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t THE CHRONICLE Strives To Be A Cleon Newspaper, Complete Newsy and Reliable ffihf OUintnn ©hrmtirlf Volume LI I Clinton, S. G, Thursday, February 15, 1951 If You Don't Read IHE CHWIIICLE You Don't Get the News Number 7 A Regular Chronicle Feature Something Must Be Done To Stop Dollar Drop—Babson Washington, D. C., Feb. 8—There is no more certain way of wrecking our economy and our democracy than by allowing the val ue of our dollar to continue to decline. Many are finding it extremely difficult today to make ends meet with a 57 cent dollar in this most prosperous era Am erica has ever known. In 1M0, a friend of mine got an air mail letter from Greece. The amount of postage on the envelope was 30 drachmas, or about 65 cents. Just the other day, he received an air mail letter of the same weight from Ath ens. He counted the postage 9700 drachmas—323 times as much as it took in <1940! How would you like to hold life insurance policies in an Athenian company, or to have bought Greek government bonds in 1M0? Both are being paid as they become due; but in almost worthless money. It can happen here? It already has happened. By the time you get around to cash your 1953 Series £ bonds which you bought in 1943, you win have lost an appreciable amount of money in terms of what your dol lars can buy. It already takes twice as many dollars as in 1940 Co buy the average car. Food costs are up over 100 per cant; clothing costs by sbout 9S per cant; and rent costs by about 20 per cent Almost anything you can name has spiralled since Korea The Air Force alone reports that the decline in She dollar has aat- en out of Its budget seven hundred and fifty )et fighters Management blames the decline of the dollar on wage raises The wage earner blames management for price hiking in a sellar's market Both groups art at fault But the real dif ficulty lias with the (act Chat the production of goods Is not keeping up with the demand. The bureau o! Labor Statistics reveals an etvragr hourly pay rise In the manufacturing industries from a low of $1.00 in] 1946 to f 130 in 1930, or 30 per cent EXirlng the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Index rose Mt per cent Thu meant an I 8 average hourly increase of around 10 per cent in actual purchasing pow er of workers. From 1946 to 1950, corporate prof its rose, before taxes, from 23.6 bil lion to around 37 billion in 1950, or an approximate 57 per cent increase. After paying taxes, however, 1946 corporate gains were 13.6 billion, and rose to 21.5 billion in 1950, and com pare fairly well with the increase in wages and prices. This is a good illustration of the law of supply and demand—action and reaction—which ultimately Cakes care of unbalances. The desire of all of us for more play and less work is the real cause of our decling dol lar. The Korean war simply brought our precarious economic status into sharper focus. Mare Controls Coming I hate the idea of more govern ment in business. 1 always will be vigorously opposed to unnecessary government controls. We can no more control inflation voluntarily with our present Government in a wartime economy than we can raise a ten million man army voluntarily. It is. therefore .with reluctance that I have come to the conclusion that the only cure for inflation is through stringent regimentation of our econ omy—but only for as long as war lasts. This means stiff uafcs and a big reduction of all expenditures not re quired by the war preparations, in order to put the war on a pay-as-you- go basts It means prices, wages, and profits must be controlled. It mean* an end to all subsidies to fanners, laborers, and buunesamen It meant unloading the billion of dollars of farm in van tones now stockpiled by the government It means a drastic reduction in the heavily overloaded executive branch of the government It means all-out mob; Usattan. : not a piecemeal mobi)- icatton which encourages inflation Unless we immediately take these drastic steps, unpleasant as they may be. our dollar may | only 2! TMI ( UONlCLg Completely Cavers Ctmtea s Trade Area far Advarttaara Til err |» \s <ub»Ut«tc far N< As Washington Sees It •.. THE NATIONAL SCENE Special to The Chronicle. Washington, D. C., Feb. 15—As was expected, there is wide-spread contfusion over possible effects of the general wage-price freeze order as it will affect any given community. The freeze order, which was more or less mis-named, since it is not a price freeze, as was pointed out by Eric Johnson, boss of the economic stabilization agency, is merely a tem porary stop-gap order intended to | halt the trend of rapidly rising prices | until tailored regulations can be worked out to fit each industry and in many instances each commodity, j These effects, however may be noted: 1. Certain increase in retail prices lover the counter and prices of raw | materials will be slowed down until business leaders can see wherein ! their own industry is affected. 2. There will be some increases in wages, despite the order, in Indus- trim where wage increases have not recently been granted. 3. As a result there may even be aotne price increaaes, since the or der tends to freeze mark-ups ra- [ther than prices. 4. When the specific regulations are issued there may be some roll backs in prices. Insofar as agricultural prices are concerned, commodities now selling below the parity figure may be rais ed to Chat figure, or to the highest figure at which they were selling be tween May 24 and June M, i960 For instance, on December 13, 1330, the parity figure on corn was II 64 per bushel while farmers were getting about 91 43 There is nothing in the new price freeze to prevent the far mer from boosting the price of corn uf to II •>, or higher if It sold high- er during the May-June period; that is, if he can get that price. However, on those commodities such as cotton, cottonseed, beef. veal, soy beaut. rice and others which are selling above parity figure, the freeze ordbr fixes a ceiling as on other commodities as the highest price in the December 15 to January 13 period But there also is a reason why the government may permit prices on these latter commodities to mcreaee since there is a definite need in the defense effort for increased supplies of livestock, feeds, cotton. dairy pro- duces, oil mods and It will be the policy of government to expand pro- tion for enforcement of anti-trust lawk and increase in the federal trade commission appropriation for en forcement of the Bdbinson-Patman act. The small business organization also is interested in rigid enforcement of the new amendment to the Claytop Act. CALL 74 FO« TOUR PRINTING AND i OFFICE SUPPLY NEEDS MIDWAY Drive-In Theatre NEWEST AND FINEST CUNTON — IOANNA • 4 * FRIDA Y-SATURD AY FEBRUARY 16-17 THE MARAUDERS William Boyd Also: “RIDERS OF DEATH VALLEY” Chapter No. 15 MONDAY-TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19-20 WHISPERING SMITH Allan Ladd WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21-22 TWO WEEKS TO LIVE Lum and Abner A FIRST RUN MOVIE We now have a telephone in ticket office—No. 564-W ALSO SELECTED SHORT SUBJECTS ADMISSION 40c And according to the experts here in Weshtngton. since these controls I are expected to be in effect for sev eral years as expansion of needed produdUon is obtained, not only in farm commodities, but in shipping, railroads, electric power, basic chem- jicsls. steel. Iron, aluminum, fibers, and many other metals Where suf ficient expansion is needed, direct controls may be eased to be supersed ed by more indirect controls In the meantime, the government agencies art asking for patience, not an outstanding virtue of the Amer ican people, until they can work out definite and more permanent con trols over the nation’s economy According to the bureau of acri- cultural economics the farmer is now getting about 50 cents or better out of the consumer dollar spent for food. This compares to about 40 cents for the pre-war average, 1935 to 1939. The farm credit administration in a recent report said that fanners have recently added 36 more production ‘credit associations which are now 'fully farmer owned, making a total !of 176 of these credit cooperatives ! now owned outright by fanners. This jis about 35 per cent of the 500 pro duction credit associations in the nation and represents an investment i by fanners of about $70 million dol lars. Aside from legislation already in troduced intended to give small bus iness a large share of government de- Jifense business, the national federa tion of independent business, during this sesion of the congres, will con centrate its pressure on anti-trust ac tion to protect small business at the local level. First point in the fed eration slate is adequate appropria- CHERRY PIES 8-in. 45c — 9-in. 55c TINMAN'S BAKERY Phone 334-W Children under U admitted FREE Flrut Show Start* at Duafc—Saoond Shew at 10 PJL RADIO REPAIRS Enjoy it tD . . . with « Radio that’s tuned up . . . for a better tune 1r. City Radio Servict 205 B. Caro. Ayr. Phobe 278-M Nut To T. E. | Got Your Fishing License Yet ? knr Vt^tona \ See Our Complete Line of \\ fishing tackle COX HOME & AUTO SUPPLY, Inc. 211 N. Bread St. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed Phone Not. 12 SHARI EXTRA SAVINGS! 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