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Show SCANNING THE WEEK'S NEWS of Main Street and the World -N ' " - )erage Citizen Is Saving More, iles mi Profit Survey Reveals fi'EACE TALKS As home towners had expected, the 30-day provi-Xl provi-Xl cease-fire-line agreement in Korea expired without final agree-,j. agree-,j. between the Communists and the United Nations in their peace l. As a result, it will be necessary to redraw the cease-fire line Ov,ever all other armistice points are settled. ilthough progress in the talks has been slow, the over-all picture is 'jraging. Results are beginning to show. Xr irst, and possibly most important, is the slackening of fighting, re-lg re-lg in a great "drop in the number of casualties on both sides. This y is likely to continue as long as the talks are in progress, because, en. James A. Van Fleet told correspondents: "We will not sacrifice I nen needlessly. What is the use of thousands of casualties ,if it is ' ionable what good they would do?" Necond, the United States and its allies have a general idea, although Awhat inaccurate, of the number of fighting men held by the Com-3sts Com-3sts in their prisoner-of-war camps. United Nations negotiators, f ver, are still pressing for a full accounting of more than 50,000 ted Allied prisoners. The U.S. has asked specifically what has be- of 1,058 Americans not on the official Red prisoner-of-war list. J':ow soon a final agreement can be reached in the talks is anyone's but distrust on the part of both sides will not hasten it. As an ijjple, the Reds charge the lack of agreement due to "extraordinary (fys . . . colossal bungling, criminal negligence, and master-race ar-ice" ar-ice" by the Americans. -Jn the other hand, the Allies charge the "Communists have run true rm . . . With few exceptions the talks have been marked by the iar Red pattern of delay, deceit, and diversionary tactics." RICE CUTS Rural and small town families, by far the largest rih of mail order patrons in the country, are wondering if the an-I an-I Ited price cuts on thousands of items by the firms located in Chl- is an indication of things to come during 1952. Jidwinter sales catalogues of the four biggest mail order houses . e business list lower prices on thousands of items. It is the biggest aln years. y ne firm cut the price on an 11-cubic-foot refrigerator from $262.72 ,12.75, a 25 per cent mark down on men's shirts, and price reduc-ranging reduc-ranging from 80 cents to $2.30 on tires from last fall's levels. The also listed 400 price cuts on both wood and metal furniture. 1g: "iALES SAG The Securities and Exchange Commission and the s i-al Trade Commission, in a report of business conditions during the i Quarter of 1951, said sales in the nation dropped under the pre-I. pre-I. quarter's level for the first time since 1949. The report also said thsrofit sag, which began at the end of 1950, continued with manufac-;hj(S manufac-;hj(S returns amounting to 15 per cent before taxes and 23 per cent ; e taxes. Sales fell off $2,600,000,000 during the period, behly four of the 22 industries covered in the report recorded an in-B in-B le of profits before taxes in the third quarter of last year. They sot petroleum, food, tobacco, and apparel and finished textiles. se commissions did not attempt to interpret the general decline in :rTss. It was obvious, however, that decline was due to a consumer '(g lull that started early in 1950, sharp increases in defense taxes, ' 5ges of materials and controls on scarce metals. Most observers 'e the trend can be expected to continue during the early part of iatear. Of: nuHE OLD SOCK According to Secretary of Commerce Sawyer reEiverage citizen in the home towns of the nation are putting more !ip aore of their money in the old sock and keeping it there. He says tgs are greater now than at any time in the last five years, rylpvyer is all for this saving spree of Americans amounting to an ,npl rate of $22,000,000,000 because he believes it has helped turn de against rampant inflation. He warned, however, that if Amer-raH Amer-raH spend these savings in a new wave of buying, inflatary pressures urge up again. rsonal incomes rose from $225,000,000,000 in 1950 to $251,000,000,000 1. Now, in the early days of 1952, the rate is about $260,000,000,000. s pP CIRCUS The race of Republicans to secure the GOP presi-nomination presi-nomination is taking on the atmosphere of a circus so many are g the show that spectators are going to miss some of the acts. The as(. is Harold E. Stassen. Already active are Sen. Robert Taft of and Gov. Earl Warren of California. Remaining to join the big .is Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, considered by many the white hope Republican party. .ie other candidates had this to say of Stassen's announcement: ncliy American has a right to run for President and it's well that the 1 plicans should have a wide choice." Taft. "His (Stassen's) candi-a candi-a should stimulate discussion of national issues and he will un- inIt;dly be an important factor in the Republican convention." War- kes n ai MiHE SUMMARY Secretary of State Dean Acheson, whose popu-s'with popu-s'with the American people has increased since the Japanese peace ence in San Francisco, recently summed up the American foreign d ft for 1951. Dividing the global picture into four sections, he had ch i say: t, llfope and the North Atlantic The year 1951 was a period of prog-t prog-t Tend growth . . . The North Atlantic Treaty organization's military (Band has gone forward . . . The important decisions' that must be 'ezi' early in 1952 have to do with the quantity and quality of European , ry forces, German participation in the defense of Europe, and ;h, bn of a European defense community and a European army, uffls Near and Middle East We lost some ground. The Suez water-leaand water-leaand Iranian oil crises offer dangerous opportunities for exploita-bles exploita-bles y the Kremlin. On the other hand, Greece and Turkey are bright :e, V- ry, e Far East In Korea, the UN must guard against a renewal of unist treachery, even if an armistice is signed. ,asl,t Pacific The past year was one in which progress was made :eys 1 building a structure of peace through a series of treaties with ' ha. New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan. irol f, ' i K t ' ' 1 ' - 1 ha 5rn 1 " . n o t jicers at the Army post office in Tokyo are pictured as they started some 800 letters from Red held Allied prisoners-of-war in Korea to I unities. The letters were flown to the United States and then sent to 1 s in all parts of the nation by airmail-special delivery. |