Show 1 ni V ideas from other editors editor Fi ROM The Lincoln Times 1 coin ton N. N C C. When you Youw w walk lk into a department department depart depart- ment store these days day there is bustling activity aU allover over the place People are looking and buying and the cash registers are jingling So Soft's It its it's quite natural l to assume that the stores are doing exceedingly well indeed and that the storekeePer storekeeper store store- storekeeper keeper Is is' living in something resembling re re resembling an Shangri La La The truth is Is however however that this Shangri-La Shangri from the the store operators operator's opera opera tots tor's viewpoint has flaws in n it- it some ome very serious A short time tIm ago a statistical summary of the financial experience expert epee ence of 2 1 department and specialty ape stores toru with gross eros sales totaling total ing about 7 during the first Arst quarter of the year rear wa was made public For Fp the department stores involved net Det profit from merchandising merchandising merchandising mer mer- operations operation averaged only one per cent of sales sales sales-a decline de de- cline clin of more mOJe than 23 28 8 per cent t as against the same lime period last lat year j For the specialty stores store the merchandising mer men profits averaged 19 lp per percent percent cent cat of ot sales a sales a drop o of 24 2 per cent Forty per pel cent of ot the department stores torea actually sustained losses from merchandising operations d during rIng the quarter This poor profit performance was due primarily to to- reduced margins anI and Increased operating expenses In a word the Cle cos cost of carving carrying on the business has outrun the price increases we consumers are always al ways way kicking about It is to common for stores to make less clear dear prof proto fl JUon Itou ors an item now than when prices were far below present levels levell So if you OU think the merchants II ar are the beneficiaries of inflation and its attendant disease think again Like you they are also vie vic tims From The Fairfax Standard Falls C Church Va Vas Who stole the copy from our office of of- flee fice desk We VVe covered the he Vienna Zoning Appeals Board meeting Tuesday evening and pr prepared pared a up follow-up story for tor this W. weeks week's Issue Is Is true sue of ot The no STANDARD When we arrived at the office Wednesday morning the copy was not there To keep the records straight IT WAS THERE 1 am a.m. Wednesday because the writer processed for tor forthe forthe the printer a at that thet time Heres Here's hoping the one on with the sticky fingers angers ner ba has a I good sound accident ace acci dent insurance poll policy I From The be Douglas County Ga 0 ae wile ette e Waterloo Web Neb It Il might be a little difficult to tell teU what what's playing over at Johnny Fischers Fischer's theatre when w we ask asle the boys boy but for the Mrs Mra and myself it Is a lead pipe lead pipe cinch without a spoken word other tha than our nal nil question If they make a basketball hoop out of their arms and pucker up their lips UP we know its a love picture pic pie tur ture If It after this performance per they scow cow scowl or r frown we can tell teU its a really genuine love picture so 0 full tun of ot love in fact that they dont don't want to go Co If H the they draw phantom U and andt hit t a couple of boyish boub ott tune off tune high blah notes its either Gene Cene Autry or Roy Rogers in a cowboy special that I is s currently playing |