PRICES: Bare Table

In Pittsburgh, the Fried & Reineman Co., one of the city’s biggest meat packers, announced that it was closing its two plants for the first time in its 50 years. At its National Stock Yards plant near St. Louis, Armour & Co. laid off half of its 2,000 employes; other packers laid off thousands more. The plot was familiar. Everyone could guess the ending. Soon U.S. tables would again be bare of meat.

The new ceilings on meat were not the only cause, or the main one. The main reason was that cattle and hog raisers had sent every animal they could to market, to cash in when ceilings had been off. Lean cattle were again going to feeder lots to be held in the expectation that ceilings would again be lifted.

Last week, as OPA began to enforce its new ceilings (up 12½% from the old beef prices but down 25% from the free market), receipts at the Chicago Stock Yards dropped.

OPA’s Paul Porter pleaded with Chicago packers to do something. But what could they do? They couldn’t slaughter cattle that weren’t there. Said Charles Bromann, executive secretary of the Associated Food Dealers, Inc. (2,000 Chicago butchers): “It’s going to get worse. . . .”