind quarters of beef
where the steaks come from because
of the high ration point value, but
since the shortage developed no diff
Guilty is experienced in making sales.
Pork liver and other less desirable
cuts which have been moving slowly
also are snapped up now by meat.
hungry buyers who will take what is
available in preference to doing with
out meat.
Meat could not be obtained over tht
weekend for 60 Mexicans who are
quartered here while working as sec
tion hands on the Nickel Plate rail
road, south of town.
Local markets could not supply th'
section crew, and railroad authorities
also were unable to get meat from
their commissary in Chicago. AS |
result they bought two goats ant
butchered them over the week end a
an emergency measure.