Brief Delight

The rationed U.S. gawked in awe and envy. Canadians were delighted. In Parliament, Finance Minister James Lorimer Ilsley had guardedly answered an M.P.'s question about current Canadian meat surpluses by saying that the Government "will consider" discontinuing meat rationing and meatless Tuesdays.

Canadians at once began to indulge in some high-blown wishful thinking. In the Ilsley statement they saw an indication that meat rationing's end was near. It was not.

Meat rationing was originally imposed not to solve a Dominion shortage but to get meat for shipment to Britain (675,000,000 Ib. of Canadian pork went to Britain last year). True, said the Wartime Prices & Trade Board, there are now great surpluses, but they are due largely to a current and presumably temporary lack of ships in which to get meat overseas. Since Britain's needs are still great, Britain will get the surpluses--sooner or later. When Britain's meat needs decline, Canadian rationing will be eased or abandoned. But not until then.

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