Milford chronicle., 1958-09-19

this newspaper, well as all AP news dispatches
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1858
A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE ~
Paying ones way is an old and honored
American custom-one in which we have
long taken fully justified pride.
1t simply means that we pay for what
we get-whether it be a suit of clothes,
cara meal in a restaurant or anything else.
We expect to pay the cost of providing the
service or the commodity in question, plus a
reasonable profit for the provider We don't
expect other people to pay part of it for
us-and we don't expect to pay part of
the price Of the things other people buy.
This Fundamental principle governs the
vast majority of all commercial transactions,
large and small. But there are exceptions
exceptions which many people don't know
exist. They are found IN commercial under
takings of the government
An example is the parcel post service of
the Post Office Department. 1t is a purely
commercial ,blisineSs-w the public
enlightenment and educational factors" that
attend other post Office functions. 1t is di-
rectly competitive with private, taxpaying
carriers of parcels and small freight ship
ments. Yet those who patrcnize parcel post
do not pay the whole bill. The, service has
commonly been operated in a deficit basis
ever since it was started in 1918. So all the
taxpayers must bear part of the cost of
carrying on the service whether or not they
ever use it. i,ss-sss
Compelling arguments can be made
against government entering any CONNER
cial business in competition with its own cit
izens and taxpayers. AT the very least, when
government does go into business, it should
charge rates that fairly and honestly cover
the costs.
FINDING AWAY OUT
The most hopeful aspect of President Els
enhpwers speech to the nation about the Far
East crisis was the stress he placed on talks
that may lead to peaceful solution. This
portion of his address was in line with
widespread public feeling that every possible
avenue, short of appeasement, should be ex-
plored in an effort to keep the bombardment
of Quemoy from expanding into conflict
between the United States and Communist
China. >T
The Presidents talk was a sober analysis
of a situation which, though it is as he said
''by no means desperate or hopeless" has
carried the United States closer to the brink
of war than at any time since 1850. His re-
marks were expository and persuasive; there
was no attempt at oratory Of the sort that
seeks to stampede listeners into acceptance
of position against their better judgment.
That is good.
satisfactory, however, had the chief execu-
tive said more to clarity the question of how
far the Communist Chinese can go without
provoking u. S. military counter-action. The
President said little to ease the fear that
failure to restrain Chang Kai-shek sufi-
ciently may get us into shooting war
against our will.
If Red Chinas shelling of Quemoy does
indeed foreshadow an attempt to gain con-
troll of the Western Pacific, this country must
stand firm But the best hope lies in the ad-
ministrations avowed belief "that diplom-
acy can and should find a way out "
WHAT HAPPENS TO "A $40 BILL
Chain Store Age tells what happens to
$40 bill housewife spends when she goes
grocery shopping in typical chain store.
The breakdown covers so claSSifcationS of
varying Observation-Disclosures vegetables,
pet foods, bakery goods, soap and cleansers,
and so on and so on.
All in all, 1884 out of that $40 bill goes
to the manufacturers and farmers who pro-
vide the goods the chains are selling. Then
SLIT goes to pay for the store, the help and
the overhead. Taxes take Is cents.
A little simple arithmetic shows that
mere IA cents is now left. This is the profit
the amount the owners are able to keep.
1t comes out to just Ia cents on the dollar.
This is mass distribution at work. 1t is
based on principle that many thought un-
sound and doomed to failure when it was
first tried, but is proven today--that stores
can make satisfactory total profit by sell
ing a huge amount of goods at extremely
small unit profits
Mass distribution, of course, isn't limited
to foods It is found in all other important
fields of chain retailing, and the principal is
identical in all cases. Stores, which must
deal with style trends, seasonal merchandise,
slower-moving inventories and other such
problems, earn a larger percentage per sale.
But, generally speaking, it is limited to
few cents on the consumer dollar.
You can't blame retail profits for the high
cost of living