Evening star., 1951-04-29

immediate change in consumer
Text Of OPS Statement on Beef Price
Controls. Poee AS
Grocery Prices Rise Tomorrow on Many
Items. Poee All
meat prices. The first reduction
of from 4 to S cents a pound will
come August /. It will be fol-
lowed by another similar price
slash october /.
But housewives soon will be able
to tell what they should pay for
various cuts of beef. and
cents ceilings will become effec-
tive at the retail level of May IA
and all grocerS must have their
legal prices posted in the stores
by June 8. New wholesale prices
for beef take effect May 8.
Price Director Michael v. Di-
Sale announced the plan to bring
down beef prices in series Of five
orders.
Farm Cattle Price Cut.
The reductions in butcher shop
prices will be made possible by
pairing the farm price of live cattle
a total of 18 per cent in three sep
arate steps. Market prices OF cat
tie have scared in recent months.
Mr.. DiSalle's Office of Price Sta
bilizatlon actually will not estab-
lish ceilings for cattle on the farm.
But they accomplish this end
through a new approach to price
control by restricting the amounts
slaughter houses may pay for live
cattle.
The first cut-of 10 per cent
in the price that may be paid Tor
cattle will become effective in the
packers accounting period begin
ming on or after May 20. Two
further reductions, of about AZ
per cent each. will be ordered on
August and October /.
Price-officials said the 10 per
cent cut will reduce live cattle
prices from 21a to 3 cents per
pound, and that the other later
slashes will bring about a total
reduction of from S to 512 cents
ner Mound in stockyard prices.
Loud Protests Expected.
Cattle prices now are about $50
per cent of parity, the formula
designed to give the farmer a fair
return for his products in relation
to equipment and other goods he
must buy. The full Is per cent
price rollback will reduce cattle
prices to about 100 per cent OF
parity. Even then, officials said,
prices, with exception of the last
few months, will be close to the
all-time high.
Nevertheless, price officials ex-
pected long and loud protests
from farmers and members OF
Congress from farm States.
OPS estimated the anticipated
innocent per pound reduction in
retail beef prices will save con-
sumers $700 million a year on a
total beef bill of about ST billion.
1t was pointed out the price re-
ductions will run above 8 cents
on choice cuts of beef and some
what under that figure on the
lower grades.
The price of beef after October
/, it was said, will be slightly
above levels prevailing at the
time of the Korean invasion, when
prices began the upward spiral.
Squeeze To Be Relieved.
The initial cut in live cattle
prices of 10 per cent will not be
passed along to consumers. OPS
said it would be used to relieve
a price. squeeze on both slaught-
erers and beef retailers. Their
prices have been frozen since jan
uary 26 while the price of live
cattle has been free to rise.
Largely due to the price squeeze,
cattle slaughtering in some centers
has been reduced as much as 80
per cent. Beef supplies have been
running low in a number of cities.
Price officials refused to say
whether Secretary of Agriculture
Brannan had approved the new
orders. It is known, however,
that Agriculture Department OBJ
jectionS held up issuance of the
regulations. The issue with Mr.,
Disable, it was said, finally was
settled by the White House.
Price officials said they did not
believe the new beef price orders
would create o black market in
beef,