Evening star., 1946-07-24
Storage Of Meat a
Follows Slack 4.
In DC. Buying.
Store Purchases Down
As Customers BuIk
At High Prices #

Unusually large quantities of meat
are moving into storage here, in
dicating that wholesalers and sup
ply houses are not able to sell at
current high prices, large re-
frigerating establishment official
said today.
This statement tied in with a re-
port by a spokesman for the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers Associa-
ton meat division that local whole
salers are cutting down greatly on
orders, largely because of unwilling
ness of retailers and shoppers to
pay the persistent high costs.
1T follows as night and day that
meat prices will have to drop here
If this situation continues" the stor-
age company manager said. But
one guess is as good as another
when it comes to saying how soon
meat prices in general will lower
on the retail level"
Fear Black Market Revival.
Sources in the wholesale meat In
dustry and restaurant business here
today expressed fears that return
of price controls on livestock and
meat will bring a. resumption Of
black market activities and a scar
city of meat in legitimate channels.
One official connected with the
meat packing industry declared
that if meat goes back to old OPA
ceilings, you won't have any meat"
He said black market operators
are not earning enough money now
''to make it interesting for them"
but that they will be flourishing
again if the old ceilings are restored.
! This official pointed out that per-
haps by August 20-when pro-
posed three-man price control
board under the new congressional
measure would have to decide
whether meat should be controlled
meat prices will be down to point
where such action will be unneces-
sary.
Lower Prices Reported.
In the opinion of Robert j. Will
son, executive secretary Of the Res
taurant Association of Washington,
restaurant owners already are pay
ing lower meat prices from supply
| houses in some instances. Reports
from some association members, he
said. show that much nonstorage
meat is being made available by
wholesalers at somewhat lower
prices. He added most of the
restaurants, however, are still re-
fusing to pay what they consider
extremely high prices for other
kinds of meat.
| Government Services, Inc, which
buys meat direct from the packers
and supplies SO cafeterias in Gov
eminent buildings, sees no evidence
that producers wholesaler or retail
prices are likely to decline here, at
least this week. A spokesman de-
clared that there lis plenty of meat
available, but the prices will have
to come down"
/ H. A. Bales, deputy purchasing
agent for the District, was another
who saw no immediate evidence of
declining meat prices. He said to-
day his experience in buying for
large institutions such as Gallnger
Hospital and the District Jail con-
vinces him that food prices other
than on meat have hewed close to
former OPA ceilings.
i Meanwhile, the price of butter
continued today at rs cents a pound
at A. & P. stores here. Although
this was a drop from the price
earlier this week, it has not yet
reflected the company's announces
ment from New York yesterday low
ering the cost to 73 cents At Safe
way stores today's butter prices
ranged from IS to 70 cents. The CAL
vert Supermarket on Columbia road
quoted its price as SO cents.