The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 35

0 Page D7 THE SACRAMENTO BEE Tuesday November 7 1978 Button Button Who's Politicians Forego'Badges Others Take Them Up 7 '7'--' '7- '-'(71 1 itoetli 1:45: ow i- A A i i :1 I l' eos i el 0 4: 14111 i' 4 i 50 I I i' i 4 La lit T1 I i 111 I '-1 a 'k4: --A44 tAro'alk li I I os 14 ifirk t' 1ID AtAs 1' 41tV' 4 y- ---''771 i -4 440-: i -io' ks1713frs'''''''' 711 OL 1A1 17 wv4 4 4fA 4 72'k 'sei17 WtNrk's v-1: -o 04 1 11 I r- t000ct-AH- wily7 '''''t-l' '4-i I Litho Line The latter was the largest button maker in the world according to Frank Sitzberger president of Adcraft According to a current Adco vice president Ed Powers the button maker still is "a million dollar business on a par with what it had been" before Adco founded in 1919 was responsible for such political classics as the "I Like Ike" button that Sitzberger credits for Dwight Eisenhower's being elected president Appropriately then it was Adco that once filled an order for 38 million buttons a company record that were replicas of vintage campaign badges and used by Standard Oil to promote gasoline sales California's button makers despite the general decline in demand for political badges say lately a number of smaller races have kept them running Button King Advertising Political Buttons of San Jose even filled an order for 100 buttons bearing a modified presidential seal and "Reagan for President in 1980" The California firms although comparatively small offer area customers the advantage of speed That's important as buttons often are an impulsive last-minute purchase Button King which makes about two million buttons yearly can offer 24- hour service on as many as 10000 badges It was founded by advertising specialty distributors John and Mary Jarrett after they noticed many po tential buyers went unbuttoned on being told Eastern manufacturers took several weeks to fill orders Most orders today are for advertising badges However Chicago's Adco for years has produced large quantities of buttons inscribed for special occasions and to be included in cards by Hallmark and American Greetings Buttons also are a popular fundraiser for school organizations that can earn profits of 40 to 100 percent by selling small quantities promoting special events the manufacturers say Students at Nevada City's Sequoia High School heralded a football game with milk can-shaped buttons urging their team to "cream" the opposition The Button Works the million-button-a-year Nevada City manufacturer that made those special-shaped badges also offers heart-shaped ones The company also is unusual in that it offers retail sales To walk-in customers badges inscribed ''Thank you for not smoking" increasingly are popular according to Ellie Butterfield a part owner One benefit of the retail selling Mrs Butterfield noted is that customers frequently volunteer ideas for new buttons One suggestion was "If you want it done right hire a woman" which sold "thousands and thousands" Mrs Butterfield said Sales also are swelled by fads ac cording to Bill Crookston president of Western Badge and Trophy Co of Los Angeles where button sales are expected to total $400000 this year Said Crookston no sooner did WIN buttons appear for President Ford's Whip Inflation Now campaign than advertisers jumped on the bandwagon with "WIN with" a certain auto dealer restaurant and so forth And during the last gubernatorial election a proliferation among Democrats of buttons saying only "Brown" prompted Republicans to counter with badges saying "California suffers from Brown rot" But the best-sellers generally ear messages more prosaic than punchy That is because such buttons are meant to be worn by employees say of restaurant chains that want to promote a certain dish Crookston said People with a taste for message buttons may not savor one saying "Try our carrot cake" but Sambo's found it palatable enough to order 280000 Crookston said But there's still some wit in advertising A Los Angeles omelet restaurant The Egg and Eye winks at the need to advertise with an egg-shaped button emblazoned with an eye Crookston said And Jarrett said Button King supplied Qantas Airlines with badges featuring the Australian carrier's trademark koala bear and the legend "We Do It Down Under" By MARGUARET PETERSON Bee Staff Writer One sure prediction about today's election: No candidate relied on political buttons to sew up his particular race Political badges no longer are a winner either for candidates or button manufacturers in California or elsewhere the demand for such buttons apparently has hit an eight-year low and no one is predicting an upturn But manufacturers aren't choked up by button-down choler from a lack of other varieties to produce Instead button makers have snapped back by hooking new customers from business and fund-raising groups and by offering such extras as special shapes and 24-hour delivery Political buttons began dropping off in recent years manufacturers say because tighter campaign finance restrictions prompted increased reliance on the more cost-effective conventional print and broadcast media A Onetime button manufacturer said his Chicago-based company during the 1968 presidential race produced 17 million buttons for Richard Nixon and 22 million for Hubert Humphrey In 1976 the same firm produced only a million badges each for Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford That decline was a major reason the parent Adcraft Manufacturing Co last year sold its button-making Adco Commercial Notes Business and Finance Dollar Gains More Gold Slips Abroad TIA Offers $99 NY-LA Flight Fare No Strings $3 Billion More In September Consumers Go Deeper Into Debt other requirements of the American Society of CLUs They are Ross Adkins Cal-Farm Life Sisi Ansari and Edward Prindle Metropolitan Life Gerald Combo Fullservice Insurance A James De Hayes and Noel Vend! Pacific Standard Life Earl Eubanks and Jerry Newton New York Life David Halseth Lincoln National John Riley Aetna and Patricia Plias and Gene Williams Cal-Western Life Trans International Airlines Oakland-based charter service announced it will offer a $99 one-way fare between Los Angeles and New York starting Dec it Henry Huff the airline president said the weekly flights on DC-1 jets will be on a "no strings attached" basis Passengers will be able to make firm reservations at any time prior to departure and there will be no restrictions on length of stay he said Meals and beverages will be served at no extra cost There will be a charge for movies and drinks Flights will leave Los Angeles every Thursday and New York every Friday Herringer Named Frank Herringer since 1975 general manager of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) will be named vice president and assistant to the chairman of Transamerica Corp it was announced by Transamerica's chairman and president John Beckett Herringer 35 has declared his intention to resign from BART at the end of 1978 by $14 billion about the same as in August However bank card credit rose by $349 million a sharper increase than the $280 million gain in August Americans were borrowing at annual rates equal to 184 percent of their disposable income for new loans in the third quarter and spending 158 percent to pay off old loans That was a more thrifty record than the second quarter when consumers took out loans equal to 187 percent of their income and paid off 156 percent Normally rising consumer credit is looked on as a sign of growing sumer confidence However Americans' personal income has been tapering off in the last few months after strong gains in the spring lion increase during the last half of 1977 In the third quarter installment debt rose at an annual rate of 16 percent down from the record 20 percent level of the second quarter The Federal Reserve report covers only short and intermediate-term credit to pay for goods and services in two or more installments or to refinance old debts It does not normally include mortgage loans Consumers took out $225 billion in new loans during September a decrease from the $226 billion in August However they paid back only $192 billion in previously borrowed money a decline from $196 billion in August Auto credit outstanding increased WASHINGTON (AP) Consumers went more deeply into debt in September increasing their outstanding installment credit by $328 billion the Federal Reserve said Monday The growing consumer debt has worried Federal Reserve Chairman William Miller and some economists who say consumers may be taking on more debts than they can handle A recent Louis Harris poll found that about 58 percent of Americans surveyed are extremely worried about their growing debt 'load They said they are forced to borrow money because prices keep rising The $328 billion increase is larger than the $299 billion gain in August and well above the average $261 bil State Winner The Sacramento Independent Insurance Agents Association received top statewide awards for overall superiority as an association and for its fire and crime prevention programs Tom Hobday Jr of the Sacramento Valley Insurance Agency president of the chapter accepted the awards at the recent state convention in NEW YORK (AP) Foreign exchange traders continued to show their pleasure with the Carter administration's dollar-strengthening program Monday as the US currency had a strong day against most currencies at home and abroad The price of gold which shot to records early last week as traders sold off large numbers of dollars fell slightly in Europe's two major bullion marts It closed at $210 an ounce in Zurich and $210875 in London down from Friday's $21550 and $21525 respectively "It was about time we had an average day" said one New York currency trader Dealers said that while the short-term effects of the government's dollar-support program were positive there remains great uncertainty about whether the measures including raising interest rates and increasing intervention in foreign exchange markets will have proper long-term effects "We still have inflation and trade deficits and this situation has not changed suddenly for the better" one trader said Those factors have been driving the dollar down for the past 18 months In New York the dollar rose to 19028 West German marks from 18950 Friday edged upward to 164625 Swiss francs from 16250 rose to 18980 Japanese yen from 18945 and was unchanged at 43200 French francs The British pound ended the day in New York at $1975 up from $19765 Friday Stocks Head Lower Market Gives Ground In Sluggish Turnover Heads Sunset Unit Former Sacramentan Jan Otto has been named to the new position of public relations coordinator with Lane Publishing Co Menlo Park publisher of Sunset magazine She joined the Sunset staff in 1974 after working in public relations for the California Association of Health Facilities in Sacramento CLU Diplomas Twelve Sacramento Valley life insurance people have been awarded the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation after passing-10 professional courses and meeting Jersey coast But Monday the company said a test on one zone of its well showed no hydrocarbons adding that several other zones remained to be evaluated Among other issues with Baltimore Canyon interests Texaco was off 78 at 225s and Houston Oil Minerals dropped 11s to 167s at the American Exchange's most-active issue Resorts International class A shares also were active on the Amex falling 1s to 3512 The company said the gross gambling revenues for October from its Atlantic City NJ casino were $1853 million down about $12 million from September Dne issue bucking the downtrend was Iowa Beef Processors which jumped 1411 to 53ts on word of a merger agreement with Pacific Holding Corp The dollar advanced overseas Monday adding to its gains since the government's announcement last Wednesday of measures to support the US currency But one side effect of the plan sharply higher interest rates seemed to be keeping stock market investors wary There were widespread forecasts of further increases before long in interest rates across the board Losers outnumbered gainers by a 3- 2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange and the exchange's composite 'index dropped 46 to 5303 The Amex index lost 84 to 14448 NEW YORK (AP) The stock market turned downward in the slowest trading in four weeks Monday giving way again to concern over high and still-rising interest rates The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials which had staged a 17-point recovery last week after falling 100 points in late October fell 823 to 8108 New York Stock Exchange volume came to just 2045 million shares down from 2599 million Friday Exxon trading ex-dividend ranked among the Big Board volume leaders down 212 at 493s The stock ran up 25s last Friday amid rumors the company had good news on its exploration in the Baltimore Canyon off the New -Milton Moskowitz No Bog-Down In Cranberries -Milton A No Bo In Cra 4 GM Declares $250 Dividend I dent of Ocean Spray received his training at Colgate-Palmolive and Philip Morris He has just closed the books on a year that produced $160 million of sales The cooperative's No I seller now is the cranberry juice cocktail Fresh cranberries account for only 6 percent of the business 1-Bill Rates Jump At Weekly Auction rate since a 9099 percent auction Sept 9 1974 The rate on 26- week bills was the highest since a 9930 interest rate Aug 26 1974 DETROIT (AP) Directors of General Motors declared a fourth quarter dividend Monday of $250 per common share thereby assuring that GM stockholders will get total dividends of $6 a share this year down from $680 in 1977 The lower dividend came as earnings were rising In 1977 745 percent of earnings for the preceeding four quarters was paid to shareholders while this year shareholders will get 60 percent Chairman Thomas A Murphy said in a statement that "while GM believes that 1979 can be another year of outstanding achievement the pressing demands of the business and uncertainties require that the corporation maintain its current strong capital position" The fourth quarter dividend was declared as a $1 regular quarterly dividend and a $150 special dividend Of the $6 for the year $2 was in special dividends Last year $325 of the $680 was in special dividends The certificates which are sold in minimum denominations of $10000 were authorized June I by banking agencies to bring more deposits into Ls and banks and thereby provide funds for mortgage loans Ls can offer an interest rate 025 percent higher than that of 26-week Treasury bills while banks can match the rate The interest rate on I3-week Treasury bills jumped from 8454 to 908 percent the highest WASHINGTON (AP) Interest rates soared by about half a percentage point Monday at the government's weekly Treasury bill auction The interest rate on 26-week bills jumped from 8982 to 9419 percent the highest in more than four years That means interest rates on money market certificates sold at banks will be allowed to be as high as 9419 percent beginning Thursday At savings and loans the interest rate aflowed is 9669 percent The auction was the first since the government began pushing interest rates up sharply last week to protect the dollar The higher rates also mean rising costs to the government of borrowing money The Treasury sold $23 billion in I3-week bills and $34 billion of 26-week bills IN THE OLD mythology of liberalism cooperatives were 'good guys" and corporations were "bad buys" When it comes to the big farm cooperatives however it's often difficult to tell the difference A case in point is Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc a cooperative that bands together 705 cranberry growers in five states (Massachusetts New Jersey Wiconsin Oregon and Washington) and Canada They've quintupled their sales in the last 15 years by aping the likes of Del Monte Kraft and other savvy food processors Those bog farmers cranberries are grown in bogs and take five years to mature used to live and die by the holidays Their sales were tied closely to the maintenance of a tradition: the bird that graced the table at Thanksgiving Christmas and Easter was I accompanied by cranberry sauce ONE OF THE early cancer scares implicating a herbicide used by some growers knocked the cranberry farmers for a loop in 1959 Their sales went into an eclipse Eme6ing from that depression in 1963 the Ocean Spray cooperative turned Into an aggressive marketing organization that spawned a whole new lint of products based on the bitter cranberry Water and sugar were added to produce the cranberry juice cocktail Then came Cranicot (cranberries and apricots) Cranapple (cranberries and apples) CranGrape Cranrpune Cran Orange Relish and ran Raspberry sauce all bearing the Ocean Spray brand and backed hy big bucks put into television advrrtising To rull this show Ocean Spray recruited top-flight marketing professionals from the corporate world Harold Thorkilsen who is now presi High Court LetsStand Financial Disclosure Ruling HAVING ASSEMBLED this efficient marketing machine Thorkilsen is looking for new worlds to conquer He struck a deal with Indian River Processors Inc a Florida coopefative whereby they ship their grapefruits to Vero Beach Fla where the grapefruits are turned into frozen concentrate which is then shipped to Ocean Spray plants for dilution and bottling under the Ocean Spray name Ocean Spray has now captured 9 per cent of the national market for nonrefrigerated grapefruit juice He also struck a deal with the Sun-sweet Growers cooperative of California Most of Sunsweet prune juice is now being packed in Ocean Spray plants and the Sunsweet plant in Yuba City Calif has begun to pack the Ocean Spray products OCEAN SPRAY HOPES one day to work out a similar deal with apple growers Thorkilsen would probably like to put the Ocean Spray brand on anything that grows A little Disneyland doesn't hurt either Thorkilsen had Ocean Spray move its headquarters 23 miles from Hanson Mass to Plymouth Mass where the Pilgrims arrived and where throngs of tourists come every year Now in addition to seeing Plymouth Rock they can visit a new museum Cranberry World where they are offered a cranberry Juice cocktail at the end of their tour If there's a moral it's this: Nobody remains small by choice 1978 LA Times Syndicates where it could then look more closely for antitrust violations The compa flies claimed the FTC could not be depended upon to keep the information confidential as it has pledged In other actions affecting business the Supreme Court: r- Refused to review a decision that forced Westinghouse Electric to hire new lawyers in its suit against 29 uranium producers alleging a con spiracy to fix prices in the worlds uranium market Agreed to decide whether individuals have legal standing to challenge actions of trust funds in which they own shares Let stand the 1975 conviction of Freuhauf Corp and two of its top officers for conspiracy to evade $123 million in federal excise taxes Chairman William Grace and President Robert Rowan were each sentenced to six months in prison and fined MAO The company was fined $10000 Refused to hear a challenge by Eli Lilly Co to the comptroller general's right to examine pricing and cost records of government contractors The company claimed the comptroiler wanted mire information than he was entitled to under the "access to records" provision in government contracts The Westinghouse suit against uranium producers suffered a major setback when the firm was forced to drop the Chicago law firm of Kirkland Ellis because the firm's Washington office had presented the American WASHINGTOiNI The Supreme Court left intact Monday a ruling that will force major companies to give detailed financial information to the Federal Trade Commission which wants to use the information in antitrust investigations The court refused to review a lower court ruling that was challenged by more than 200 businesses including General Motors US Steel General Electric and Coca-Cola The ruling means companies will have to provide the FTC data on the profits and sales of each major line of business figures that now are often kept confidential The FTC demanded the information In an effort to spot areas of the econo my characterized by igh profits Petroleum Institute a trade organiation that includes some of the defendants Westinghouse had paid the firm $25 million in fees before it was forced to hire other lawyers The suit regarding trust funds was filed by Harry Lewis against Transamerica Corp and a real estate investment trust it sponsors Mortgage Trust of America Lewis sued for damages under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 claiming Mortgage Trust paid excessive fees to Transamerica for investment advice A district court judge dismissed the suit but the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that rpling and ordered a trial The high Aurt agreed to review that ruling.