The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-07-08
No Relief In Sight
AS Retail Food
Prices Still Rise

creep upward, with no relief in
sight here or throughout the ma
tion. With the rising prices is GO
ing a surrender of life insurance
policies for cash at a rate almost
23 per cent faster than last year,
the Institute of Life In surance in
dicated.
Wholesale prices were up in
some cases and down in others,
but the U. S. Bureau of Labor
! Statistics index for the week end
ing June 12-latest available at
this writing - showed a rise of
nearly 2 points for meat, with
poultry, fruit and vegetables also
up.
The usual component of hot
weather dishes-cold cuts of meat
have big price tags in Washing
ton, as elsewhere. Many as so high
they are shown in meat counters
with half or even pound
prices, in order to keep the figures
under 81.
Steaks are around 81 a pound.
One chain reported that, based on
recent wholesale meat prices, the
retail figure should be around $1.10
or $1.20. Fear of consumer resis-
tance, however, keeps the figure
just under 81 at the retail counter.
Butter sales are off from 80 to 40
per cent from year ago, one big
Washington dealer reported. The
reasons are two: prices are up II
cents pound wholesale in a year
and there has been tremendous
switch to oleomargarine. But mar
garine prices are beginning to go
up, cent at time.
Reporting on retail prices, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics said
that the consumers price index for
May, 1948, mounted to 170.5 per
cent of the 1859 average; 9.3
per cent higher than a year ago;
279 per cent above June, 1916, and
1928 per cent over the August,
1889, level.
A large share of this rise was
a IA per cent increase in retail
prices of foods between mid-April
and mid-May. The food index is
12.4 per cent above a year ago,
44.8 percent over June, 1916, and
1856 per cent higher than in Au-
gust, 1889.
The average increase from mid
April to mid-May of 5.4 per cent
for meats was mainly resonsible
for the Ia per cent rise in the food
index. Record high average prices
were reported for beef, veal, lamb
and chicken, with price quotations
ranging as high as 81 for beef rib
roast, $1.39 for round steak, $1.50
for veal outlets and $1.1O for leg
of lamb.
Food prices advanced over the
month in So of the Sc cities sur
veyed. Increases ranged from 0.3
per cent in Mobile to 3.8 per cent
in Buffalo. Fractional decreases
were recorded in Houston, Jackson
and Los Angeles.
The Institute of Life Insurance
said that if the rate of surrenders
of policies in the first A months
of 1948 continues through the year.
almost $461 100000 will be paid
out this year.
Blaming relentlessly rising prices
for the high rate of surrenders,
one insurance man said that people
are cashing in policies to buy au-
tomobiles or to pay for bank loans.
Others overextended themselves in
the war years, buying too much
Now that initiation has
wiped out their argin-for- living,
they can no longer handle the
heavy premiums, he added.
A study recently completed by
the Federal Reserve Bank of Phil
adelphia disclosed that personal
savings of all kinds decreased by
25 per cent since price decontrol. In /
approximately the same period
personal loans doubled.
The same economic pressures
that brought about smaller savings