Evening star., 1946-07-19
-.-'
Meat PriceDrop
Predicted Here
yNext Week
Merchants Official
Says Reaction Is
About to Set In

F~~SSS '" AA@ SeS%A A0AAaAA6 AAC4C llCAU
week, Raymond Briggs, chair
man OF the wholesale meat 'di-
vision OF. the Merchants and
Manufacturers Association, pre-
dicted today as consumer resist
ance to high prices continued in
many stores.
This view was not shared by a
representative Of one OF the ma
tionally known packing concerns,
who insisted that no change could
be expected for several weeks.
Another source In the retail food
business observed that 1t was impos-
sible to predict from day to day
just what was going to happen to
meat prices.
'The rush is over and reaction is
about to set in" Mr.. Briggs said.
He AIDED that you still hear stories
OF exorbitant prices, but they are
isolated cases"
Mr.. Briggs. pointed out that the
break In the hog and cattle market
yesterday in Chicago means
change for the better for consumers
The 81 drop in hog prices, for in
stance, should be reflected here next
week with pork products down two
cents a pound, he said.
Says Meat IL Plentiful.
He claimed there was plenty" Of
meat in the city but that it was not
selling as rapidly as last week.
Housewives and restaurant opera
tors are going without meat rather
than pay the high prices, he added.
Reports from Chicago showed
price declines in yesterdays live
stock markets in most OF the co,ln-
try leveled OIL In trading today and
at some terminals actually reversed.
Chicago prices on live cattle
dropped so cents to 81 and on hogs
Is to so cents a hundred pounds.
At Indianapolis, however, the hog
market opened so cents to 81 higher
than yesterdays opening and was
mostly 81 higher than the close.
St. Louis, Mo, also reported hog
prices strong.
Trading generally was slow in
most. livestock despite greatly re-
duced receipts. situation normal
for Friday trading.
The American Meat Institute TO-
day called on consumers to "discrim-
mate their purchases OF meat by
limiting them to those meats which
are available in increasing quanti-
ties-and. at the more moderate
price levels"
Below Black Market.
The organization claimed that
while today's meat prices are higher
than the old fietional OPA ceiling
prices at which very little meat was
available to the average consumer,
prices still were considerable below
those which prevailed in the black
market" 7a.s
+ssIf the iivestock and meat indus-
try remain free of OPA regulations,
this meat will come to you at prices
established by the efiicient opera
tion and open competition upon
which the American livestock and
meat industry has been built"
statement Of the institute declared.
Increases Not Uniform.
A Bureau Of Labor Statistics re-
port on retail food prices for the
week ending last Tuesday showed
some prices continuing to rise but
increases were not uniform among
various commodities or In all sec
'tions Of. the country.
The bureau said prices OF i'm
portant" food items now are con-
siderably higher" than in mid June
A check showed, for instance, that
the retail price Of round steak rose
48 per cent In Los Angeles; 80 per
cent in Pittsburgh, 81 per cent In
Washington and New York. and IS
per cent in Denver from mid June
to mid-July.
Here in brief was the situation in
other selected commodities:
Roasting chickens-Price increases
ranged from per cent in Houston
to IA per cent in Denver.
Milk-Prices higher in all cities.
with Cleveland prices rising 10 per
cent after remaining unchanged for
the first two weeks in July. Boston,
Chicago and Washington reported
increases Of 20 per cent or more.
Butterflies Of 90 and 96 cents
were reported in Washington and
New York, respectively, and over the
month typical percentage boosts
were Boston, 4s; Cleveland, 30;
Pittsburgh, IS.
Flour Supply Short.
Flour-Largest rise, Is per cent.
was reported In Kansas City and
Boston. Generally, prices were un-
changed and supply was short.
Bread-Prices per pound advanced
IN Z OF the IL cities by amounts
ranging from , per cent in Boston
and Houston to 10 per cent in Chi
cago.
The Labor Department agency
also reported yesterday that its sta :
tisties for 200 commodity wholesale
prices showed 3 per cent increase
during the week ending July Is
rising to 1907 per cent of the 1926
average. Prices were up per cent
for July and IA per cent since the
end OF the war last August.
A fractional decline was reported
however, in the bureaus index of
28 basic commodities, the first de-
crease since price controls ended
The drop was o. per cent to 248.S,
which is an increase of 24.s per cent
1or the first IS days Of July.
The Agriculture Department noted
"one bright spot on the food hori-
zon" for consumers, with fruit and
vegetable prices showing a lower
price trend in direct opposition to
rises In many foods. Wholesale
prices Of these two foods are more
reasonable than in some years past,
fleld report OF the department
noted.
Bilbo Slotes Hearings
m n Dill