| Show higher meat ceiling would hurt farmers in long run raising limits would lead to increased wages and prices all alon along line by WALTER A SHEAD staff correspondent in view of the conflicting stories on meat shortages on lowering or increasing ceiling meat prices on claims of losses by packers on meat slaughter here are statements by the two top men who should know most about the meat and food situation in this country claude secretary of agriculture states the shortage of meat is due to a greatly greata y increased demand since actual a mounts amounts of meat available or in prospect for 1945 are at a high level overall over all meat production pork be beef ef veal lamb and mutton is estimated at billion pounds dressed weight for the calendar year 1945 this is 38 33 per cent above average production 1935 39 and was only exceeded in two years 1943 and IN 1944 A general increase in livestock and meat ceilings is not likely to immediately increase the number of animals marketed in fact it might have the opposite effect the amount of feed grain grass and roughage and the numbers of livestock now on hand will govern the total meat production during the next several months in so far as pork production is concerned farmers are much more interested in support prices than they are in ceiling prices slaughterers Slaughter ers have taken advantage of farmers on the support price program for instance when the support price governed hogs weighing from to pounds slaughterers slaughter ers were very careful to materially teri ally slash prices offered for hogs weighing slightly under or over the weight range small plants active meat slaughter outside of federally inspected plants and this is contrary to testimony of the independent packers has been at a relatively high level so far in 1945 this either means that small operators are after all able to continue in the business or that the black market has substantially increased and there is no indication at this time that the profits derived from the processing and handling of meat are retarding production and marketing of livestock any break in ceilings which would result in an increase of meat prices at retail should be avoided farmers and ranchers deserve fair prices but ceiling increases which could only lead to demands for the upward revision of wages as well as demands for other price increases will work against the long run interest of f farmers arm and ranchers as well as against the success of our immediate war effort war food administrator marvin jones said we have a vast supply of cattle in this country more than 80 million head they are being slaughtered at this time in greater numbers than they were in the same period last year but meat is one of the most essential requirements of a fighting man in view of the great ly increased military demands dern ands you and I 1 will average about 7 or 8 pounds less during this year than the average in the five years just before the war there will be less beet beef and pork for civilians than we have had in the past but a little larger proportion of veal lamb and chicken the demand for food has been enormous both at home and abroad for the past three or four years we have eaten more food than ever before in our history nearly a tenth of our population is in the armed services or is employed by them if those 12 1212 million people were per manent ly camped in one spot and would remain there in their barracks their food demands would be far less but they are scattered all over the world and big pipelines of ships are filled with food to reach them the nature of war makes it impossible to plan the exact amount of food that will be needed at any given place next month or next week the exact amounts cant be known to risk having too little is a chance that we will not take food keeps allies fighting the united states has deliberately libera tely chosen to spend material whenever possible instead of men it is consistent with this policy that we are supplying food to french soldiers italian soldiers and filipino fighting guerrillas along with our british and russian allies thus insofar as any civilian in america today shares the nations food supply to that extent he helps save the lives of his neighbors sons some items of food such as fats oils and sugar will not be sufficient to meet all wants but with available supplies of other foods there will be sufficient for good nutrition there is no occasion for hysteria we should keep our feet on the ground and at all times hold steady to our course of winning the war |
