** I "<\ " - -4.1 :*K THE McHENRY PLAINDEALER <- <S t":£|*Jv »*' ^ ' PourtMR Thursday, April 22. 1 j*"-T-:-**"* n >.^ , Ithind Scmo In Business • Executives of 157 manufac- •N % %uring companies have just told ;.fthe National Industrial Conference board how the current dejfcline in business has affected them. While the extent of the y 7 decline has varied, there's agreo- S tnent on these points: February production was only ;; it little lower than January's, |»ut decidedly lower than in Feb ; fuary, 1953. Dollar sales we-'e from January, but below. Feb- |f*>$;$tiary 1953 billings. :j Pour of ten companies expec- ,k led production in 1954's second ; quarter (April to June) to ex- .i Ceed the first quarter's. Only two in ten looked for a measui - able decline. Half of the grroup / forecast higher dollar sales. While six companies '.n; t?n have be^n significantly hurt oy . the business setback, fewer than one in five expects to curtail planned expenditures for expansion. This last is the truly meaningful statistic. With a rising population assured from now until 1970, it is impossible to have a serious depression as long as capita] investment keeps pace with the growing market. If we try to support more people with .the same productive capacity, our living standards will suffer. Favorite Package -- Industrywide production of metal cans last year reached an all-time high of more than 35.6 billion, more than 6 per cent above the 1952 output, American Can company reports. The increase of 2 billion cans over the year before was about equal to totaL production in the early years of this century. While food can production was well above 1952's, the greatest pe:centage increase was recorded in the non-food field, a gain of some 14 per cent. Beer and motor oil were leaders among nonfood commodities reaching the consumer in cans. Food containers, just short of 23 billion, still account for two thirds of can manufacture. American Can attributes the vapid growth of the can industry to expansion of food canning and impressive gains in the use of cans to package beer, shortening, coffee, motor oil find a lengthening list of other items. Things To Come -- A new pair of pliers, only nine inches |4H| uses a cam system to da» Velop enough power to cut a -inch steel drill rod. . . Your room airconditioner can be integrated into the office routine with a new clock which turns it on and off for the business day, and can be set to remember Saturdays. Sundays and holidays when no one comes to work. . . A push-pull merry-go-round toy for the backyard can operate on orie childpower, although several can lide. . . Bonding of a thin layer of stainless steel to the aluminum shoe-plates of electric irons promises longer life for the irons and fewer snags in nylon garments. . . For only $169 50 the faimer can now get a gate that lies down at a gentle push from the front of his tractor, and bobs up again ten seconds latex, after he has driven across it. Forger Unafraid -- Most persons who practice forging other people's names to valuable docu- J ments live in fear of the penitentiary. Maxine Sagasta of Sheaffer Pen company works in the same town with a state prison, but she views it without fear -- although she makes her living by copying other people's names. Maxine annually engraves thousands of signatures cn writing instruments. Her signatures of the great and small appear on gold bands on founta-ns pens, ballpoints and mechanical pencils, and on gold plaques in desk sets. She has reproduced the signatures of President Eisenhower, the late Senator Taft and Jackie Gleason, among others. Copying signatures on a flat surface is easy for a trained engraver, she says, but the curve of the bands requires special skill. „ The pen company reports a big demand for the signed writing inst:uments as personalized gifts. Ngw Crop Curbs -- The Agriculture department is demanding controls over the farmland diverted from controlled wheat, corn and cotton. This year farmers will plant some 30 million acres of such land to barley and rye, which compete with corn and wheat for the feed and food market; soybeans,'wh!.ch depress the market for cottonseed oil, and flaxseed, which is already in jversupply. Secretary Benson wou'd prefe "to force all this land into soil-building corps. The trouble with that is that in the winter wheat area about the only alternative to wheat or short-staple cotton is some variety of millettype grair. that competes with coin. There's never a long enough string of wet years for hay, and if land is simply left fallow it yields a bigger crop the next year. Bits o' Business -- Mail order catalogs for fall are pricing articles at today's level. . . a coffee roaster predicted before a Senate hearing that vacuum-packed coffee would hit $1.50 a pound. . Organized postmen fight for a pay boost across the board. Postmaster General Summerfield says graded increases would improve efficiency. . . Heavy contraction contracts let in the April i* we«k^ totaled'$330 million, a new high for the year, but 30 per cent under the 1953 level. . . Auto manufacturers have scheduled production of 500,000 cars for April. k ' Claims Still Available For Many P.O.W. Veterans More than 1,000 American World War II former prisoners of war are Illinois residents and have not filed proper claims for ! eimbursement as provided by Congress, according to Commander Bernie Matchen of McHenry Post No. 491, The American Legion. Commander Matchen said the American Legion is supporting a bill now in Congress to extend the time limit for filing such claims from' April 9, 1953, to August 1, 1954. Reimbursement is at the rate of $1.50 for each day spent as a prisoner of the enemy. A national Legion survey indicates there are about 20,000 eligible claimants in the country. Commander Matdien said former World War II prisoners of war should write to the #War Claims Commission, 7lh and E streets, N.W., Washington, D.C., for blank application forms. Read The Want Ads! Farmers' Outlook Small Declines In Farm Prices Average prices of U. S. farm products at mid-Marcn showed a decline of 3 p?r cent from the year before. This decrease compares with a drop of 8 per cent in the previous twelve months and with 7 per cent two years ago. The price average for farm products in March stood at 90 per cent on the legal parity scale. This levjl is about normal for years of relatively high employment without inflation. It is also near the average for all years, including inflation and depression, „ from 1910 through 1953. Prices of several farm products are higher than they were a year ago, but most of them are about the same or lower. Important Illinois products showing largest declines .are eggs, milk, (veal) calves and broilers. Prices of broilers dropped most, 20 per cent, in the year ending with March. Prices of eggs in March averaged 17 per cent lower than a year earlier. Veals calves dropped 16 per cent in price, while milkl was down 13 per cent. Broilers went down 82 cents a pound to 25, and eggs from 41 cents a dozen to 34. The 12- month decline took prices of veal calves from $23.40 a hundred pounds to 19.50, and milk from $3.85 to about $3.55. All of these price declines seem to be due to an unusually rapid increase ill production. No one has yet developed an acceptable plan for bringing about an orderly increase in production Sf the highly important food products of animal origin. Advocates of price supports for grains claimed that, they would do the trick, but they hav^not done the job. Four Illinois farm products in March were priced practically the same as they were one year before. These four products are corn, wheat, oats and beef cattle. The price support program probably helped to steady prices of corn, wheat and perhaps oats, butthere has been no price support program for beef cattle. The support program has caused the accumulation of unwieldy stocks of corn and wheat -- especially wheat. There are no substantial stocks of beef except that on the hoof. Illinois prices for corn at midrch averaged $1.44 a bushel, nts lower than & year before, t quotations averaged $2.16 dowtiv 6 cents. Oats were listed at 75 cents, the same as 12 months earlier. Prices reported for all beef cattle in March averaged i $18.50 per hundred poynds; 201 cents lower than in 1953. (Prices for slaughter steers at Chicago averaged $22.77 at mid-March compared with $22.63 one year before.) Prices for two leading Illinois farm products were sharply higher in March thf%i they were one year back. Prices for hogs were up 22 per cent, and prices for soybeans were up 16 per cent. Hogs bring in more cash for Illinois farmers than any other product, while soybeans are the second largest moneymaker among the crops. Prices for hogs in MarcH averaged $25.10 per hundred pounds compared with $20.50 the year before. Quotations for soybeans averaged $3.33 against $2.88 the previous year. Prices of both these products are rolling along without benefit of price supports. The price of hogs was 19 per cent above pari, ty and the price of soybeans 14 per cent over parity. However, supplies of both of these products are below last year and are less than normal. When production is stepped up to normal again, lower prices will be necessary to buy back their markets. | PUBLIC PULSE] CLARENCE'S SHOP California Redwood or Pondoroea pine in bird houses, dog houses, lawn chairs, lawn swings, picnic and umbrella Cables, pier and park benches, sand boxes, flower boxes, flower wheel barrows, rose arbors, trellises, picket fences, etc. Cabinets made to order. Cement cesspool rings aad chimney caps. MADE TO ORDSR CLARENCE SMITH PHONE 1515-J JOIINSBURG, ILL. ijlie Last Word THE NEW I COMPLETELY AUTOMATIC CZz&uc. GAS RANGE l > with detachable handles in 12 gay decorator colors to match your kitchen color scheme! Come in and see all the other exclusive new Caloric features. LeRoy M. West Elm Street PHONE 770-W OPEN EVERY NTtfE MsHsnry, HL C Who Said Taxis Are A Luxury? Add the cost of cleaning t h i s man's r a l n - s naked eftotftes and you'll agree door-to-door taxi actually saves money. A cab Can help In a hundred different ways. Whea you need one. CALL 723 McHENRY CAB "The McHenry Plaindealer, "McHenry, Illinois "Gentlemen: - "In behalf of tha 'McHenry County Chapter of the American Red Cross, we wish to extend to your our sincere appreciation for the splendid publicity given the 1954 American Red Cress Fund Drive. "We want you to know thai without the support of tt^e nevor^ papers and (radio network")across the county/>Jk3VOuW be /impossible to pres&tfTto the people the message regarding the work done by the American Red Cross and the increasing need for funds to carry on this work. "It is your continued support and cooperation that makes it possible for your McHenry County Chapter to continue the work that is needed daily in this county "Thanking you again, we are "Very truly yOurs' >•,' "Marion Phinney "(Mrs.) Marion Phinney "Executive Director "James Irving "James Irving "County Fund Chairman" These days, when most grocery stores sell fresh -vegetables by .weight, the thrifty homemaker needs to know how many servings she can expect from a pound. Pods or other waste causes the amount of food in a pound to range from one to four cups. Also, some foods shrink more in cooking than others. Taking half a cup as the measure for an "average" serving, Glenna Lamkin, foods specialist of the University of Illinois, offers these estimated • servings from one pound of fresh vegetables as they arc purchased GIVE SERVINOS FROM ONE POUND. OF VEGETABLES ' -- ill the pod, husk or otfc#| Wains: -'Cut asparagus, 4 serving|| &nap beans or Brussels sprout!^ 5 to 6 servings; cooked cabtoag% 4 to 5 servings; eggplant, pari* nips and turnips, 4 servings} peas, 2 servings; potatoes, 4 t^ 5 servings; spinach, 3 to 4 servings; and squash, 2 to 3 serving*! • If you refer to this schedule from time to time, the information will soon come to your mind readily when you make an unplanned purchase at the atore. But Temember that not all half-cup servings of vegetables carry the same nutritive values^ This is another story, says Mnk": Lamkin. Subscribe to the Plaindealer FRED J. SMITH SALES A \ Complete Motor Overhauling Welding JOHNSBUBG. ILL. McHENRY 200-J Visit PACKARD'S CLIPPER for '54 19S4 Packard Clipper Special Club Sedan LET PACKARD PROVE IT! • During the Sprint available so you can l confirm the Packed Clipper STsfSS- "ny °ther ~ the medium-price field'- ^OME SEE (bp 1954 Packard Clippers-- the year's most challenging new cars. Here's true Packard quality in the medium-price class, witn Packard's trend-setting contour styling and more power, comfort and fine-car features than ever! A wide choice of models, colors and fabrics. Optional Packard power features include Packard Ultramatic, the finest of mil automatic ahifta. Come in and see the new Packard Clipper-- 1954's BIG BUY--at our showroom now. , •Price U for the 1954 Packard Clipper Special Club Sedan, pin* state and local taxes, if any. Optional equipment, including white aidewall tire*, extra. Prlc-- may vary slightly in nearby communities due to shipping charges. $2599 405 E. Elm St. S & S PACKARD SALES McHenry, HI. • V Delivered Hnre In McHMifjr Phona 1010 DECLARES D I V I D E N D Current Rate 2^/2% o per annum per annum will be paid savings investors on JUNE 30th, lor the current six months - Jan. 1, 1954 to June 30, 1954 ALL ACCOUNTS INSURED TO $10.00000 Now is the time to open your savings account or add to your present account. Save by mail if you prefer CRYSTAL LAKE SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION 131 N. Williams Street Telephone 1400 Crystal Lake, 111.