Evening star., 1948-01-21
Talk Of Meat Rafioninq'
Spurs Hoarding, Cuts
Supply, Senator Says
BY the Asseeiated Press

ALI of the hot talk in Congress
about meat rationing is simply
serving to build up private
stocks in cold storage lockers,
Senator Thye, Republican, of
Minnesota contended today. /
While steering clear of the con-
troversy between Republican SEN
ators Wherry of Nebraska and
Flanders of Vermont over Senator
Wherry's kidding" accusation that
his New England colleague is a
meat "hoarder," Senator Thye said
he wishes the whole subject of ra-
tioning could be dropped.
Otherwise, he told a reporter,
housewives will buy all the meat
they can and put it in frozen stor-
age. Senator Thye said talk of ra-
tioning already is jeopardizing our
meat supply" by discouraging the
feeding of beef cattle to full weight.
His contention is chat producers,
wary of the future, are eager to
take advantage of current high
prices and are rushing their cattle
to market.
Public Demand Predicted.
Senator Flanders and Represen-
tative Javits, Republican, of New
York, sponsors of a bill to let the
administration get set for meat
rationing, take the position that if
q spring shortage predicted by the
Agriculture Department develops the
public will demand rationing.
Under their measure Congress
would have the final say on whether
any program prepared should be put
into effect.
The Wherry Flanders incident
came about when the Nebraska Sen
ator departed from the prepared
text of an address he was delivering
before the Republican National
Committee yesterday to take note of
reports that Senator Flanders has
a locker full of meat,
Calls Flanders "Hoarder."
Then he described the Vermont
Senator as ''hoarder waiting for
rationing days to come"
Later, Senator Wherry told re-
porters he was "just kidding" and
II just thought it was amusing" :"
But he added he didn't care if Sem
ator Flanders took exception.
Senator Flandd Id. He said
he does not believe it was right for
Senator Wherry to kid, because I
am not sure the meeting he was
addressing knew that he was kid
ding" Senator Flanders added:
| my entire stock of stored beef
is one steer put in early last fall
long before T had any thought what
soever of meat rationing."
He said he stored the steer "for
the benefit of my three children,
/ their wives and husbands and my
eight grandchildren = and I
don't imagine there is much left"
Senator Flanders made the same
reply to Senator Thye when the
Minnesota Senator referred in the
Senate earlier this week to Senator
Flanders stored meat.
The Senate Banking Committee
is holding hearings on the Flanders
Javits BILL as well as on various
measures dealing with President
Trumans 10-point anti-inf1ation
program. Among other things that
program calls for Standby power 70
reimpose wage-price controls and,
rationirfg on q selective BASIS. R''a A'a'
Night Session Scheduled.
In an effort to end its hearings
as soon as possible. the committee
will hold a might session Tomorrow.
Committee Chairman Tohey. said
he hopes to wind up the testimony
by the end Of next week, but aides
said they already have arranged
hearings into the first week Of
February.
Thomas Kennedy, vice president
of John L. Lewis United Mine
Workers, told the committee yester-
day the UNIV is "emphatically" op-
posed to restoring wage-price con-
trolls.
He said that under wartime con-
trolls prices were not frozen but
they were supposed to be" and
Everybody talked about rolling
back prices, but they never were"
But wages. Mr. Kennedy declared,
were frozen and this put workers
in the position of trying to keep
up with prices without any ap-
preciable offsetting pay increases.
Senator Maybank, Democrat, Of
South Carolina commended Mr..
Kennedy on his position.