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Show SCANNING THE WEEK'S NEWS of Main Street and the World Average Citizen Is Saving More, Sales and Profit Survey Reveals PEACE TALKS As home towners had expected, the 30-day provisional provi-sional cease-fire-line agreement in Korea expired without final agreement agree-ment between the Communists and the United Nations in their peace talks. As a result, it will be necessary to redraw the cease-fire line whenever all other armistice points are settled. Although progress in the talks has been slow, the over-all picture is encouraging. Results are beginning to show. First, and possibly most important, is the slackening of fighting, resulting re-sulting in a great drop in the number of casualties on both sides. This policy is likely to continue as long as the talks are in progress, because, as Gen. James A. Van Fleet told correspondents: "We will not sacrifice our men needlessly. What is the use of thousands of casualties if it is questionable what good they would do?" Second, the United States and its allies have a general idea, although somewhat inaccurate, of the number of .fighting men held by the Communists Com-munists in their prisoner-of-war camps. United Nations negotiators, however, are still pressing for a full accounting of more than 50,000 unlisted Allied prisoners. The U.S. has asked specifically what has become be-come of 1,058 Americans not on the official Red prisoner-of-war list. How soon a final agreement can be reached in the talks is anyone's guess, but distrust on the part of both sides will not hasten it. As an example, the Reds charge the lack of agreement due to "extraordinary antics . . . colossal bungling, criminal negligence, and master-race arrogance" ar-rogance" by the Americans. On the other hand, the Allies charge the "Communists have run true to form . . . With few exceptions the talks have been marked by the familiar Red pattern of delay, deceit, and diversionary tactics." PRICE CUTS Rural and small town families, by far the largest group of mail order patrons in the country, are wondering if the announced an-nounced price cuts on thousands of items by the firms located in Chicago Chi-cago is an indication of things to come during 1952. Midwinter sales catalogues of the four biggest mail order houses in the business list lower prices on thousands of items. It is the biggest cut in years. One firm cut the price on an 11-cubic-foot refrigerator from $262.72 to $212.75, a 25 per cent mark down on men's shirts, and price reductions reduc-tions ranging from 80 cents to $2.30 on tires from last fall's levels. The firm also listed 400 price cuts on both wood and metal furniture. SALES SAG The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, in a report of business conditions during the last quarter of 1951, said sales in the nation dropped under the previous pre-vious quarter's level for the first time since 1949. The report also said the profit sag, which began at the end of 1950, continued with manufacturers manufac-turers returns amounting to 15 per cent before taxes and 23 per cent after taxes. Sales fell off $2,600,000,000 during the period. Only four of the 22 industries covered in the report recorded an increase in-crease of profits before taxes in the third quarter of last year. They were petroleum, food, tobacco, and apparel and finished textiles. The commissions did not attempt to interpret the general decline in business. It was obvious, however, that decline was due to a consumer buying lull that started early in 1950, sharp increases in defense taxes, shortages of materials and controls on scarce metals. Most observers believe the trend can be expected to continue during the early part of this year. THE OLD SOCK According to Secretary of Commerce Sawyer the average citizen in the home towns of the nation are putting more and more of their money in the old sock and keeping it there. He says savings are greater now than at any time in the last five years. Sawyer is all for this saving spree of Americans amounting to an annual rate of $22,000,000,000 because he believes it has helped turn the tide against rampant inflation. He warned, however, that if Americans Amer-icans spend these savings in a new wave of buying, inflatary pressures will surge up again. Personal incomes rose from $225,000,000,000 in 1950 to $251,000,000,000 in 1951. Now, in the early days of 1952, the rate is about $260,000,000,000. GOP CIRCUS The race of Republicans to secure the GOP president presi-dent nomination is taking on the atmosphere of a circus so many are joining the show that spectators are going to miss some of the acts. The latest is Harold E. Stassen. Already active are Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio and Gov. Earl Warren of California. Remaining to join the big show is Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, considered by many the white hope of the Republican party. The other candidates had this to say of Stassen's announcement: "Every American has a right to run for President and it's well that the Republicans should have a wide choice." Taft. "His (Stassen's) candidacy candi-dacy should stimulate discussion of national issues and he will undoubtedly un-doubtedly be an important factor in the Republican convention." Warren. War-ren. THE SUMMARY Secretary of State Dean Acheson, whose popularity popu-larity with the American people has increased since the Japanese peace conference in San Francisco, recently summed up the American foreign policy for 1951. Dividing the global picture into four sections, he had this to say: Europe and the North Atlantic The year 1951 was a period of progress prog-ress and growth . . . The North Atlantic Treaty organization's military command has gone forward . . . The important decisions that must be made early in 1952 have to do with the quantity and quality of European military forces, German participation in the defense of Europe, and creation of a European defense community and a European army. The Near and Middle East We lost some ground. The Suez waterway water-way and Iranian oil crises offer dangerous opportunities for exploitation exploita-tion by the Kremlin. On the other hand, Greece and Turkey are bright spots. The Far East In Korea, the UN must guard against a renewal of Communist treachery, even if an armistice is signed. The Pacific The past year was one in which progress was made toward building a structure of peace through a series of treaties with Australia,. New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan. |
