I
I. S. WORKERS RANK
SECOND IN FOOD
PURCHASING POWER
"WASHINGTON, D. C. — The
pun hasing power of American
worker? hourly earnings — in
teams of food — ranked second
among 20 countries in 1050, the
U. S. Labor Department'^ Bureau
a# Labor Statistics reports in its
Nehru ary. 1051, Monthly I>abor
Review. Australia was the only
foreign country studied where
lees working time was required
than in the United States to
Isuy a given amount of food.
Following Australia and the
United States, in order, were:
'Norway, Canada, Denmark, Israel
* amd Swe<len <tied), Great Britain
Chechoslovakia, Ireland, and
Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands
amd Western Germany, Chile,
"France i Paris); Austria (Vien
na), Hungary, Italy, and the So
srirt Union.
Soviet workers had to work
mrven times as long as Americans
to buy a given quantity of food,
according to the best available
WKlimates of 1950 earnings cons
igned with 1950 food prices. Wage
canters in Canada, Great Britain,
"Samel, and the Scandanavian
countries had to work 20 to 64
per cent longer than Americans.
Workers in Sweden, Great Brit
ain, and Israel were able to buy
mare food with their, .hourly
minings in 1950 than In previous
^cars, relative to the United
States.
In comparing food purchasing
^powers of various countries, BLS
points, oitt that between 1937-38
smi the spring of 1950, U. S.
food prices less than doubled and
hmidy earnings move than dou
bled— increasing the power of
American workers’ earnings in
terms of food at the market by
about 17 per cent.
The amount of food U. S. hour
ly earnings can buy rose almost
5 per cent between March 1949,
and March, 1950, because of a
3 per cent drop in food prices
and a 1 1*2 per cent increase *in
earnings. This broadened the
existing gap between the food
purchasing power of U. S. work
ers and most other foreign work
ers during the year.
In 13 of the 19 foreign coun
tries covered in the survey the
purchasing power of the wages
of workers with family responsi
bilities is increased by means of
family allowances. In some of
these countries, the increase is
substantial. The largest family
allowances are reported from
j France, where the food purchas
, ing power of the worker with a
i wife and two children is one third
higher with the family allowance
i than without it.
The Bureau Stresses the diffi
culty in evaluating the economic
significance of these variations in
work time required to buy food
in different countries. War dam
age in most of the foreign coun
tries increased the disparity be
tween U. S. and foreign food
purchasing power in the postwar
period as compared with prewar.
Currency devaluations in Septem
ber, 1949, were a factor in chang
ing food purchasing powers be
tween 1949 and 1950.
Differences in food purchasing
powers cannot be considered in
dicators of the relative well-being
of wage earners in different
countries, since indexers of the
purchasing power of earnings In
terms of food are but one factor
concerning relative welfare, BLS
notes.
I -
Are you listening to Frank
Edwards ?
t«1
•omit ini
R»*n it
COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY
HENDERSON, Ni C.
TAYLOR
BROTHERS
INC.
Manufacturers of
FINE CHEWING TOBACCO
•
308 East First Street
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C.
COMPLIMENTS
Piedmont Federal
Savings and Loan
Association
WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA
Cost Of Living Index
Brought Up-To-Date
__ i ___ ___
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The
UAW-AFL Resea. eh Department
has received several inquiries
relevant to the government’s an
nounced changes in its computa
tion of the cost of living index.
Users of the UAW-AFL Binder
axe particularly concerned as to
how this will affect monthly re
leases under the cost of living
i section.
Beginning with January, 1951,
figures, the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics will issue both the im
proved adjusted index and the old
index as compiled heretofore. Th'a
| UAW-AFL research service will
supply both figures with the eom
| plqte breakdown for the old ser
| ies—the one which will bo used
I by those unions having escalator
clauses in their contracts. As
new contracts are signed, they |
j are expected to embody the new j
j cost of living index and eventu
| ally this will replace the old one.
Index includes:
1. Correction of the rent index
[to take account of the effects of
j higher rents charged for newly!
! built rental units.
2. The use of 1956 population j
figures in combining separate city
indexes into a U. S. index.
3. Modernisation of the mark
et basket of goods and services
priced for the index to reflect
postwar consumption and spend
ing habits. Both the items priced
and the importance attached to
various items in the market bas
ket are being adjusted to reflect
the pattern of family spending
today.
RENTS JUMP SKY
HIGH WHEN RENT
CONTROLS ARE OFF
Rent control ended in Ham
mond, Ind., March 2. By the t
middle of March the office of
Rep. Ray Madden tD., Ind.), j
whose district includes Ham- j
mond, was swamped with pro
tests.
Telegram after telegram add
up to this: Hammond landlords
are gouging the city’s tenants.
Here are some of the wires:
“Rent decontrolled. Landlords
hog wild. We are at their mercy.
Can anything be done ? Please
help ...”
“Since rent decontrol our rent
for one and a half rooms has
increased from $50 to $76. My
salary has. increased 10 per cent.
What is to be done?”
“I beseech you to act at once
regarding unfair rentals. My
rent is to jump 06 per cent first
of neat month. Now I ask you
in God’s name, is that fair?”
“Since rent controls were re
moved in Hammond our rent, one
and a half room apartment, has
been increased 50 per cent. Un
fair”
“Since rent decontrol in Ham
mond I have had my rent in
creased 68.5 per cent. This is
certainly unjust.”
“Since rent decontrol has gone
into effect in Hammond, Ind., my
rent has been increased from $55
to $77.50. Seems unfair.”
Peeping Toms
It’* got so a Britisher can’t t*ke
his “bawth” without the Socialist
Labor government having its say
on the subject, a London dispatch
reveals.
The Ministry of Health, with
an eye to the need for austerity
under Socialistic production sched
ules, notes the average family
using 18 gallons of hot water daily,
compared with six in 1939.
“A good sign, but we must dis
courage waste!” the Ministry
warns.
Work Diroctod
By Electric Eye
To speed production and increase
accuracy in cutting metal parts
from sheets or bars, an Eastern
manufacturer has developed an
electronic instruasoat which follow?
the lines of a drawing with an elec
tric eye.
Draftsmen prepare the drawing
and place it tinder a microscope.
The electric eye is focussed on the
TOms. That sends out an electric
signal to guide the cutting tool,
which can follow a curve as small
as that of the pupil of the eye.
Organic matter is essential to
profitable production of every
crop; it increases the ability of
the soil to absorb and hold water,
and improves the structure of the
soil and its ability to utilise plant
foods, especially nitrogen
HERE’S WHAT YOU
CAN DO TO HELP
BRIN6 PRICES DOWN
WASHINGTON. — The United
Labor Conference adopted this
program for action:
The need for an effective anti
inflation program dealing with
prices, rents and taxes is obvious
to all the American people.
Action must be undertaken by
the Administration and by Con
gress to protect every American
and to safeguard the defense
program itself.
Action will be taken if the
American people make their voice
heard in unmistakable terms.
To carry out the declaration of
principles adopted here today, wc
agree:
1. To enlist co-operation in
support of this anti-inflation pro
gram from all community organi
zations which support our demo
cratic institutions and are devoted
to the anti-totalitarian objectives
of Americas defense program.
2. To promote public meetings,
radio and television programs,
speeches before community
groups and other appropriate
means of alerting every citizen
to the need of improved defense
mobilization and anti-inflation
policies.
3. To forward letters, * tele
grams, petitions and memorials
to President Truman and mem
bers of Congress in support of
the principle of equal sacrifice
and fair play in the mobilisation
program. Our first objective is
the improvement of the Defense
Production Act.
•4. To help establish local con
sumer committees through which
the people may be fully advised
of the developments in Washing
ton, violations of price regula
tions may be publicized, and to
co-operate with public spirited
merchants for local anti-infla
tion programs.
6. To secure the widest pub
licity through the labor press and,
if necessary, through the pur
chase of local radio time and
newspaper space, for the voting
record of senators and congress
men on major bills, affecting the
fight against inflation and for a
better defense mobilization pro
gram.
To this program of action, we
pledge our united effort.
When you see a Union Shop
Card you know the firm which
displays it pays Union wages and
observes Union working condi
tions. Non-Union firms do not
display the Shop Card. Look
for it!
NOTICE OF SERVICE BY
PUBLICATION
North Carolina,
Mecklenburg County.
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
Ben S. Stephens, Plaintiff, vs.
Ellsie N. Stephens, Defendant.
The defendant above named will
take notice that an action en
titled as above has been com
menced in the Superior Court of
Mecklenburg County, N. C., for
the purpose of obtaining an ab
solute divorce from the defendant
on the grounds of adultry.
And the defendant will further
take notice that she is required
to appear before the Clerk of the
Superior Court of Mecklenburg
County within twenty days (20)
from the day of which service t>y
publication in the cause is com
pleted, or within twenty days
(20) from the 5th day ot
May, 1961, and answer or demur
to the complaint filed in this ac
tion, or the plaintiff will apply
to the Court for the relief de
manded in said complaint.
This the 13th day of April,
1961.
MARY S. POYTHRESS,
, Assistant Clerk of the
Superior Court,
(4-12, 19, 2t; 6-3-p)
.. !■■ ■ I ■■■■!■ ■■■
GUILFORD HOSIERY MILLS, MG.
Manufacturers of
FINE HOSIERY
Higk Point, North Carolina
LOCAL LABOR GETS
WARNING FROM ST.
PETERSBURG, FLORID*
The following letter sent out
by the St. Petersburg Florida
Central Labor Union is self-ex
planatory. Local Labor organi
zations are advised to be on their
guard.
Important Notice
Be on the lookout for RAY
MOND MORREL PARKS, de
scription as follows:
Age 46.
Complexion: Medium.
Hair: Light brown, very thin
nearing bald.
Height 5 feet 10 1-2 inches.
Weight: 172 or heavier.
He is wanted by this central
body for embezzling $600.00 plus
bad checks of $200.00 and a per
sonal note of $300.00. He is also
wanted by many merchants here
; on bgd check charges.
| This man specializes in selling
j advertising signs on a commis
| sion basis for labor halls.
He is a very smooth salesman
and will promote all forms of
letters of recommendation and
credit. He then goes into his
routine wherein he jzets every
thing he can get and then leaves
town.
Beware , of this man and above
all do not allow him the privilege
of selling advertising for your
labor hall.
Fraternally yours,
C. B. BROWN, President
W. J. EVANS, Secretary.
FOOD GAMBLERS 6ET
FAT WHILE FOOD
PRICES GO HI6HER
The smart boys are- (rambling
in food. It’s better than stocks
or horses. That’s because you
need to pay only 10, per cent
down to buy corn, wheat, soy
beans or other farm products in
commodity markets.
gut if you want to buy a
chunk of General Motors or some
other company listed on a stock
exchange, you have to put down
75 per cent. And if you’re play
ing the ponies, you have to plunk
down cash on the barrelhead.
Gambling going on in food is a
big reason you pay so much for
•oceries. The big-business de
rense program has placed no re
strictions on food gamblers. Con
gress last year beat a proposal
to control food gamblers.
William Fairfield, a farm ex
pert, tells how you can get rich
quick by gambling in food in an
article, “How Speculators In
crease Our Food Bill,” in the
March 20 issue of The Reporter
magazine:
“A man who has ?750 to spec
ulate with can buy at most $1,000
worth of stock. On a commodity
exchange, however, the same $750
can get him contracts for as
much as $7,500 worth of a farm
product.
“If the stock goes up 10 per
cent to $1,100, he can sell at a
profit of $100. If the farm prod
uct goes Up the same 10 per cent,
to $8,250, he can sell at a profit
of $750. . . .
“Most of the trading on the
commodity exchanges was specu
lative. That is, the traders play
j ed no direct part in the market
ing or processing of the farm
commodity involved. They were
interested only in maxing a profit
from price changes. . .
“On one particular day last
summer . . . more than 8 in
every 10 bushels of December
wheat and more than 9 in every
10 bushels of November soybeans
traded on the Chicago Board of
Trade were bought and sold by
speculators.
“During 1950, the volume of
soybean futures traded on that
exchange amounted to more than
15 times the sixe of the entire
U, S. crop.”
Ill Arkansas, where they hare
about as vicious a state 1*w
against Unions as you’ll be able
to find anywhere, the state su
preme court ruled that picketing
is just as basic an American right
as free speech. The ruling came
in a case where the strike al
ready had been settled The Ark
•nsag court ordered the lower
court to wipe the injunction off
the books.
On March 23 the railroads an
nounced that they’re now going
after a 15 per cent increase in
freight rates. If - their past suc
cess on this score is any indica
tion, they 31 get it.
I
I
I
BELK-MARTIN COMPANY
“LEXINGTON’S SHOPPING CENTER”
LEXINGTON, N. C.
GARRICK TURNING WORKS
QUALITY WOOD TURNINGS
812 Millis Street
HIGH POINT, N. C.
REST-A-BIT SERVICE STATION
3630 East Market Street Telephone 3-1578
BATTS TRANSFER COMPANY
3703 E. Market Street Telephone 3-1578
GREENSBORO, N. C.
SUMMIT SHOPPING CENTER ”
Summit Avenue
A. & P. Super Market
Guilford Dairy Bar
Summit Center Cleaners
Daily Maid Bakery
Edmonds Drug Store
Ennis Beauty Salon
Wells Esso Service
Roses 5c, 10c and 25c Stores
DeifeU’s Dept. Store
McKniffht’s Hardware Store
Summit Center Jewelers
Coble’s Barber Shop
Dick’s Shoe Shop
Eubanks Laundromat
GREENSBORO, N. C
—
CAMEL CITY LAUNDRY
And
DRY CLEANING CO.
508 East Fourth Street
Telephone 6196
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C.
<■.
There is Nothing Finer
than to Live in
North Carolina
From the mountain* to the
seashore North Carolinian* are bo*
ginning to movo outdoor*. Tho Spring season
open* strong in Asheville in May. State eon*
ventions of Civitans, Lions, K. of C., American
Legion, Postmasters, Jayceea, Daughters of
America and Industrial Safety Conference
are all scheduled for that month.
Along with the beach resort*, takes
over now on the coast and it's time to renew
your license for island waters fishing. Best
fishing days la May are from the 5th through
the 20th-but every day is a good day la May
in North Carolina.
Plenty of work and plenty of fun mW the
ideal balance to good living here at homo
and. for refreshing seiasafioa anytime, most
of us can enjoy a temperate glaes of beec
neld under our ABC system of legal control
that is working so well.
North Carolina Divirion
UNHID STATES BKEWXXS FOUNDATION. INC.