MEDKORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORO. OREGON
SUNDAY. JUNE 30. 19M
Humigirv lis Small, Chcoinigiiinig Coyiroftiry Toddy
B
(Editor's note Hungary in
ill long history has suiiered
much under conquerors as
hare to many oi the coun
tries oi middle and eastern
Europe. More than 1.000
years ago the Asiatic Huns
came sweeping in from the
Siberian plain. In this cen
tury it has been the Naiis
and Russians. But life goes
on, and here is a look at
Hungary today. The dis
patch is another in a series
by United Press Interna
tional reporters living and
working in countries around
the world.)
By ILONA GAZDAG
United Press International
Budapest (CPU Hungary,
once part of central Europe's
sprawling and powerful Aus-tro-Hungarian
empire, is a
small country today and a
changing one.
Once almost entirely agrar
ian, It is becoming ever more
industrialized. The switchover
has been dramatic, with 61.9
per cent of Hungary's income!
from industry, and 32.1 per
cent from agriculture.
But the Hungarian people
remain much as depicted in
song and story. The country's
women have voluptuous fig
ures and are renowned lor
their tiny, tiny waists. The
men tend to dark good looks,
stocky of build, medium in
height, often with black hair,
high cheek bones and flashing
eyes.
Almost all the population
over 96 per cent - speaks
Magyar, Hungary's mother
tongue. The language belongs
to the Finno-Ugrian group and
is unlike that of any of the
countries surrounding. There
are very small minorities of
Germans, Slovakians, Roma
nians, Serbs and Croats who
cling to their own languages
and customs.
Borders Have Varied
Since the first conquest of
what is now Hungary by the
Huns in 896, the country has
had many sizes and shapes and
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SHOWS LANDMASS This UPI newsmap shows the
Austro-Hungarian landmass (top) in 1914, and Hungary's
land area as it is today (bottom). (UPI)
. a. .M.-ic. me
Some Volkswagen owners
look down on other
Volkswagen owners.
When you graduate from a Volkswogen Sedan
to a Volkswagen Station Wogon, you really step
up in the world.
The Station Wogon standi a good foot toller
than other cors.
And it holds more than the biggest conventional
wagon vou can find.
But the VW Wogon isn't only tall.
It's also short.
We soved 4 feet of hood in front by putting
the engine in bock.
Big as it is inside, it s only 9 inches longer than
the Volkswagen Sedan.
So people who move up to the high. slung
model still feel very much ot h.ne.
They pork in the samt soo's'
They still don't worry obout freezing or boil
ing; the engine is oir-cooled.
They still go o long way on a gollon of got
(obout 24 miles) ond o very long way on a set of
tires lobout 30.000 miles).
And it just tickles them to drive one Volls
wcgen ond look down on o million others.
MORSE MOTORS Xjh
6th and Ivy - Call 772-7155 )&
wide variety of rulers. To
day, chewed down by wars
and politics, it covers 35,910
square miles, roughly the size
of the state of Indiana. But
it is 11 times more densely
populated than Indiana, with
10.800,000 people.
Hungary is bordered, geo
graphically, by Austria on the
west, Romania on the east,
Yugoslavia on the south and
Czechoslovakia and the USSR
to the north. Its climate is
typical middle European, hot
dry summers and cold winters.
Roughly one-fifth of Hun
gary's people, or 2,200.000,
live in Budapest, the capital
1 1 y. The Danube runs
through the city with Buda
on one side and Pest on the
other.
Hungary is a "people's de
mocracy" in government, tied
to the East. Its premier Is
Janos Kadar who also is first
secretary of the Hungarian
Communist party.
Hungary s economy is based
on the "plan" system. After
World War II a land reform
program was instituted which
ended in 1961 with complete
collectivization of the agricul
tural industry. All the coun
try's industry is state owned
and operated and has been
since 1949.
Living Is Modest
The standard of living, Dy
estern standards, is modest
but there is no unemployment.
The average monthly income
in business and industry is
about 1.S80 forints or just
under $70 (the tourist rate of
xchange equals 23 forints to
the dollar). There is no income
tax, and premiums for chil
dren and other benefits raise
the family income slightly.
The state provides free medi
cal, dental and maternal care
and schooling through the
first eight years is state-financed.
A low birth rate is a na
tional concern. Exact figures
are not known but a recent
estimate noted that the num
ber of legal abortions exceed
ed the birth rate by some 20
per cent.
Both Work
A typical middle class fam
ily in Hungary today is that
of Endre Szckely and his wife
Klari.
A black-haired and power
fully built man, Szekely
works in a motorcycle repair
factory where he earns about
2.000 forints a month. Klari
also works, at an elementary
school where she takes care
of children whose parents are
at work. For this she earns
about 1,250 forints a month,
for a 4'i hour day six days
a week. Klari has another
source of income, printing
colorful designs on textiles
during spare time at home,
for a housing industry cooper
ative. The demand for this
work is not steady but when
she has orders she supple
ments the family income by
about 500 forints a month.
The Szekelys have two chil
dren, a son and daughter buth
in their, teens. Each child is
given 60 forints a month pock
et money.
The family's apartment on
the sixth floor of a Budapest
apartment house is rather too
small for its needs - three
rooms plus kitchen, bath, boy
er and a walk-in closet - but
the rent of 383 forints a
month is all they can afford.
They also havo the benefit
of a two-room summer and
week end cottage on the shore
of Lake Balaton. It was
bought by Szekely's mother,
who lives with them and con
tributes 100 forints per month
of her 421 forints pension -she
is the widow of a railroad
worker - to the family budg
et. Have a TV Set
Endre and Klari have a tel
evision set and it is a popular
form of entertainment for
the family. Their only other
appliance is an electric cof
fee grinder. Klari is saving
for a refrigerator and expects
to get it next year. Grand
mother Szekely is putting
aside for a vacuum cleaner
and both women of the fam
ily dearly would like to own
a floor-waxer.
The Szekelys are relatively
content. They have all they i
really need but, like most
other Hungarian families, not
much more. Endre Szekely is
philosophic about his life. He
summed it up for a reporter
this way:
"One shouldn't take life too
unhappily. We've ?n bad
days enough but now it Is
little by little getting better. !
One can t really complain."
SAMBO'S
:
OPEN
24 HRS.
1025 So. Riverside
Business Said at
High Level for
Retail Merchants
For Jackson county's retail
merchants, business was at a
high level in the past year as
local residents returned to
the market place in force.
One reason given for this
upsurge was that incomes
were higher, on the average.
Another is that the recession
that was threatened failed to
materialize.
Just how consumers in the
local area and those in other
sections of the country spent
their money during the year
is brought out by the Stand
ard Rate and Data Service in
its annual study of the na
tion's markets.
For Food. Cars
In Jackson county, it
shows, much of the consu
mer's dollar went for food
and for automotive equipment.
Stores selling these prod-
ucist accounted for over 52
per cent of all retail business.
That was more than they
attracted elsewhere in the
United States, 43 per cent. In
the Pacific States it was also
43 per cent.
The breakdwn reveals that
total purchases of food last
year in the local bakeries,
grocery stores, butcher shops,
supermarkets and the like
amounted to $24,456,000, an
increase over the previous
year's $23,800,000.
Not Restaurants
The total, which constitut
ed 26 per cent of all retail
business locally, covers only
food that was bought for
home consumption. It does not
include expenditures in res
taurants and in other eating
and drinking places.
Food purchases in Jackson
county were equivalent to
$990 per family, determined
by dividing the total amount
by the number of local households.
Outlets for cars and other
automotive equipment, such
as boats, motorcycles and ac
cessories, accounted for $25,-
161,000. This was equal to
more than 25 per cent of the
retail dollar.
Good sales volumes were
also recorded by other retail
lines.
Department stores and va
riety shops selling general
merchandise grossed $8,587,-
000, equal to 9 per cent of
the dollar.
Those selling apparel. In
cluding shoes, hats, under
wear and other clothing, had
a $2,737,000 total, or 3 per
cent.
Home furnishings stores re
ported a $3,868,000 volume,
equivalent to 4 per cent.
GSA Announces Safe
Of Used Equipment
The General Services Ad
minstration has announced
sale by sealed bid of govern
m e n t properties including
used vehicles, equipment and
miscellaneous items. The sales
will be located in Washington,
Oregon. Idaho and Montana.
Locations of property and
description of items in this
area and inf.,. .nation for pro
curing bid forms are being re
leased by the General Services
Administration, Seattle, Wash.
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