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Show SCANNING THE WEEK'S NEWS of Main Street and the World Cattlemen Withhold Beef in Protest Of Government's Rollback Program EMPTY MEAT CASES Empty meat cases were beginning to show up across the nation as cattlemen continued to hold beef off the market in protest to the government's price rollback program of 8-to-10 cents a pound by October 1. The shortage was being felt only in larger cities, but the home town housewife can expect to feel the pinch if marketing does not increase within a short time. President Truman and Price Stabilizer Michael V. DiSalle continued to stick by their rollback decisions. DiSalle told reporters retreat now might wreck the whole stabilization program. President Truman called it a "good program" and said he . thought beef pro- Tj " " ' ducers c.o u 1 d be brought i -l I - around. W I fy 1 While Truman and DiSalle - . 1 fa ,yfat i were making these state- "J vv ' v i merits, Chicago and other i k-'" "llJLiN ' cities reported nearly empty vT 1 cattle pens. Packing firms , jas,l, 1 continued to slaughter only , ,. J a trickle of their normal I ' f. J Y ' quantity of cattle. Only 122,- flaajT ' , 4 100 cattle were sent to mar- I s; - yT-." 1 'te' 'as wee n "le nation's A ' J 12 biggest livestock centers. "' V- fa ' t 1 1 the corresponding week u J a year ago 167,700 were mar- " -J' t At the moment it seems s- -r--"'" - -' unlikely there will be a great increase in slaughtering un-Empty un-Empty meat cases and full corrals de- til after June 30. Cattlemen scribed the meat situation in the nation are gambling that price con-last con-last week. trols wiu be lilted at the end of this month. The present situation is somewhat similar to the 1946 beef battle when cattlemen withheld beef in their successful attempt to kill the government's price control program. It was argued at the time that if price controls were lifted there would be an increase in production and a decrease in price. There was an increase of production, but asv today's prices testify there was no decrease in price. FAR EAST SPECULATION The unexpected and unannounced visit of George C. Marshall, secretary of defense, to Korea raised considerable amount of speculation in the home towns of the nation. Was his visit the first step toward a cease fire in Korea? Was some new military development de-velopment about to be revealed? Repeatedly, Marshall told reporters he did not expect any Chinese peace move soon and that his visit was strictly military. He remained silent after a series of guarded meetings with Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, U. N. supreme commander in the far east. Of this much the home towner can be reasonably sure. Aging and not too well Marshall did not make the long and tiresome trip to Korea as a mailman's holiday, so to speak. If the home towner is speculating, . the Kremlin and Pieping must be down right worried. MACARTHUR INVESTIGATION The Armed services and foreign relations committees' investigation of the dismissal of Gen. Douglas MacArthur moved on its weary way with two new witnesses. For eight days Secretary of State Dean Acheson testified. The committees then called Lt. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer. Acheson's testimony was remarkable in that during the eight days there was no show of temper on the part of the witness or the investigators. investi-gators. In the minds of many, Acheson's thorough coverage of all questions ques-tions asked was an attempt to justify the administration and the first move toward his withdrawal as secretary of state. Only on one point was his testimony different from that of other administration witnesses. He asserted that MacArthur approved the 1946 attempt to bring the Chinese Reds and Nationalists together for a "unified, democratic China." MacArthur immediately issued a statement state-ment that he was the victim of a "fantastic" lie. The other witness, Gen. Wedemeyer, backed and even went beyond the Korean War proposals of Gen. MacArthur, but said President Truman had the right to fire his old commander. Briefly, Wedemeyer would withdraw American troops from Korea, break off relations with Russia, go into full mobilization, and "go to the real perpetrator of all this." These would be drastic moves and a definite risk of war. WHEAT CROP MAKES COMEBACK The agriculture department reported the nation's wheat crop is making a comeback from bad weather conditions and now promises the eighth successive harvest of more than a billion bushels. The June forecast is about 72 million bushels more than forecast a month ago. The new forecast indicated a wheat crop of 1,054,000,000 bushels, about 25 million bushels more than last year's crop. Such a production would be only about 96 million bushels short of the government's production goal. Unfavorable weather, particularly drought in the southwest great plains, and insects in the same area, coupled with cool, wet spring 1 weather, had put the crop prospects under a cloud a month ago. Con ditions improved greatly in May to bring the overall farm-production prospects up to normal by June 1. THE SLOW ADVANCE United Nations troops in Korea smashed the Communist "Iron Triangle" and continued their slow advance northward. north-ward. The Reds have put up stiff resistance in the last two weeks and suffered an estimated 40,000 casualties in defense of the triangle. The Communist were retreating slowly and orderly. There were indications' in some areas of enemy buildup, possibly in preparation for renewed attacks. There was nothing in the over-all picture that indicated a clear cut victory for United Nation troops. L - . lvi,.:V!r : .J United Nations troops continued their slow, steady advance in Korea, inflicting thousands of casualties on Chinese Reds in the "Iron Triangle." INFLATION BATTLE June 30, expiration date of the present defense de-fense production act, is only a few days away and there are several indications that the administration is afraid new control laws won't be strong enough. President Truman appeared worried and made three moves to get a strengthened law through congress. He issued a public warning that the nation may see "an unmanageable torrent of inflation" unless economic eco-nomic controls are extended, he called in congressional leaders for a get-the-controls-bill through conference, and he made a direct appeal to the people in a nationwide radio talk. Economic Stabilizer Eric Johnston, on radio and television shows, has tried to arouse the people to the ' dangers of inflation. Neither President Truman or Johnson have been very successful in their efforts. |