Milford chronicle., 1961-01-06


erty in the city. | would advise
against holding bonds of such
large cities as might be vulner-
able to bombing in case of World
War I'LL
My favorite municipals are those
of the capital cities in the inter
ior of the country; in fact any
growing interior city should be a
high-grade investment. These
bonds must pay their interest ir-
espective of business conditions.
The capital cities are especially
lelped by having the payroll of the
state governments.
LIVING COSTS AND IMITATION
Living costs may rise somewhat
during 1861 due to the increase in
population and the desire for
more comforts and convenience A
person like myself, who has had
children and grandchildren, knows
low each succeeding generation
considers as necessities what the
parents considered Injuries. This,
together with the higher cost of
abor, is the primary reason for
-oday's record-high Q27.3) cost of
living.
AS there is only so much land
available, rents will increase
slowly. There, however, need not
,e a higher cost for food The
farmers are constantly raising
greater crops which are being pro-
:essed in more economical ways.
Fhe only reason for the cost of
food to increase is the dependence
If so many housewives on pack
tables will be wholly or partly
cooked and purchasable in con-
5ainerS.
Wages will hold up although
| here will be more unemployment
n 1861. This means that take
lome pay will be less for most
| families.
Imitation is not to be feared dur
ing 1861. With his small popular
vote plurality, Mr.. Kennedy will
| De very slow to do anything to
lurt the purchasing power of the
dollar. Barring World War III,
believe that the dollar will be just
as sound year from now as it is
| ,oday. Our U. S. dollar is looked
lpon by the world as a standard.
FARM INCOME AND PRICES
Good crops and moderate prices
Indicate a fair year in 1861 for
farmers. 1, therefore, look for a
reasonably heavy volume of the
,hings farmers buy during 1861,
including equipment for getting
On with less help. The farmers
cannot expect any boom, but prof
its, on average, should be at salts
factory levels. My forecast, in de-
| tail, is:
| Larger volume of marketings
should more than offset any. re-
duction in farm prices. Therefore.
1861 cash receipts for farmers
should be slightly higher than
| l960's $11;300, 100000 net 1 fur
thermore learn that the intelligent
farmer is reducing his indebted
ness, which is always an optimis-
tic sign AS l dictate this fore
cast, 1 am told that growing con-
1itions are favorable in most sec
tions, with sufficient moisture in
the ground and other seasonal op-
timistic factors. The prices which
farmers will receive in 1861 for
crops will, of course, depend upon
weather; but, each year, agricul-
tural science is helping the farm
ers to avoid early frost losses and
20 secure needed moisture
EMPLOYMENT. WAGES, AND TAXES
Strike activity may well be at a
postwar minimum during 1861,
with any dislocations limited to
independent separate companies
First important industry wide ne
gotiations will come in the auto
industry, but not until September
} 1861. Railroad workers cannot
strike until November 1, 1861, al
the earliest. Most steel contracts
hold until June 20, 1862.
The average employment in 1860
was about 100000 workers.
forecast that 1851 will average a
: million fewer wage workers. Coun-
try-wide, unemployment reached
as high as AZ million in 1960,-and
for 1861 may hit 51a million. The
! basic difficulty is that while in
dustry is cutting back, the labor
force is becoming larger. This
means that it will be more difficult
for those getting through schools
and colleges to get positions in
1861 unless they are well trained
in business, mechanics, or elec-
tronics. Certainly, the demand for
executives will be less in 1861 than
it has been for some years. Those
executives who now have positions
should strive to do better work
J not ask for increases, and do ev-
erything possible to hold onto their
jobs.
Labor leaders hope to have a
key to the White House with Mr.
Kennedy as President. This may
apply to the settling of strikes and
contract disputes. The AFL-CIO
will influence more votes in Con-
gress during 1961-62 than in 1859
so. The conservative Southern
Democrats, however, will unite
with Republicans to block radical
labor legislation. Congress GER
tainly will not outlaw the right
to-work" legislation which has
been passed in certain conserva-
tive states. nor will labor get a re-
!, vision of the Taft-Hartley Act
Congress will not compel industry
to collect dues from union mem
, bers, but may temper the recent
Court decisions ruling against ex-
the international Journal of Heat