MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON
Christmas
By ERNEST SAKLER
United Press International
ROME (UPI) - Italian econ
omic experts are looking suspi
ciously at Santa Claus. They
fear his gifts to Italy this year
may include serious inflation.
As every year, millions of
Italian workers are getting hun
dreds of millions dollars in "13th
month" payments in mid-December.
They are likely to
spend most of the money at
once in Christmas shopping,
thing. This year, with Italian
economy dangerously unsettled
by months of rising prices,
This was never a healthy
trade deficits and political un
certainty, the "13th month" pay
ments could be the last drop.
They will add a wave of an
estimated 500 billion lire ($800
million) to a currency circula
tion that had reached 3,312 bil
lion ($5.3 billion) by the end
of September. A great deal of
the additional money is likely
to be spent within 15 days on
Christmas dinners, Christmas
presents and such items as
washing machines or cars which
Kalians desired but could not
afford during the year.
Crisis A Paradox
The crisis is a paradoxical
one. According to production
and employment statistics, it
just ought not to be there.
The physical side of Italian
economy is or looks as sound
as ever. Industrial production
in September was a record 2.45
times the 1953 level. Two and a
half million new jobs have been
created over the past 10 years,
and unemployment has gone
down from a chronic two mil
lion after the war to half a
million or little over one mil
lion according to whose statis
tics you take. The reality is
probably somewhere in between.
National income went up 6.1
per cent in 1962 and an esti
mated five per cent in 1963. In
vestment increased 7.7 per cent
last year and probably will
grow another eight per cent by
the end of 1963..
But wages and prices have
been going up in a slow but
steady spiral. Hundreds of bil
lions of lire (hundreds of mil
lions of dollars) have migrated
to Swiss banks for "safekeep
ing." The foreign trade balance
was one trillion lire ($1.6 bil-
. . . i
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UNE, .MEDFORD, OREGON WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 11183 g jj
Threatens Italian Loire
ROME SUPERMARKET This 1963 photo
shows Italian shoppers picking out frozen
chicken and other meats in a Rome super
market. With people expected to spend year-
end bonuses on Christmas shopping, Italian
economic experts fear inflation may reach
Italy when Santa Claus does. (UPI)
lion) in the red in the first
eight months of this year.
The reasons for the mounting
crisis are to a good extent psy
chological and political the
electrical nationalization de
creed by the center-left govern
ment of Premier Aminlore Fan
fani last year, followed by
Communist election gains, a
long power vacuum and pros
pects of a new center-left gov
ernment. Economic Reason
But there is also a strictly
economic reason which could be
described in the words of U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Orville L.
Freeman when he discussed the
problems of developing nations
in an address to the U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) here recently.
Freeman noted that incomes
in rapidly developing nations
are growing faster than domes
tic food production, creating ex
cess demand.
"If the need for food result
ing from this demand is not
met, millions of dollars or pur
chasing power will flow against
inadequate food supplies and
bring about price inflation," he
said.
Although Freeman probably
did not have Italy in mind at
all when he spoke, his words
seemed strikingly fitting for
this country.
Low Stnndai il
Italy, for all its "economic
miracle" and t h e industrial
boom of the north, is a develop-
are little better than those of
the masses of Asia and Africa.
When Fanfani set up his So
cialist supported government
last year, what he had in mind
was long-range planning to re
duce differences between the
"Two Italics" of the rich and
the poor, and a degree of aus
terity. The man in the street took
the center-left to mean some
thing totally different a better
living now. Union after union
went on a wave of strikes which
the Socialist-backed government
found hard to oppose. The re
sult, quite against the govern
ment's wishes, was a massive
wage increase of about eight
per cent, far higher than the
increase in national income.
Buy More Food
The living standards of the
Italian workers being what they
are, a good share of the new
purchasing power went into
food. Domestic food production
proved insufficient and prices
went up, with a poor crop and
an inefficient and costly distri
bution system making matters
worse. In the first eight months
of this year, wholesale price
rose 4.9 per cent over the same
period of 1962 and retail prices
increased 7.4 per cent.
Food imports went up steep
ly, while at the same time the
higher cost of labor made Itali
an exports less competitive. The
result was a gap of one trillion
lire ($1.6 billion) in the trade
ing nation. Its average living balance and of 4R1 billion lire
standard is still far below that
of Northern European nations
and people in some parts of the
south still live in conditions that
($770 million) in the balance of
payments in the first eight
months of this year. The total
balance of payments deficit for
1963 is expected to reach one
billion dollars.
In this climate, mixed with
political uncertainty, the lire
could get into trouble.
Governor Reveals
Education Advisors
SALEM (UPI) -Ten mem
bers of the newly created ad
visory council on federal as
sistance to higher education
have been announced by the
governor's office.
Appointed were William E.
Walsh, Coos Bay, chairman of
the Board of Higher Education;
Dr. Roy E. Lieuallen,- Eugene,
chancellor of higher education.
Dr. Leon P. Minea, superin
tendent of public instruction, Sa
lem; Travis Cross, Salem, the
governor's press secretary; Eu
gene H. Fisher, Oakland, chair
man of the Board of Education.
S. E. Brogoitti, Helix; Charles
R. Holloway Jr., Portland; Dr.
John P. Howard, Portland; Dr.
G. Herbert Smith, Salem, and
T. E. Bolger, Portland.
All were appointed effective
Monday, and will serve at the
pleasure of the governor.
LOS ANGELES (UPI) - The
first "foreign" promotion effort
of the Los Angeles Chamber of
Commerce was aimed at Alas
ka in 1897 when the chamber
sent up literature inviting newly
rich miners to come to Los Ang
eles to retire.
Parties, Church, Dinners Are
Features of Holiday Observance
By DONALD JOHNSTON
United Press International
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.
(UPI) United Nations diplo
mats thousands of miles from
home tend to celebrate Christ
mas in much the same man
ner as their Americans friends.
The usual practice of U. N.
delegates who observe the holi
day is to hold small parties in
their mission headquarters, at
tend church, and then enjoy
family dinners in the apart
ments or houses they rent while
assigned to. New York.
Some, like the Scandinavians,
uphold old traditions which they
observe in their native lands.
The Russians ignore Christmas
and concentrate on New Year's.
The non - Christians from the
Middle East, North Africa and
parts of Asia, of course, do not
recognize Chirstmas.
The Christmas New Year's
period Iraditionally is a "let
down" for U. N. diplomats. The
three-month General Assembly
session ends a few days before
Dec 25 and then there is a
mass exodus across the oceans
by temporary delgales. Only
the small permanent staffs of
the 11 U. N. member states re
main in the United States.
Tiled Delegates
"Generally speaking, the dele
gates are tired out from the
final weeks of the Assembly ses
sion and prefer to spend a
quiet holiday away from inter
national problems," explains a
member of the delegates' hos
pitality committee.
Diplomats from Ghana, Nig
eria and the Congo, which have
biggest delegations among the
sub - Sahara African nations,
have no special events. They
may go to church and then
gather for small parties in their
mission offices or homes.
The same is true for Europ
ean countries like Portugal and
Ireland, and for the Philippines,
one of the few Christian na
tions in Asia.
Latin Americans, who arc
predominantly Roman Catholic,
generally depart after the As
sembly concludes to celebrate
at home.
With some of the bigger pow
ers, such as Britain and France
the holiday festivities are held
by the Consuls-General in New
York rather than the U, N.
missions. The French Consul
General Invites members of the
French community to enjoy a
Christmas tree and presents for
children.
The Scandinavians, for whom
Christmas is the biggest holiday
of the year, observe "Lucia" on
Dec. 13 as they do at home.
The Swedish delegation, for
example, joins with the Swedish
Chamber of Commerce and In
formation Service in New York
for a "Queen of Light" cere
mony to which their employes
and families are invited. The
ceremony begins at 8 a.m. with
a procession led by the queen
wearing a crown of burning
candles.
After the procession, there is
a serving of cotfee and spiced
wine, and general gaiety.
On Christmas eve, the Scan
dinavians enjoy intimate fam
ily gatherings with presents and
special dinners of ham and fish.
Early Christmas morning Uiey
go to church.
The Communist delegations, -which
are the only ones with
most members living together
in individual Manhattan build
ings, have their public holiday
celebrations Jan. 1 in mis
sion headquarters when they -welcome
the New Year. In the
case of the Russians, particu
larly, this is in accordance with
custom in the Soviet Union.
RICE EATERS
SACRAMENTO (UPI) - Bice
supplies the major food for
more than 60 per cent of the
world's population, according to ',
the University of California Con
sumer Marketing Information -service.
FIRE SALE
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Lutherans Discuss
Marriage Problems
Lutheran .32
NEW YORK (UPI) - Work
on a statement concering Mar-1
riage and Family has been ,
started by the Board of Social
Ministry of the year-old Luth
em Church in America and
may become the official church
position.
Acting as consultants on the
statement will be two Lutheran
theological professors, Dr. Mar
tin J. Heinecken of Philadelphia
Lutheran Theological Seminary,
and Dr. Arnold E. Carlson of
the Lutheran School of Teolo
gy, Rock Island, 111.
They will assist the staff of
the 21-member board in pre
paring the statement.
Delinquency Controlled
In Problem District
CLEVELAND (UPI)-A grant
of $1 million has been awarded
to Cleveland's Community Ac
tion for Youth for the first year
of a three-year demonstration
project to prevent and control
delinquency in the city's multi
problem Hough neighborhood.
Another $1 million is being
contributed by local groups in
funds and services. The first $1
million was awarded under the
Juvenile Delinquency and Youth
Offenses Control Act.
Avon's
After-Christmas
See our selection of hats,
housemakers, balloons, fav
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Year's celebration! We rent
party glasses (wine, cham
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ALL
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Christmas Ribbon & Tie-Cns
All Christmas Decor. Candles
All Christmas Paperware
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Sale starts tomorrow - Your Big Opportunity to
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