The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-10-11

(Continued from Page D pens and slaughter houses.
 He admitted that importation of meat could not satisfy all American demand but added that it might be sufficiant to encourage the slaugh- ter of presently available American beef.
 Anderson arrived for the Cabinet meeting 25 minutes late, carrying a large sheaf of official papers. The meeting began breaking up a few minutes after II 80 A. M. EST.
 There was no mistaking that the Administration was making the most in the butcher shops of the nation as fast as possible.
 For the election-conscious Demo- cratic chieftains, there was a ray of hope in report by Army Quar- termaster officials indicating that meat production is increasing. They said Army meat receipts Oct. and were 1000, GOO pounds-aS much as it got the full week ending Sept. 23.
 The President took personal hand in the week-long parleys on the problem for the first time yes terday when he conferred with his top aides for nearly two hours.
 No Satisfactory Answer Found
 Afterward, White House press Secretary Charlse Ross said they still had not found a satisfactory answer to the rising clamor for meat and that the question would be taken up at the Cabinet meet ing at 10 A. M. EST today.
 Some observers believed MT. Tru- mans decision to take the matter be- fore his full Cabinet indicated he might be ready to abandon his "wait-and-see" attitude in favor of some more forceful action.
 The President told his weekly news conference, however, that no action was imminent in the meat situation. He said if and when a decision Is reached, the public will be informed as soon as possible.
 It was still not clear what form any action might take. Some top O.P.A. officials were reported push ing a proposal to remove slaughter ing quota controls on non-Federally inspected packers.
 May Force Packers To Kill
 In addition to easing local meat shortages in some areas, it was be- lieved such step might force the big Federally-inspected packers to increase their kill
 These OP.A. officials were said to feel that some of the bigger pack CTS through hostility to O.P.A. and desire for higher prices, were not Slaughtering all the livestock they might in hopes of forcing an end to price controls.
 Ralph Helstein, president of the United Clearinghouse Workers (CI. O., asked the Justice Department to check reports that big packers are holding 100000 cattle off the mar ket. This would dress down to about 5O,000,000 pounds of meat.
 If non-inspected packers are al- lowed to increase their kill, the OF. A. officials feel they might start cut ting into the big producers markets, forcing them to step up their output.
 Scarcity Hits New High
 All SlaughtererS now are limited to percent of their 1914 kill of beef and TO percent of their hog Slaught- CT. Non-inspected packers normally provide about 35 percent of the na- tion's meat.
 There were these other meat de- velopmentS:
 l. An Agriculture Department expert said the average family is getting even less meat now than during the height of the severe wartime scarcity in the Winter of 1944-45.
 2. The Department said a pros pective record corn crop of 3,371,- 900 bushels will give the nations farmers the most liberal supply of livestock feed in history. The wheat crop was estimated at 1,167, ,319,OOO bushels, also a new record.
 3. O.P.A. boosted retail prices of top veal cuts seven to eight cents a pound, effective Monday. The in creaSeS reflect higher wholesale prices which went into effect yes- terday. They are not expected to affect meat supplies.
 4. O.P.A.'S meat board met again to go over its proposed fair dis tributiOn order. The order, if is. sued, would compel big packers to channel the same percentage of their meat output to larger cities as they did in a base period of 1944.
 5. The Agriculture Department said September cattle slaughter was the smallest since 1907 and Il percent under August when con- trOls were off. Calf slaughter was the ighteSt since 1928 and hog slaughter the smallest since 1879.
 Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson, meanwhile, was inveStiga- ting whether it would be practical to accept ArgentinaS offer of canned meat to take some of the edge off the domestic shortage.
 One of his aides pointed out, how ever, that the real problem was fresh meat. He said many grocers still have plenty of canned meat Only can ned meat can be imported from Ar gentina because of the danger of hoof and mouth disease. HsG.I DIIxs