Evening star., 1948-02-10
BY the Associoted Press

The price break became gen.
eral today, hitting all commodi-
ties and pulling stock market
prices down 81 to SO.
Both the grain and meat markets
of the Nation plunged downward.
Cotton was down $2.65 bale. Even
butter, which had been at record
highs, skidded.
The wholesale meat market was
hit suddenly with price breaks COM
parable to yesterdays 81 hundred
pounds in yesterdays livestock
trade. The livestock market was
about at yesterdays lows.
Normally there is lag of at least
several days between the rises and
falls of the two segments of meat
marketing, trade observers said.
Pork List Plunges.
The Agriculture Department re-
ported the entire list of fresh and
smoked pork was down So hundred
pounds today and some smoked sales
were off 81. Steer and heifer beef
lost so cents to $1.50, COW beef oo
cents and veal 81.
In the Chicago Board of Trade,
heavy liquidation in corn forced
that grain down the daily scent
limit in all deliveries and the selling
spilled over into other pits, dropping
all grains the limit except deferred
oats.
Nav and July oats declined the
daily limit of 6 cents, and May soy
beans were also off the daily limit
of cents. Lard was weak, the
March delivery declining the daily
50 limit.
Other Markets Follow.
The liquidation in grains was not
confined to the Chicago Board OF
Trade. Reports from Minneapolis
said May wheat was oil the dany
limit there and Kansas City re-
ported May corn had suffered the
permissible decline.
Brokers said there was nothing
to which they could attribute the
weakness in grains other than lack
of confidence. Some were OF the
opinion that the market had been
oversold, and that yesterdays ao-
vance was largely the result OF snort
covering.
Weakness in stocks and cotton
were said to be contributing factors.
Live Pork Prices.
Live pork prices ranged from SIG
te> $3.50 a hundred pounds Tor the
most part today on good and choice
butcher grades. Beef steers topped
at $3.50, with medium to low
choice steers and heifers taking S2O
to $3.50. Vealers showed the only
major weakness, starting steady
but later declining as much as 81,
Choice kinds sold up to $31, while
good and choice fed wooled lambs
topped at $24.l0.
Trade observers said that only the
severest cutback overnight in tresn
supplies of cattle, hogs and sheep
saved livestock marketing from an
other crash such as occurred IN the
weeks initial session. Today's prices,
consequently, held virtually steady
with the lowest levels reached yes
terday.
Hogs on sale at Chicago today
were estimated at $500 where $4,000
had been expected, A total OF a.
900 was on hand yesterday. Around
the market circle of IL major live
stock terminals total hogs on sale
TODAY were estimated at 55, 300, COM
pared with $4,000 yesterday.
Cattle on Sale Down.
Cattle on sale at Chicago were
5000 compared with 1000 expected
by the trade, while salable sheep
were 1000 compared with an antici-
pated 5000
The declines in the New York
Stock Exchange put the share aver
age at a new low since early last
June.
Few recoveries were in evidence
from the / to point slide. Among
the stocks on the retreat were Santa
Fe, Southern Pacific, United States
Steel, Bethlehem Steel, Chrysler
Goodrich, United States Rubber
American Woolen, international
Paper, Standard Oil of New Jersey
(see PRICES, Page A-5)