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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1943)
PAGE FIVE CHAMBER REVIEWS BUSIEST YEAR MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1943 AID TO MILITARY IS MAIN ITEM ON ACTIVITY LEDGER Coming of Camp White, Ex pansion of Airport, Hous ing Efforts Take Attention Winding up one of the busiest years ever experienced, the Medford Chamber of Commerce has compiled a summary of the past 12 months under the direc tion of Frank Hull, manager. In a report to the president, Karl Janouch, Mr. Hull reviews the year's activities in relation to Camp White, the Medford air port, the local housing situation, agriculture and other projects. Pertaining to the cantonment the report states: "The canton ment represents an expenditure of approximately $30,000,000 and has a continuing expendi ture, in the quartermaster's de partment alone, of some $3,000, 000 a year. The Chamber of Commerce took the leading part In acquirement of this army camp and is constantly in touch with officials at the camp, and will be as long as this conflict exists. Some of the contacts are of a very serious nature and im portant to the well being of this community. The Chamber of Commerce is the natural chan nel through which these activi ties are guided." Airport Big Asset Discussing the. airport the re port states: "This project is con sidered one of the finest assets of Jackson cpunty. The Cham ber of Commerce has consistent ly worked toward its improve ment and enlargement in every way. In fact, it could practically be said that something is done about the airport daily. "Its future benefits to this community are unbelievable unless one has analyzed what air traffic means to a community. "It has been advocated by several influential citizens that our airport should be consolidat ed into a Jackson county proj . ect instead of its present status as a city of Medford project. Over $1,850,000 has been spent on this airport to date." Housing Hop Reporting on the local housing situation the summary states: "The Housing Authority, created by the city and the Chamber of Commerce, has recently had ap nroved a 125-unit temporary housing project. This project should be under construction in a very short time and will re lieve some of the present conges tion. "In the past the Chamber of Commirce has continuously as sisted in the procurement of pri orities, handling of correspondence- and the arrangement of contacts with the proper au thorities on all of, the housing, both permanent and temporary. Obviously we will continue to do so. ' . Help In Housing "We have Actually' housed over 1,500 military personnel and their wives since July 20, and are continuing to handle anywhere from ten to 25 daily. We feel that our relations with the military personnel of Camp White are pleasant and condu cive of benefits to this commun ity. "The Chamber of Commerce represents the acting contact of several of the federal agencies in operation in the community, such as the Rationing Board, the Office of Defense Transporta tion, Rent Control Office, Recre ation and Civilian Protection. Under civilian protection there is a great deal of detail, and dis semination of needful informa tion being passed on to the citi zens of this community daily. "The Chamber of Commerce . last year secured single-handed the large federal shops located as the fair grounds. These are a permanent asset to the com munity." The shops, originally constructed for the CCC camps in this area, have been taken over by the army and employ many men at the present. Aid Given Many ' "The Chamber of Commerce Is continuously ictive in running down and getting information of benefit to not only its own busi ness members, but for the ben efit of all business, including professional, in the community. "In agriculture, while it is difficult to list any tangible re sult, the Chamber of Commerce believes it has been of value this last year. Acquirement of all of the projects listed above directly benefits agriculture in the consumption of its products. 'The Chamber handles be- k tween two and three hundred inquiries by communication. monthly. We also continuously serve citizens of this community with various forms of Informa tion, advice where feasible, as- Babson Gives Outlook for 1943; Sees Gain in Defense Production Sharp Drop in Non-Defense Lines THUMBNAIL OUTLOOK FOR 1943 1. TOTAL BUSINESS: Defense production will be up sharply (plus 50)s noa-defenu down sharply (minus 33). accompanied by a drastic standarisation of products. 2. EMPLOYMENT The above also applies to employment if we do not include the armed forces. 3. FARM INCOMEl W1U be up 5 la 1943 over 1942. 4. DIVIDENDS AND BUSINESS EARNINGS! Have passed their peaks and will be lower in 1943 than in 1942. 5. LABORi There will be practically no strikes until the end of the war and wages will gradually become stabilised. 9. COMMODITY PRICESi Will strengthen somewhat, especially the prices of manufac tured goods. Commodity price indexes will indicate far leu than the actual advance. 7. TAZESi Will be felt severely, especially by the white-collar group who can expect no pay increases. 9. RETAIL TRADE) Will be 12 off in physical volume in 1943 compared with 1942. - 9. HIGH-GRADE BONDS Should decline, but good Stocks should sell higher. 10. CREEPING INFLATION Will continue throughout 1943. Babson Park, Mass., Dec. 31 Events are moving at breath taking speed. Never before has the world been in the midst of such a far-reaching turmoil. Within the next hour news might break that will, change the whole course of history. Nevertheless, it is vitally im portant to keep your perspec tive. To change your business or investment program with every piece of war news is ut most folly. A good example oi this was portray when the United States opened up a sec ond front in North Africa. That morning many thousands of self-appointed commentators were convinced that the war was going to last at least five years. Yet by midnight of that same day these same commen tators could see nothing but a short war and a quick victory. Let us now, therefore, confine this outlook to probabilities. RETAIL TRADE -The first quarter of 1943 should equal- the first quarter of 1942; considering the entire year, a decline of 12 per cent is probable. Just what will hap pen depends on two things: first, upon the quantity of goods; and second, .to what extent consum ers are willing to. take substi- tutes. -Washington talks about 300.000 retailers being put out of business; but I believe this is entirely unnecessary. If land lords will be easy on rents, as sensible ones should be, practi cally all retailers can run on a skeleton force and keep alive until the war is over when busi ness again should be good. The hope of America lies not with big concerns, but with small businessmen. These small busi nessmen must be protected in order to preserve democracy, I go further and say that the preservation of democracy de pends on small and so-called inefficient manufacturers and retailers to "clutter, up" the economic situation. Large units lead .ultimately to tyranny. As this Is becoming recognized, I think 1943 will see some real help given the small retailers. Of course, no general forecast will apply to all parts of the country. The industrial and ag ricultural sections should hold up to 1942 figures; but retailers in certain other sections are bound to suffer. After paying their tax bill in 1943, the Amer ican people will have left out of their income $36 billions more than they had after paying their taxes in 1940. City restaurants and amusements will prosper mosi; wnue filling stations, ga rages, lumber yards, household appliances and hardware stores will suffer most. PRICES AND LIVING COSTS Prices of practically all com modities are at their low with the exception of certain ones that . are now Imported from India, the Far East and Africa. As we are shipping loads of sistance and direct action in hundreds of cases. Help Organisations "The Chamber of Commerce while not being in complete charge, has assisted In the fol lowing activities this year: the Red Cross drive, China Reliui drive, Greek Relief drive, two U.S.O. drives. Community Chest and War Bond and stamp sales Also, we handled completely the solicitation from our business men and the construction of a large public rest room on the parking lot. 'The Chamber of Commerce has been continuously active in keeping before the proper au thorities the necessity of high way construction through its area. It has representatives in the highway association and has carried out, up until last year, quite an extensive advertising campaign for future settlers. "To formulate a forward plan of operation under the present intensity of war is considered practically impossible. It could be considered safe to say that the work of the Chamber of Commerce in the future will parallel the past, and If it is at this time carrying a larger load than previously, that load will perhaps increase. men and supplies to these points, ships may bring back supplies of cocoa, coffee, olive oil, dried fruits, cork, antimony, lead, manganese, hides and skins, mercury, molybdenum, zinc and other commodities. Throughout 1943 there will be a continued pressure to pierce price ceilings. These ceilings will be kept down fairly well on goods which the armed forces need. Thus far the OPA has made no distinction between essentials and non-essentials. Not only is this a very difficult thing to do, but it is good 'politics to class everyone alike. The war against inflation, however, will ' never be won in this way. The only way to keep women from buy ing unnecessary clothes, for in stance, is to let the prices of these clothes increase to a point where the price tag hurts. There fore, during 1943, I forecast a reclassification of the essentials and non-essentials. Prices will be held down on the essentials, but retailers will be allowed to charee higher prices for non essentials. There will be a little increase in living costs, but care in buying and less waste can more than offset any Increases, SECURITY PRICES I believe that the Dow-Jones Stock Averages will go to points during 1943 higher than any thing seen in 1942; also that bond yields and stock yields will tend to come closer to gether. This may mean a de cline in the price of low-coupon. long-term bonds and an Increase in the price of many stocks. This especially applies to stocks of companies which are not handicapped by cumulative pre ferred issues or bond issues. Remember, the London Stock Market is witnessing the high est prices it has seen for five years. Certainly, investors are sound asleep in the United States. Even the utilities begin to look better in spite of com ing inflation. The most important question for the investor during 1943 will be, "Shall I buy peace stocks or war stocks?" Of course, the safest thing is to buy peace stocks. The war stocks include airplane manu facturers, the steels, coppers and other metals and machine tools; while the peace stocks include building supplies, mo tors, rubbers, household appli ances and the stocks of most other companies which are now suffering from lack of business. One sure bet Is that companies which are now prospering most during the war will suffer most after the war; while companies which suffer most during the war will prosper most after the war. There are some concerns of course, such as the merchan dising companies, which should do well both during and after the war. The railroads will do well during the war but after wards, look outl REAL ESTATE New building during 1943 will fall off. Government build ing, both of factories and can tonments, - will decline while residential buildings will con tinue to be held down. This means that not only will the manufacturers of building sup plies and contractors have a poor year in 1943 but there is liable to be more or less un employment among carpenters, masons, painters and plasterers. The honeymoon of the building trades is over for the duration. After the war, however, build ing should come back with a bang although prefabricated houses may put some union labor out of business. Hence, do not sacrifice good real estate or farms during 1943. Besides, there may be legislation requir ing the demolition of buildings over 75 years old. NEW INDUSTRIES 1943 will see the greatest crop of new scientific develop ments that any year ever wit nessed. These may revolution ize agriculture, industry and commerce even to greater extent than the war will revo lutionize governments, politics and human relations. Among the new industries I especially have in mind are synthetics for making artificial products bet ter than the natural; plastics for displacing metals and wood; fertilizers and photosynthesis to revolutionize agriculture; photo electric cells to make machines think; prefabricated houses: air- conditioning; radio heating which will dispense with all radiators and oil. burners; automatic typ ing; unwoven textiles; ultra-micro-cop-ry which will great ly help the elimination of dis ease. New alloys with marvel ous strength and lightness; har nessing the sun, tides and winds; cosmic rays to supplement our powerhouses; atomic power; new military armaments and com mercial aviation. Big profits are possible for alert business men and investors. During 1943 our wives will begin to use dried eggs, dehy drated vegetables, frozen meats and other Innovations. This does not mean that canned goods will be displaced, but I do forecast a revolution In connection with prefabricated houses, using ply wood, aluminum, plastics and rubber; the buying, preserving and use of foods. There will be more experiments in national planning with government guar antees, but with the return of the Republicans to power after this global war, we shall see less, rather than more, ration ing, price fixing and regula tions. Some time it will dawn upon the American voters that the government cannot give the people anything that it does not first or last take away from them. There cannot be a level ing of living standards without a lowering of living standards. FURTHER RATIONING 1943 will see more changes in civilian life than any year since the Revolutionary war. Wise are those who are first to prepare for these changes. When one studies the tremen dous purchases which the gov ernment is making, they make one shudder. For instance, the army recently purchased 30 million pounds of salt, 4 million pounds of mustard and 2 mil lion pounds of black pepper, simply to fill a few months' requirements. Dried fruits are bound to be short in 1943, especially prunes and dried ap ricots; while the kibosh will still be on stoves, bicycles, type writers, hardware and rubber goods. I should not be sur prised to see the rationing of dairy products, certain furni ture, paper supplies, manufac tured goods, farm equipment and possibly clothing and shoes during 1943. Some of my asso ciates think there will be ra tioning of meats, eggs and cheese, but present statistics do not indicate the necessity for this. Certainly, there will be no rationing of cereals, cit rus products and fresh fruits that cannot be shipped. What is most needed is the rationing of labor union leaders and a lengthening of the work ing week as the labor week now averages only 42.5 hours even after over-time payments. Of course, this is a hot potato that the Administration does not like to touch. I forecast, however, that 1943 will see a real step in this direction. The power of the War Labor Board will either be curbed or the board will become much more con servative. Manpower (including women) will be allocated. Pri vate recruiting of labor may be curtailed. Farmers, manufac turers and other employers may be obliged to go to the U. S. Employment Service when de siring additional help while em ployees may be subject to the same regulations when desiring to change Jobs. POLITICAL SITUATION Certainly we are entering 1943 with a much better politi cal situation than existed a year ago. This does not mean that the new congressmen are conservative some are more radical in certain ways than their predecessors but they will combine with the conserv ative southern Democrats on questions of taxation and war matters. Looking back over 1942, It becomes evident that the tax situation was the . most upsetting feature on business and investments. The markets were at their worst directly iter the Morgenthau . recom mendation of a 55 normal tax. When the House voted o 43 tax business began to pick up and even security prices had a real move when the Senate dropped the rate to 40. Recent visits to Washington convince me that the Treasury has temporarily lost its influ ence with Congress and that the 1943 tax bill will be written by Congress itself and will be fairly conservative. I am much Interested in reports that Hon orable James Byrne, the new economic dictator, is to be put in charge. For the first time, it is reasonable to hope that a sales tax perhaps under some other name will be enacted in 1943. The farmers will continue to have as much influence In the 1943 Congress as heretofore, but the honeymoon of the labor and other blocs is temporarily at an end. 1943 will see very few wage raises and certain labor leaders will be put. in the dog-house. MONEY RATES There may be a slight in crease in short-term money rates during 1943; but there will be little or no change in the rates that banks charge their custo mers. Money rates are now managed by the government even more closely than the prices of commodities. The idea, however, that money rates will always continue low is just as foolish as were the forecasts of 10 years ago that money would permanently remain on a high basis. The pendulum has always swung and it will con tinue to swing after World war II is over. Whether or not banks should borrow from the Federal Reserve in order to buy government bonds will be de bated during 1943. Banks that do this will temporarily make a profit, but whether this will work out as a profit or loss in the end is questionable. In the long run, very few banks, cor porations or individuals make money by borrowing money. The bonded debt of the fed eral government is now $90 bil lions, or an increase of $67 bil lions since the Roosevelt admin istration came into power. By the end of 1943, this debt may stand at ' about $150 billions. Some of it, of course, will be raised by selling additional Vic tory bonds to the public and In stitutions. The amount will largely depend upon whether or not compulsory saving is adopt ed. I forecast, however, that the major portion of this money must be raised from the banks and chiefly from the large banks. This, of course, means inflation sooner or later. CROP SITUATION With normal weather condi tions there is every reason to believe that more crops will be raised in this country in 1943 than in 1942 and that farmers should benefit accordingly. On the other hand, there always is the possibly of bad weather con ditions including droughts and floods. The large amount of wheat, corn and other grains In storage, however, should help offset any crop failure in 1943 The wheat yield for 1942 will be about one billion bushels, second only to the crop of 1915, while the corn crop for 1942 will break all records, amount ing to about 3,250,000,000 bush els. The cotton crop for 1942 amounts to only 13,400,000 bales but this is perfectly satisfactory considering the large amount of cotton In storage. Without doubt, the theory of "winning the peace with food" is sound. Farmers have a legitimate reason for ex pecting good treatment during the remainder of the war. After the war, their celebration will be over. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Readers will, remember that our war production will not reach its height until well into 1943. The plants manufactur ing big bombers are not yet completed, shipbuilding is just getting into its stride and thous ands of factories are still re tooling. 1943, however, should witness a transition from con struction to production. I therefore, visualize a drastic re shuffle of sub-contractors, of labor and of communities In general. This means hardships for management and for the men and women workers. Some communities now doing - well will become ghost towns; while other sleeping cities will become busy beehives. Taking All in all. Industrial production should climb into new ground during 1943, aver aging about 210 per cent of the 1935-39 level. This would leave only about $70 billions for do mestic consumer goods, com pared with about $78 billions in 1942. This means that only about 10 per cent of the output of the durable goods Industry and 60 per cent of the output of the non-durable - goods industry will be available for civilian use in 1943. This estimate la on per unit basis with no allow ance for price inflation. , FAILURES Business failures In 1942 amounted to $105 millions and I fear these will be Increased during 1943. If so, it will be due to manufacturers being un able to secure necessary raw material . or substitutes - and LOCAL BUILDING IN 1942 CURBED EFFORT Permits Valued at $273,458 Issued 55 New Houses, 2 Businesses Built Due to the war, Medford building this last year fell ma terially below last year, figures In the city superintendent s of fice show. This year building permits totalled $273,458 as compared to $454,129 for 1941. 'This decrease is of course due to the drastic building re striction set up by the War Production Board,". Frank Rog ers, city superintendent, states. Medford was more fortunate than many cities of comparable size where building was prac tically at standstill since last spring." Safeway Constructs Fifty-five of the permits Is sued during the year were for new dwellings. Only two'busi- ness buildings were constructed during tile year, both of these by Safeway stores. The new stores, one at East Main and Oakdale streets and the other between Fifth and Sixth streets on Bartlett, cost $20,000 apiece, These constructions were made possible since priorities had been given on them before the drastic restrictions were enforced. It was pointed out that these building figures do not include the Federal. Housing Adminis tration project recently author ized for Medford. This is to include 125 family units to be constructed In the Jackson school district and will , cost about $400,000. merchants being unable to get a supply of goods. In addition to the normal casualties . and those additional ones due to the war, I expect a certain "birth control movement" in business, The government may require new businesses, farmers desir ing to increase acreage and especially employers desiring to Increase their sales forces to get permits. Sales organizations would be the first to be treated to "birth control." We may-al so expect to see In 1943 experi ments in 'zoned markets by limiting the distance that goods can be shipped. The paid leaders of the farm groups are fighting ceiling prices on farm products, but I believe the farmers would be willing to have a ceiling pro vided they could also be assured a floor. I am certain that farm ers are more reasonable and far more patriotic than the lobby ists In Washington who pretend to represent them. There will be no decline in purchasing power. Men, and especially women, in the farming and munitions districts, will have more money even after the pay ment of taxes than they have ever had before. The delivery of goods should be easier in 1943 than in 1942 due to an improved tire and gasoline situation. WAR OUTLOOK It must be realized that great improvement in the re sources of the Axis powers has taken place during 1942. Where they were short of raw materi als they now with the excep tion of a very few commodities have a surplus supply. For instance, in 1939 the Axis pow ers, had no rubber and today they have 90 per cent of the world's supply; in 1925 they had only 25 per cent of the bauxite, seven per cent of the Iron ore, nine per cent of the tin ore, 10 per cent of the manganese ore, eight per cent of the lead ore and six per cent of the world's flax. Today the Axis powers have 68 per cent of the bauxite, 44 per cent of the iron ore, 73 per cent of the tin, 35 per cent of the manganese, 21 per cent of the lead, 35 per cent of the flax and a large percentage of the world's oil. These figures show that time Is not necessarily on our side. The success of the United Nations depends more on making every sacrifice. The best opinions are that Germany will be brought to her knees, probably through the lack of oil, in late 1943 or early in 1944 and that It wiU take an other year to finish Japan. As Germany does not want to see Japan a world power, she may endeavor to Join the United Na tions In putting Japan back where she was 40 years ago, This would mean not only clean ing the Japanese out of China the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, but also making them give up Manchukuo, Korea and Formosa. Of course, the present actions of our navy in the Pacific are merely to keep the Japanese from pouncing on Russia at Vladivostok. They are no part of the coming cam paign to clean up Japan. All of this meant that the general war newt during 1943 will be better than that of 1942. CONCLUSION It is probable that 1943 will witness further cuts in civilian business, that victory models and standardization will be com pulsory, that manpower will be rationed as well as commodities, that a sales tax will be Inaugur ated, that subsidies will be ex tended, and that inflation, like great glacier, will continue slowly to push up -prices; but what of it? We grow by striv ing, not by arriving. Char acter gains during 1943 will by far offset all losses and incon veniences. - This global war will be a great blessing to all the world by bringing about that spiritual awakening which is the only solution to our troubles. E T Problems brought up by build ing of Camp White adjacent to Medford have been solved much more readily than was antici pated, according to H. S. Deuel outgoing mayor of the city, in reviewing the city's year yester day. Mayor Deuel will be suc ceeded by C. A. Meeker at the first 'council meeting in 1943, which will be January 5. We have accommodated our selves much more rapidly and with less confusion, to the prob lems and changes brought about by the building of Camp White than anyone anticipated," the mayor said. "People have had to change their habits and way of living somewhat, but for the most part this has been done quickly and cheerfully," he added. . . Planning Helped Much of the orderly transition from a small quiet city to the center of teeming activity of a war center was accomplished because of preliminary planning, the mayor said. He pointed out that prior to building the camp here several had been set up in California and that througn visits to these centers and cor respondence with officials many problems were avoided. "There was much advantage to not be ing the first cantonment on the coast," Mr. Deuel said. Mayor Deuel also said that all agencies of the government and the army had been most cooper ative and had helped materially In preventing and solving major problems brought up by trv camp The mayor complimented the general citizenry on the splendid manner in which per sonal problems had been han dled and stated that he wished to thank Medford people for their helpfulness and coopera tion. Little Confusion Frank Rogers, city, superin tendent, also commented yester day on the fact that the Impact of the camp, with its resulting enlarged poDulation, had been less confusing than first antici- nated. He said countless diffi cult situations had arisen from day to day but that these had all been met and that operation of the city's departments was returning to normal. Touhy Will Have Hearing On Writ Chicago. Jan. 1 U.R) Fed eral Judge Philip Sullivan today Issued a writ of habeas corpus for the captured gangster, Roger (the Terrible) Touhy, but stipu lated that the freeing of Touhy would depend upon the outcome of a hearing on the writ Jan. o The petition for the writ was filed by Attorney Joseph Har rington, acting for Eleanor Touhy. niece of the gangster The writ charged that Touhy was being held by federal authorities in constitution. violation of the RELEASE OF BUTTER WILL NOT FILL NEED Chicago, Jan. 1 (U.R) Offi cers of the mercantile exchange announced today that approxi mately 2,000,000 pounds of stor age butter frozen in the 35 prin cipal markets on Nov. 21, will be released for civilian con sumption by the WPB upon recommendation of the depart ment of agriculture. Traders said that the release will not relieve the butter short age, however, for It represents only a small portion of the weekly butter consumption of the nation. AD HELP PRAISED New York. Jan. 1 U.R Advertising's contributions to the war effort were praised to day by Secretary of Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., who ex pressed thanks, in a year-end message to the advertising coun cil, for the help the council had given the treasury in Its war financing campaigns. Cm Mail Tribune Want Ada, HERE PAST YEAR; CAMP STIMULATES Thorndike Says Largest Vol ume Ever Recorded All Bank Deposits Increase. An excellent, perhaps even record-breaking, year of busi ness was enjoyed by Medford this past year, according to local bankers. This was spread over all types of business and em braced fruit growing, warehous ing, cattle raising and all type of farming. "Business in Medford thla past year has been excellent, with a very substantial increase in bank deposits and a large number of new accounts", said George T. Frey, manager of the Medford branch of the United States National bank of Port, land. Looking ahead to 1943, Mr. Frey said that fruit men, farm- ers and cattlemen generally would have a good year, which automatically meant a good year Jot merchants and banks except in tnose lines where merchan dise would be unobtainable due to the war.' Lack 'of labor will be an Increasing problem also, he said. - Mr. Frey pointed out that a good deal of the increased busi ness was due to the building of Camp White and that business from the canip itself would carry along for the duration of the war and afterwards. He predicted that the next few weeks would be light, as it traditionally is, and that some establishment would seriously feel the lack of merchandise. - Women Lauded Mr. . Frey complimented wo men on the manner in which they had taken over the work of men ' called into " service. "He pointed out that the Increased staff of the United States Nat ional bank was all women and said the bank now had nothing; nut women tellers and that only six men were on the staff, with one of these due to leave by the middle of January. ' ' "Medford. probably had tHa largest, volume of business ever recorded," stated Eugene Thorn dike of the First National bank of ' Portland Medford branch. "Merchants, restaurants and hotels all enjoyed an increase of from 20 to 125 per cent Con tracting firms especially reaped a harvest of business due to the construction of Camp White.", ... . Mr. Thorndike said that cas ualties among Medford firms had been small this past year but predicted that during 1943 there would be more due to the lack of merchandise, to lack of labor and to an Increasing drain Into the armed forces. The lum ber industry has been hit hard est by the labor shortage, he said, the type of labor used in this Industry seemingly being the exact kind needed in con struction, ship building and the armed forces. . ' Rent Incomes Jump . Business will generally be as good the coming year as 1942, Mr. Thorndike believes with losses In some types evened up by others gaining or holding; steady. He pointed out that the housing situation created by the camp had brought a large in crease in rental incomes to .the district . and that - automobile firms were going a good business In repair work, business gener ally holding up better in this line than had been anticipated. Predictions for the fruit in dustry are a bit hard to make, since the ability to obtain sup plies and the labor situation af fect this industry so much, Mr. Thorndike said. He stated that the Christmas business this past year was the largest, ever handled by the industry locally, some firms being completely told out several dayt before Christ mas. Staff Increased . . The First , National here has also increased its staff this past year and has replaced men going into the service with women, Mr. Thorndike stated. A year ago the bank had 33 men and five girls with the picture being almost exactly reversed thla year with a staff of 30 girls and 10 men. TAKE "12-MILE DRIVE" Newport, R. I. (U.R) The Twelve Mile Drive, one of the sights of America in the gay '90s, still interests recruit sailors who come here from all parts of the country. USO hat conducted Twelve Mile Drive parties, and shown tome of the great man sions of other days, but gasoline rationing has cut into this form of entertainment. Now USO la considering a return to the car ryalls and buggies which were tvnical ei Victorian Newnart.--
