Northwest Arkansas Times from Fayetteville, Arkansas • Page 1

Americans Loosening Purse Strings An AP News Special 'By LOUISE COOK are, starting- to spend again, loosening the purse strings after more than a year of caution caused by soaring prices and uncertainty over the future of the economy. The signs are small ones and the indicators far from unanimous. But recent reports show that consumers apparently are heeding the advice oi those economists and politicans who have been urging people to spend their way out of recession. Retail business picked up lasi month; so did car sales, al hough they were still at a low. Businesses are spending more for equipment.

Government indexes on the economy provided encouragement for the experts. Tax rebates were credited with providing some of the stimulus. The rate of inflation has been lower; consumer can- fidence is rising. No one knows how many Americans spend the rebate checks they are getting from the federal government and how many will simply put the money into savings a- counts. The total of the rebates is estimated' at $8.1 billion Dr.

Elsie Walters, research director for the.non profit Tax Foundation predicted more than half of the money refunded to taxpayers will be spent on consumer goods. said the economy already had shown signs of improvement. She said the rebate "is the icing on the cake." Irwih Kellner, an economist Trust said the tax rebate checks being mailed at the rate, of 13: million a week -were a May increases in retail sales. Roebuck the na lion's biggest retailer, reported Thursday that sales in May vere 2.2- per-cent higher than hey were-in the same month a rear The figures were unadjusted, for. Inflation.

J.C. Penney Co. said May sales. 7. cent higher than last year's and Montgomery Ward-Co.

reported a 4 per cent boost Here is. a look at some of the Indicators, and. is to AUTO U.S. car makers sold per cent more cars during. May.

they did during sales were, at level for any month since, last October. CONSUMER CREDIT: The Federal Reserve Board reported lhat Americans trimmed their debts again in April, but the decrease in oustanding debt was much lower than it was the previous month. Increases and decreases in the amount of debt provide indication of whether people are spending or simply -paying off their bills and putting money in savings. WHOLESALE PRICES: The Labor Department said Thursday that wholesale prices increased four-tenths of one per cent in May, compared with a 1.5 per'- cent Increase in April and decreases in the preceding four months. DURABLE ORDERS: The Commerce Department said an April Increase in purchases- of machinery and other durable goods by manufacturers was: the largest rise in than seven years.

Orders for durable goods rose nearly $3.5 billion, ar 9.8 per cent, in April. HOUSING: 'The government said the number of new housing unit starts increased in April, although the level remained well below 1974. There also was a sharp Increase in lha ampiuil of money loaned for during April. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: The Federal Reserve Board said the output of the nation's Industry fell four-tenths of one per cent, the smallest decline since last August. EMPLOYMENT: The num her of people employed increased in April, the first rise in seven, months, although.the employment figure did not grow as fast as theisize of the labor force; PERSONAL- Tola! individual income rose in April the second straight month of increase.

The Commerce De- partment said personal income the'month showed a $6.7 billion increase, compared with a (3.2 billion increase CONSUMER 'CONFIDENCES The Conference Board, a nonprofit research said consumers, are more coil? fidenl about the future of 4ha BUSINESS SPENDING: Conference Board said -the amount of money businesses are setting aside for new.plajjts and equipment dropped 9.4 per cent the-first quarter': of 1975. compared' with a 26 "per cent- cutback In the previous three-months. INSIDE- Editorial 4 For Women 5 Entertainment 6 Prizeword Answers 7 Sports 1H3 Comics 14 Classified 15-19 115TH YEAR NUMBER 354 The Public Interest Is The First Concern Of This Newspaper FAYEHEV1U.E, ARKANSAS, FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 1975 IOCAI FORECAST- Partly cloudy and a through Saturday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low last night 69. Lows tonight in the low to mid 60s with highs.

Saturday in upper 80s. Sunset today sunrise Saturday 6:00. Weather map on page 8. PAGES-TEN CENTS Rain Ends Drought In East Africa NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -Months of searing drought in eastern Ethiopia and Somalia have killed tens of thousands of nomads and millions of their cattle and goats, relief workers Employment Looks Brighter, But. report.

Rain- Jobless Rate Rises WASHINGTON (AP) nation's unemployment rate broke the drought in many areas recently, producing "reasonably promising" prospects for crops and grazing, according to officials. But aid ex- perls say it will lake years arid millions of dollars for Ihe Ogaden Desert, shared by the two East African nations, to recover from overgrazing arid lack of rain. Changes are anticipated in the centuries-old life style of many of the 4 million nomads who wander with their herds from water hole to water hole, ignoring the' border between Ethiopia and Somalia, carrying their hemispherical huts of skins and sticks on camels' backs. Authorities say the wanderers will have to become farmers in a settled existence nomads traditionally despise. Rain failed completely in the Ogaden last year, following several; years of below-normal rainfall.

An estimated 80 per jumped to a post- World War high of 9.2 per cent in May, but total employment also gained 'or the second straight month, government reported today. The report gave some evidence that the Job picture is, beginning to brighten. The- jobless rate 8.9 per cent in April has climbed steadily since last August. This was the first time in 34 years that it' exceeded 9 per cent of the work force. In 1941, the jobless rate averaged 9.9 per cent Israeli Cargo To Be Allowed Through Canal By The Associated Press Egypt-is going to let cargoes tor Israel on ships of other na- Jons.fjo through the Suez Canal soon, but the Egyptians and the Israelis are going to try to keep it quiet in hopes of avoiding adverse reaction from the Syrians and the Palestinians, U.S.

offi- cent of the herds died, even camels that can go''up to 10 days without a drink. MANY CHILDREN No accurate estimate of human deaths is available, although relief administrators say the crisis cannot compare i the 1973 Ethiopian drought, when some 200,000 died. About 17,000 have died in relief camps in Somalia since last October. A large proportion of the victims are children five years old and under who are particularly s'usceptible to dehydration and to diarrhea resulting from unsanitary conditions. One Somali camp took in 34,000 persons he- fore latrines were dug.

Medical personnel are scarce. An Ethiopian camp has only two nurses for more than 10,000 persons. And there is much delay in the dislribulidn of more than $36 million in emergency aid pledged in the past six months by 42 nations and international agencies. Officials say about 500,000 Ethiopian nomads are affected by the drought, and 70.000 have moved into 14 relief camps. Some camps were reported critically short of food and medicine a few weeks ago.

About 295,000 persons are in 19 relief camps In Somalia. Somali officials say nearly 600,000 more have gathered at points where food and water Is distributed. Somalia's Socialist military government has been aiming for six years to convert some 2 million nomads about two- thirds of the nation's population to a more productive way of life. iiitiiiiiitiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifflMniniiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiniiiiiiii NEW COLUMN TO APPEAR The TIMES editorial page cials say. "There will.be no test case," said one American source in a i "Our understanding is that the goods will be -shipped through without, ei ther side acknowledging Other sources said Secretary of State Henry A.

Kissinger expects Egypt to make no attempt to stop nonniilitary cargoes for Israel going through canal "as long as everyone shuts up." On Thursday, after President Anwar Sadat of Egypt reopened the canal and began a triumphal, two-day trip down the wa- Lerway, Israeli Transport Minister Gad Yaacobi said a Liberian freighter with a cargo of sugar for Israel was headed for the canal and would try to pass through as a test case. Later, an aide to Yaacobi said the ship "does not exist, ajid if it does, it -is not headed for the canal." BACKTRACKING U.S. officials' said the backtracking resulted from pressure from Washington. They said the captain of the ship decided on his own to try to use the and when the State Department earned of Yaacobi's disclosure, warned Israel to stop the at- The sources said the Israel fovernment ordered the ship to ceep 1 out of the canal. Egypt has barred-all Israel ships and all cargo for Israe 92.9 million May.

But. he- cause more people went looking month, bringing the total for work than there ber out of work to 8.5 million. available, also But the number of Americans working also increased in May, Analysts with: the Bureau of rising by 320,000 to a total of Labor Statistics cited the gams over the year out of The size of the labor force force of 55.9 million. was reported up by 680,000 to The. Labor Department said Famine Across Haiti features new column beginning'tod ay: "Vaughn At Large," written by Kansas City Star editor Bill Vaughn.

Vaughn's column is a light, willy comment affairs of life in America, sometimes tackling politics, business, causes won and lost, and other' topics too varied anti numerous to, 11st. a column is especially in this, Middle America, because his views are from Middle America, rather than from Washington or New York, as are many of today's syndicated columnists. The column on ships of other nalions from canal since Israel became a stale in 1948 because Egypt has been at war technically with Is rael ever since. The Egyptians have never ac knowledged that Sadat, as par of the disengagement agree ment with Israel which Kisslr negotialed In January 1974 agreed to let Israeli cargoes on ships of olhe'r nations pas through the walerway when i was reopened. But variou American officials have con firmed lhat Sadat gave such commitment, apparently In letter to then-President Richar M.

Nixon, who communicated to the Israelis. U.S. officials said their majo concern is to keep the whol i situ woul Ihirrg quiet and avoid ation in which Sadat have to disavow his secret com mitment to save face'. will appear weekly. three times Express Jumps Track NUNEATON, England (AP A night express train trav eling between 70 and 80 mile an the Iracks an crashed'into a slalion plalfor today, killing seven person and injuring 36, police said.

The accident occurred at 1:, a.m. Expre approached the Trent Valle Station at Nuneaton, 97 mil northwest of London. Resci officials said the train sudden left -the -track, scattering ca and twisted itecl acrou station. It Was Right Here! Mr. and Mrs.

William Vil- avasco of Chicago and their daughter, Grace, stand on an mply, hullddzed lot where i home stood before a wrecking crew leveled It, Villavasco, 49, a carpenter, bought the abandoned house for $2,500 from HUD aid was making ihe house liveable. He spent $3,000 and a lot of time repairing it and was just about ready to move in when a wrecking crew leveled it Thursday. (AP Wlrephoto) Laos AID Agreement Reached VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) ifficials of the U.S. Agency for nternational Development greed loday lo pay 2,700 local UD employes an exlra three months' severance pay. The agreement was reached fter a day-long negotiating ess ion at AID headquarters with studenls and AID employ- es demonstrating outside.

The demonstration began in he morning when about 30 self- proclaimed leaders of the AID nnployes put up signs at the leadquarters compound and denouncing the Americans hrough loudspeakers. The agreement adds about lalf a million dollars to ex- jenses involved in closing down he USAID mission in Laos. An official, said funds still remain in the AID budget for the sev erance pay bonus. EMBASSY CAR STOPPED The demonstrators sloppec one U.S. Embassy car driven ay two American military at taches and would not let them take some loaded mail sacks out of the compound withou permission from the Laotian government.

The United States has agreed to close out the AID program and turn, over all its property by June 30. Informed source, said agreement was near on the turnover of the multi-mil lion-dollar five miles outside Vientiane. The Laotian, coalition govern ment announced that it 1.1 that both the Pathet Lao fac lion and the non-Communis faction of ntutralUis and right- ernment last month, and the ernments throughout the king- cm. The Pathet Lao has estab- ished itself in all the major rightist centers since it became the dominant faction in the gov- new plan apparently is designed to give the non-Communists official standing in areas Communists have controlled for years. NEWS BRIEFS Took Bribe WASHINGTON (AP) -Northrop Corp.

says its officials were told an Arab general took a $250,000 bribe In 1972 to refrain from blocking sale of the company's F5E jet fighters to Saudi Arabia. In a special report made public late Thursday, the California aircraft manufacturer said it paid another 5200,000 in 1973 to an intermediary as bribe money for a second Saudi Arabian general officer became hostile to Northrop em- ployes. Two Men Killed NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Two men were killed Thursday west of here when their truck crashed into the rear of a truck driven by a fellow worker, police said. Officers identified the victims as John Thompson, 21, of Townsend, and Conley Gray, 28, of Little Rock, both employes of a Nashville lira company.

To Admit Women WASHINGTON (AP) Admission of women to the U.S. military service academies was approved today by the Senate. The action was by voice vote and with Jittle debate. Since the House added a similar provision to its version of this year's military weapons procurement bill, the requirement that 'women be admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; the U.S.

Naval Academy at Annapolis, and Ihe U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, appears likely to become law this year. To Salvage Agency WASHINGTON (AP) Top Justice Department officials In tend to strengthen their contro over the Drug Enforcement Ad ministration -in an effort to sal vage an agency ravaged by al of mismanagement and says Deputy Atty, Gen, Harold R. Tyler Jr. sign" of an improving job picture.

Another indicator was Ihe Labor Department's Diffusion Index which showed that 54 per cent of the 172 industries In the a mi index posted employment gains seed in May. It-was the first time two, since August that more than half of the industries registered employment Increases. Over'the past two months total employment has increased, by 550,000, after registering sbc consecutive monthly declines that totaled 2,6 million. Nearly all the increase last month was in agricultural employment and involved adult males and teen-agers, the government said. 3.6.

MILLION Despite the gains in employment, joblessness also has continued to Increase. Since August it has risen by 3,6 million. Loss of jobs, accounted for a large portion 'of. the May unemployment increase, but both new entrants and re-entrants into the labor force also accounted for sizeable Increases in joblessness. Almost all of the May joblessness occurred among men 25 years and over and teen-age women.

oMst of the other age- sex groups showed little or no change. Earlier- this week, Treasury Secretary William E. Simon said a further rise in unemployment is likely because' employers may be slow to rehire laid- off workers until they are assured a business recovery is well under way. "The current recession is in the process of reversing direction," Simon said, but he added that recovery "from this low point won't quickly be evident in all the measures of economic activity." Unemployment is considered a lagging economic indicator in that it usually continues rising after the start of a business up According' to the ad minis tration's latest economic assumptions, unemployment for all of 1975 should average 8.7 per cent instead of the 8.1 per cent originally forecast. TO PEAK The jobless rate is expected to peak somewhat above 9 per cent and hover there for several months before beginning a gradual decline.

The administration's long-range projections show high unemployment until the end of the decade. Meanwhile, there were these economic developments: --Retail sales in May showed the best monthly gains this year, according to some of the nation's largest retailers. Many analysts said that warm weather and tax cuts and rebates gave the stores' sales an extra push. --Wholesale prices rose four- tenths of 1 per cent in May, with most of the increase caused by higher farm prices, chiefly for livestock. Although high by historical standards, the increase was moderale when compared with April's 1.5 per cent jump in prices and increases throughout most of 1974.

--The Interstale Commerce Commission approved a 5 per cent hike in freignt rates on the nation's railroads, to a effect no earlier than June 20. --A bill to boost the federal (CONTINUED CW PAGE TWO) GONAIVES, Haiti (AP) -Marie Joseph, up at daybreak in the sweltering heat, squatted near her one-room, stick-and- mud house in the bleak desert- like northwest tip of Haiti. She carefully peeled and ate a mango which, with sorghum and another mango or was all the 40-year-old mother of five had to eat that day. Her farmer husband, three small boys and two teen-age girls fared no better. The Joseph family is undernourished even in good times.

Now more than half a million Haitian peasants are on the thin 'edge of starvation. They may die unless a massive disaster relief effort American agencies are gearing up succeeds. Eight to 12 months ol drought, a soaring population rate, archaic farming methods and primitive transportation and communications a brought famine to impoverished Haiti's northwest. It is spread ing across the country's entire northern tier. There have been some deaths although government: official: in it.

Some livestock also has star ved to death amid the powdery dust whipped up 'by the ho winds. Small family farming plots He fallow in the rock strewn areas between the crag gy, mountains and the sea. The searing hot, arid 'penin north of Gpnaives, jutting lut into the Caribbean 50 miles rom Cuba and 700 miles from Miami, has been hit Two weeks ago, the government admitted that 306.889 eople were in desperate straits lec'aus'e' of the "natural catastrophe." Conditions have worsened. 1 since then. Some representa- of foreign relief agencies who have conducted field 'surveys say many more people are "nvolved.

Estimates of 600,000 and more have been used in planning sessions of a relief committee coordinating Foreign and governmental "Our present commitment is to feed 120,000 people for three to five months," said U.S. Ambassador Hcyward Isham after ah inspection trip to the northwest. The Americans are importing bulgar wheat, beans, rice, high protein biscuits and peas. Trucks-lake it to the main northwest distribution center at Gonaivcs over a tortuous, deeply rutted, 80-mile road built by the U.S. Marines during their occupation of Haiti early in this century.

The trip can take four hours. Ration books have been is- many farmers, and sued to small amounts of grain and cooking oil are keeping them going until the program gets Into full operation. Children's Favorite Commuter Crash PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Three persons on a commuter train are dead in the collision of a two-car Reading Railroad commuter train with a heavily loaded tractor-trailer at a suburban crossing, police report. Police said the accident occurred about 11 o'clock Thursday night at a grade crossing in Lower Makefleld. The train was bound for Philadelphia from West Trenton, N.J.

when it collided with the truck, which Vietnam children surround one of Camp rendition's newest arrivals, Tran Thl Nan, 109 years old, who arrived Wednesday. Mrs. fled; Vietnam April 30 with 14 mem-1 hers of her family In a 20 foot boal. (AP Wirephdtb) Common Market Favored LONDON (AP) First official returns today from the British referendum were nearly 3 to i in favor of Britain remaining In the European Common Market. The vote in one of the 68 regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was 802 to margin was just what final public opinion polls before the referendum Thursday indicated.

The government announced thai 75 per cent of the 40V4 million eligible voters cast ballots authorities said was carrying only slightly under the 80 per heavy coils weighing about that js usual for a each, election. had some expectations that the turnout would be small and that "this would result in a close result. Meanwhile, bank executive lichard Bickel soared across Ihe English Channel lo France on a hang-glider loday to demonstrate support for Britain remaining In the Common Market and also lo mark Ihe 31st anniversary of the Normandy invasion. flight was sponsored by British Petroleum, and the glider carried 2,000 first-day envelopes stamped "Britain into Europe 1944 and 1975" by the post- office. BP claimed it.

was world'i tint bite mail flight.