Lubbock Avalanche-Journal from Lubbock, Texas • Page 90

Wednesday Evening, November 20, 1974 Claims Mark Fight Over Meat Prices BOV FLOWN TO F. Napoleon Lechoko 16, loft. stands Ix'sido his mother and talks with newsmen suburban Dulles International Airport early today after his ar rival from Manila. The father held the Philippine ambassador at gunpoint in the Washington chancery until an agreement was made to fly the boy here early Tuesday. (AP Wirephoto) Youth, 16 Arrives Family WASHINGTON (AP) A 16 lulu, the young man told news year-old Filipino youth arrived men lie was to be very, an extraordinary family very happy to sec my parents reunion after his father held and brothers and sisters the Philippine ambassador at The rest of his family until Manila author- emigrated to the United States ities agreed to send the teen- two years ago.

a to Urn United States. Escorted By Colonel Napoleon Leehoco Jr. com- During a later stop in San pletcd his dash Francisco, the Lechoco youth the 1 ledic and arrivedjsaid, think he should not DuS i International Airport, have clone such a more th a day after hisj Escorted by Philippine false move or you arc a dead father threw down his gun and Frederico Navarro, chief surrendered to police at, the staff of the Philippine presiden Philippine Embassy chancery1 early Tuesday. Durinc handcuffed his hands behind his back. have you not released my son from the Romualdez said bis assailant wanted to know.

are they holding a 16-year-old boy in the Philippines? He can do no Romualdez said that he was told, arc my hostage and I warn you. do not make a a stopover in Hono- Farmers Coy Faire one WASHINGTON (AP) Farmers are like most other when it comes to paying higher prices for day-today family living. And ahc monthly telephone bill on the (arm is up just like everything rise. An annual survey of farm telephone bills last summer showed those averaged ST. 16 per month nationally, up 11 per cent from mid 1971.

Last year farm telephone costs averaged S6. p.cr month, only a 3 per cent gain from 1972, according to USDA. The Statistical Reporting Service said its latest survey showed monthly telephone bills gained the most 15 per cent in the Middle Atlantic states while those in New England and parts of the Southeast gained the least, about 8 per cent. Mostly Dial Type Although the number of farms in the country declined 1 per cent during the year to around 2.8 million units, the number with telephone gained slightly so that by last summer about 88 per cent of them had service, the department said. About 98 per cent of all farm telephones were dial type, the new pushbutton style, and 1 per cent were the older hand- eranked or lift receiver type using magneto power.

Although the 11 per cent jump in telephone bills was much larger in the previous year, it was about in line with other cost of living increases, according to USDA latest 7-rice analysis based on mid-Oc tober surveys. For example, the index of prices farmers pay to meet production expenses as of Oct. 15 was up 17 per cent from a year earlier. The overall family living cost index also was up 17 per cent, including a gain from a year earlier of 15 per cent for food and 12 per cent for building materials and household equipment. tial guard battalion, the youth also told reporters at the air port he had been free 1o leave the Philippines since last September but remained to finish school and help his grandfather.

Navarro also insisted that the youth previously had planned to fly to the United States a couple of and that the father's action had been unnecessary. was just a coincidence. He was planning to leave Navarro said. Philippine Secretary' of Tour- lism Jose Aspiras had told newsmen Monday night that the Lechoco youth was under investigation by the Manilla government and that this ac- Ileard Two Shots When Lagdameo pushed into the room and rushed Lechoco, heard two shots, and the next thing Mr. Lagdameo was lying on the floor.

For all intents and purposes I thought he was dead, and the gunman also thought he was After the shooting, Lechoco called the police and repeated his demand that the young man be released in Manila and sent to Washington within 24 hours. In return he said he would release the ambassador. After authorities told him his son would he allowed to travel to the United States, Lechoco agreed to end the ordeal. He tossed his gun to police and counted for the delay in issuing surrendered with his hands up. Attorneys for Lechoco at the hearing before Judge Hart argued that Lechoco had acted out of overwhelming grief that his son was being held.

him a travel permit. Father Not There Aboard the same Philippine Airlines flight were three children of Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Z. Romualdez. who had been held hostage by Napoleon Lechoco Sr. The father was not able to be on hand at the airport for his son's arrival.

He has been charged with assaulting and abducting an official of a foreign government. U.S. District Judge George L. Hart Jr. committed Lechoco to a local hospital Tuesday for a scries of mental tests.

Recovering quickly from a night of terror in his chancery office, Romualdez told men late Tuesday that his government would not prosecute Lechoco. But the ambassador said he would not intervene if Lechoco were prosecuted by the United States, lie also would not rule out a By LOUISE COOK Asftoriated Press Writer The battle over meat prices has begun again and consumers be blamed for feeling confused over the claims, counterclaims and statistics about where their money is going. What does it all mean? Farmers are losing money. High grain prices have forced many ranchers to sell their animals at a loss rather than buy expensive feed. Supermarket profits are up over last year and the Agriculture Department says that for the first nine months of this year, higher markups by middlemen wholesalers and retailers have accounted for 84 per cent of the increase in the annual cost of a market- basket of food.

Hearings Begin The government has begun a series of hearings to investigate profit margins. And consumers are paying just as much for beef as they were at the start of April 1973, one-week meat boycott. The supermarkets traditionally have been reluctant to break down their expenses and profits, department by department. They say virtually impossible to allocate things like utility costs to one department or another. They also say they want to let competitors know too much about how they operate.

At the same time, however, they claim their meat departments traditionally return a low profit. They argue that labor costs are high a butcher cutting meat gets a higher salary than a stock room boy stacking cans. One source estimated that 14 per cent of the gross margin on meat goes for labor. John J. Cairns vice president for merchandising of the Great Atlantic Pacific Tea Co.

provided a few clues to store profits at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday in Washington. dross Margin High He said that gross margin for the meat department for the first nine months of 1974 was 21.89 per cent, the highest since at least 1968. He said that meat department expenses were the highest since 1971 and equaled 19.09 per cent of sales during the second quarter of 1974. What does all this mean? Gross margin is the difference between what a store pays for its products and what it gets for them expressed as a per cent of sales. That means, for example, that if a company pays 51 million for the goods it needs and sells them for 51.25 million, it has a gross margin of 20 per cent.

Expenses cover things like la bor, utilities, fuel and packag ing. The diffei-ence between the gross margin and expenses is net profit before income taxes. Cairns did not provide a figure for net profit after taxes, but supermarket spokesmen have said earlier that over-all net profits for both food and nonfood items are a little more than half a per cent of sales this year, compared to a little less than half a per cent last year. The supermarkets dispute U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics on where the money you spend on beef is going.

The latest department figures, for example, show that the average price of a pound of beef at the retail level in the week ended Nov. 2 was $1.358, just about the same as in April 1973. The USDA says the carcass price amount the supermarket pays 93.3 cents per pound of usable beef during the week ended Nov. 2 and the farm price per pound of usable beef was 81.9 cents. That works out to a differ ence of 42.5 cents between the amount the supermarket pays for the meat and the amount it sells it for.

Comparison Given The same government figures also provide a breakdown of how much of the consumers' dollar goes to the farmer, how much to the wholesaler and how much to the retailer. Here are some comparisons, in cents (F stands for farmer, for wholesaler and for retailer): 11 74 10 74 10 73 4-73 60.3 59.7 61.2 67.1 8.4 8.6 6.9 6.2 1.3 31.7 31.9 26.7 The November 1974 figures are for the week ended Nov. 2. The government claims its figures take into account the fact that it takes 2.28 pounds of live animal and 1.41 pounds of carcass to produce a pound of beef for sale. why it gives the price pound of usable Figures Different The supermarkets use a different set of figures.

A spokesman for Jewell Supermarkets, a Midwestern chain, said that for the first 32 weeks of 1974. the store paid an average of 74 cents a pound for a 600 pound carcass of beef. He said that carcass included 180 pounds of bone and fat that the store sells to industrial users for about 10 cents per pound. If you take into account the amount the store sells for 10 cents a pound, the average selling price of the entire carcass is only 92 cents per pound even though you pay more for the actual meat, the Jewell spokesman argued. That works out to a difference of about 18 cents, instead of 42.5 cents.

A ROSE FOR KENNEDY GRAVE Douglas Kennedy, 7, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, places a rose on lvis grave in nearby Arlington National cemetery 49th anniversary of Kennedy's birth. Kneeling are Mrs. EtJhel Kennedy, left, widow, and Mrs. Joan Kennedy, wife of Robert's brother.

Sen. Edward Kennedy. D-Mass. (AP Wirephoto) Heart Attack Ruled Cause Justice of the Peace F. H.

at St. Hospital after his Bolen today ruled that Johnny Ray Reeves, 40, of 709 11th St. died from a heart attack last Wednesday. Reeves was dead on arrival Aviation Safety Clinic Slated Maintenance techniques for aircraft engines and economical fuel use procedures will he the subjects of an aviation safety clinic at 7 p.m. Monday in the Flame Room of the Pioneer Natural National Bank Building.

Ken Gardner, manager of product support training for Teledyne Continental Motors, will be the featured speaker. He has authored numerous articles on aircraft engines and has logged more than 75,000 miles a year on his speaking engagements. Sponsors of the free clinic are the Lubbock chapter of the Ninety-Nines and the Federal Aviation Agency. car hit a polie in the 2900 block of Clovis Road. An inquest verdict is pending results of blood tests in the death last Wednesday of Travis Borum, 29.

of 5020 King Ave. Borum was found dead on the floor at his residence. Pathologist report, indicated he had been dead about three days, Bolen said. BECAME IMPATIENT PETALUMA. Calif.

are looking for a man who bit another man in the neck when he became impatient in a restaurant line. MEMBER BY INVITATION ranklin a ii mi arijmimknt (greenhouses Foliage Plants Grow Lights Terrariums 4425 Brownfield Highway 799-3695 8 to 5:30 Mon. thru Sat. -AW Obituaries Square shooter 2 captures the mood. (It only takes a minute.) Edinburgh civil suit brought by his eco- Tulia Man Remains In Serious Condition At Correspondent TULIA A 26-year-old Tulia man was in critical condition today in Northwest Texas Ho- pita 1 in Amarillo late Tuesday with head injuries he sustained in an industrial accident at Star Grain Company here.

Melvin Tatum, an elevator superintendent for the grain company, fell 12 feet from a turning hoist platform, landing on his head, officials said. The accident occurred about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Tatum was taken to Swisher Memorial Hospital here, then transferred to the Amarillo hospital. nomic attache.

Mario S. Lagdameo, who was shot while attempting to grapple ith the gunman. Feigned Death Romualdez said both he and Lechoco thought that the young attache had been fatally shot, because he feigned death for more than ten hours. Recounting the incident, the a a ssad said Lechoco pulled a gun from an attache case, held it at his temple and McADOO (Special) Services for C. R.

Edinburgh, 83, of McAdoo will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church. Officiating will he Leonard Dennis, minister of news Church of Christ in McAdoo, and the Rev. Bobby Rine, pastor of First Baptist Church of Crosbyton. Burial will be in McAdoo Cemetery under direction of King Funeral Home of Crosby ton.

Edinburgh died at his home Tuesday morning following a Baedeker Hears Pleas in by at the Two pleas were heard County Court At Law No. 1 Judge Edwin If. Bocdekcr the morning session of court today. W.C. Derington, 45, of Leveland pleaded innocent of a charge of driving while intoxicated and bond was set at 5500.

A plea of innocent of a charge of shoplifting (Class theft) was entered by Guadalupe Esquivel, 19. of U8 N. Ave. U. Boedeker set a $500 bond.

Three persons pleaded innocent to misdemeanor charges Tuesday afternoon in arraignments before Boedeker. They were, with charges and bonds listed, Joe Covarrubia, 25. of 1710 Ave. U. possession of marijuana.

$500; Walter D. Malone, 21, of New York City, theft by check, 5600; and Lewis E. Brians, 20. of 3414 24th lengthy illness. A retired farmer, Edinburgh moved to McAdoo from Spur in 1937.

He was a veteran of WW II. He married the former Edna Lee McLaughlin in Smyer March 4. 1927. She died June 26. 1971.

Survivors include three sons. Col. A. C. Edinburgh, U.S.

Air Force, stationed at Denver, arid J. K. and Wayne Edinburgh, both of Crosbyton; and eight grandchildren. Hubert Peace Services for Hubert Peace, 60, of Hospitality were pending today at Henderson Funeral Directors. He died at 4:15 a.m.

today at the nursing center. Survivors include his wife, Pat of 2805 Dartmouth daughter, Mrs. Steven Thompson of Colorado Springs. one son, Steven, of Denver. two brothers, Joe of Fowicr.

and George of Pocatello, Idaho; and one granddaughter. Mrs. Reasoner McCLUNG for Mrs. C. B.

(Leah Ann) Reason cr, 88, of McClung will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Canyon Community Church. The Rev. W. O.

Rucker, minister of First United Methodist Church of Crowell, will officiate, assisted by the Rev. Grady Adcock, minister of Canyon Community Methodist Church and the Rev Curtis Jackson, minister of Canyon Community Baptist Church. Burial will be in Lorenzo Cemetery under direction of Franklin-Bartlcy Funeral Home. Mrs. Reasoner died at 12:30 a.m.

Tuesday in Mercy Hospital following a lengthy illness. A native of Palo Pinto County, she had been a resident of McClung for the past 51 years, moving here from Crosby County. She was a member of Can yon United Methodist Church. Survivors include her daughter, Mrs. W.

W. Smith of Fritch; her five sons, Floyd of Seagraves and Earl, Bryan, C. B. Jr. and Bates, all of Slaton; 14 grandchildren and 28 grandchildren.

Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Maurice Starnes Services for Maurice Starnes, 71. of Jewell's Hospitality House were pending today at Rcsthaven Singleton Wilson Funeral Home. He died at 8:30 a.m. today at the nursing center following a lengthy illness.

A native of Prairie Hill, he had lived in Lubbock for the past 40 years. Starnes was a member of First United Methodist Church, Survivors include one daughter, Mary Katherine Selks of Claremont, one sister, Mrs. AAV. May of 2402 33rd and three grandchildren. Obituary Briefs 18 88 Just 60 seconds to keep a moment that ever return.

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