Evening star., 1946-04-26
Packers Are Returned
To Wartime Controls:
Less Bread Expected

Better distribution of meat
and less bread-Was the prospec,
for the American table today.
The Government went back t
wartime controls on meat in al
effort to spread supplies more even.
ly and hit the black market.
At the same time. a gloomy Agri
culture Department report raiset
the likelihood that a new and dras
tic cut in bread or in essential whea
reserves offered the only means O
fulfilling this countrys promises O
grain to hungry foreign areas.
Rainfall Proves Helpful.
A cheering factor was the rainfall
that was general yesterday from tn,
Gulf to Eastern Canada. This no
only will help the new wheat cror
that starts coming in late in June
but also will encourage farmers t.
release stocks, presently held, it wa.
said by agriculture officials.
The Western portion of the Grear
Plains still needs rain, however, il
was said at the Weather Bureau.
Crops in Southern Maryland ane
on the Eastern Shore are benef1tinf
from the rain, but Western Mary.
land remained virtually dry.
Crops and fruit trees in Western
Maryland faced the additional
hazard of frost tonight which the
Weather Bureau predicted along
with clear and cooler weather.
An Agriculture Department-OPA
order last night authorized slaught-
erers to kill as many cattle and
calves during any month as they
did during the same period of 1914
and to slaughter 80 per cent of their
1914 quota of hogs. Subsidies will
be withheld from any slaughterers
who violate the new quotas.
Will Assure Normal Supply.
These wartime controls are being
restored, the joint statement said
to assure normal supply of live
stock to the nations large packing
houses.
The effect of this, it was added,
will be to cut the operations of
smaller .plants-many of them new
comers which have increased
slaughter Ito such an extent that
they have upset normal meat distri-
button and have made it difiicult
to enforce price ceilings"
The program places no restric-
ton on production of meat" Agri-
culture Secretary Anderson said
Its purpose is to get meat back in
to normal channels, and as an ad-
ditional compelling reason, to get
the necessary amount of meat to
provide for shipments to famine
stricken areas. This can be done
if meat moves normally in normal
channels"
OPA had said previously that
since last fall, when quota restric-
tions were revoked, many slaughter
ers have been killing several times
their normal proportion of the
available supply of livestock
Big. Packers Handicapped.
AS result, the agency said, other
meat plants-namely, the large ones
have been finding it difficult to
obtain more than so to go per cent
of their customary share of live
stock.
OPA officials have contended that
meat black markets have resulted
principally from bidding up of prices
by many small packers who have
entered the meat business since
quota controls were removed.
The new order covers all slaught-
erers except:
l. Farmers who sell or transport
less than 5000 pounds of meat an
nually from their own livestock.
2. Non Federally y-inspected plants
which have been certified by the
Agriculture Department. There are
about 100 plants in this category.
OPA' will handle enforcement of
the oroer as it applies to all other
non-Federally inspected plants,
while t Se Agriculture Department
will have jurisdiction over the Fed
erally-inspected plants.
Wheat Stocks Shrink.
The Agriculture Department re-
port on the wheat situation said
that stocks in this country on April
l amounted to only 33S,644 900 bu-
shels-60 per cent of those on hand
year earlier.
This would be at least 10000 900
bushels and possibly as much as
5000 ,0(b or more bushels under the
estimatea amount needed before
the new harvest comes in.
Calling for still more stringent
measures to conserve wheat, Sec
retary Anderson said the report
showed that this country is in "a
very serious situation in regard to
total supplies
In statement telegraphed to the
Agriculture Department from Fargo
N. Dakz where he went to, open a
drive to buy foreign relief wheat from
farmers, Mr.. Anderson said the fur
ther conservation must come from
feeding less wheat to livestock and
use of less wheat as food He did
not say whether the Government
would take further formal steps to
bring about the reductions.
No Cause for Optimism.
In commenting on the wheat stock
report, the secretary said. there is
mo cause at all for OPTIMISM
AT the same time, there is nc
cause for dismay. We cannot afford
to be dismayed. We must tighten
our belts and fight all the harder
to reach our export goals
Coincident with the wheat report
the department announced that
shipments of wheat to famine
threatened countries between Janu-
ary / and April 20 were $4,000
tons, or 100000 bushels short Of
the goal for that period. Exports
during that time amounted to 49,.
$4,000 bushels against a goal o1
137 ,512, 900 bushels.
The report on exports said ii
is almost certain" that the Govern.
ment will not be able to meet ar
April commitment of 1880 ,00(
bushels.
Food officials estimate that at leasI
$4,000, 900 bushels will be needed
to meet foreign relief and domestic
requirements during the April-Jun'