Evening star., 1946-10-20
More D. {. Meal
Predicted Soon
AT Lower Cost
Shipments by Roll
Likely to Increase
Throughout Week

NSII " si$iS0SS
Throughout Week
Meat will begin rolling into
Washington tomorrow and Tues-
day in larger quantities and
probably at less than last weeks
prices, a meat industry spokes-
man predicted last night.
Railroad shipments of meat are
expected to increase all this week as
the first meat processed under the
freed market begins arrivingVfrom
Midwest packing centers.
Joseph Dsnzansky, counsel for
the wholesale food division, Mer-
chants and Manufacturers Associa-
ton, predicted more meat at lower
prices and said wholesalers here
started heavy ordering from the
packing houses Friday and yester-
day.
Feel Prices Are Leveling off.
Wholesalers, he said, at first were
hesitant to buy into a runaway
market, but they now believe prices
are beginning to level off. One
wholesaler he reported, ordered six
carloads of meat from one slaugh-
terer-more meat than has been
coming to all wholesalers in recent
weeks.
Washington housewives have
found one more source of meat as
result of the hotel strike. Meat
shipped into Washington for hotel
supply houses is being sold to gro
ceries since the strike closed some
of the largest hotel dining rooms.
Mr.. Danzansky said that hotel
restaurants usually got a substan-
tial percentage of the meat shipped
into the city. Because of the strike, |
housewives are getting the cuts
that formerly went to hotels but |
now are being distributed generally |
to retail stores.
AtSSAoNaASS w
Resistance to high prices and |
drop in some meat prices was re-
ported from other cities. Reports !
from New York told of a 80 cents
a pound drop in sirloin steak At |
ore mid-Manhattan shop it was
selliHg for 63 cents a pound, COM
pared with 81 last Friday.
three meat markets, carrying plac-
ards asking other women to boycott
the shops in a effort to lower meat
prices
Locally, the Washington Commit
tee fer Consumer Protection called
on shoppers to refuse to pay exor-
bitant meat prices Mrs. Sarah
Newman advised shop around" and
use substitutes wherever possible. :"
Meanwhile. an OPA meat author
ity reported last night that it might
be year before meat was available
IN the Nations butcher shops at
prices prevailing when ceilings ended
last Tuesday. This view was ex-
pressed by Arval Erikson, chief of
Vic p6S4ISS 3isSoS hA o1ASAAs
Expects Break.
As for the immediate future. the
OPA official looks for break in
present abnormally high prices ma
tionally in three or four weeks. But,
when the leveling off occurs, meat
prices probably will average about
so per cent above old ceilings, he de-
clared.
Prices asked for meat in some
Washington stores since Tuesday
have been as much as $50 per cent
above former OPA prices.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Agri-
culture Anderson declared that the
Government had no intention of re-
storing price ceilings to livestock
and meat at any time in the future.
'As far as the livestock industry
is concerned, controls are off per-
manently," he said in Kansas City.
New Problem Comes Up.
Republican campaign speakers
have suggested that after the elec- |
tions November 5 the admlnistra-
ton might reimpose controls. While
making no reference to these state /
ments, the Secretary declared that
this is no ON and off proposition"
Another development yesterday
brought consumers up against a |
new problem in their meat buying
Sterilization Director John r. |
Steelman announced revocation of
q regulation providing for the grad
ing and grade labelling of meat.
The regulation, in effect since ALL
gust, 1943, was required because
OPA placed different prices on dif-
ferent grades of meat.
With meat control eliminated, the
regulation becomes obsolete, Mr.
Steelman said.
An OPA official said this un-
doubtedly Will lead to upgrading of
already high-priced meat. Retail
ers, he said. 'are going to sell meat
for what the traffic will bear"
The Steelman announcement
leaves intact the long g-standing prac-
tice of Government grading of meat
in Federally-inspected slaughter
plants Now, however, it will not be
necessary to list the meat grade
when sold at retail