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Newspaper
Raleigh Register
Location
Beckley, West Virginia, United States of America
Date
Dec 19, 1961
Page
4
A reflective note humorously contrasts idly busy people with Domitian who pursued busyness by catching flies. The quote attributes the idea to Jeremy Taylor and uses a witty historical comparison to highlight focus versus distraction.
The Rev Dr Edgar S Brown Jr of the United Lutheran Church argues that Christmas is being consumed by commercialism. Merchants forecast a strong holiday season with 4 to 5 percent sales gains and card makers expect billions of holiday cards. Religious leaders urge restraint while the public seems tuned to the market as Christmas trade roars ahead.
Washington report notes production workers earnings rising ninefold over 50 years from $10 to $90 weekly while hours fell from 51 to under 40. A sharp pencil analyst highlights inflation cutting dollar purchasing power about one third over the period, using 1913 index benchmarks and 1947-49 base values.
A Washington Window column argues the 78 cent October base and 44 cent value of the 1939 dollar distort real earnings. It criticizes wage gains as irrelevant when purchasing power rots, notes 1913 tight money, and warns of the dollar’s depreciation and its impact on savers and debtors alike. It also digresses into a playful essay about noses and family life.
A nostalgic Christmas meditation extols noses and scents of the season from baking to pine and candy while shifting to a prayer for strength and discernment. The author, John Marvin Rast, executive secretary of the Methodist Board of Education in Columbia, S C, signs the piece.
New York gossip notes Ethel Merman returning to films in a project by Stanley Kramer titled A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World with an estimated May start and a large ensemble of comedians and four comediennes. The item covers studio plans, NBC hiccups, Onassis speculation, Ike safari denial, and various Hollywood curiosities.
President Kennedy spotlighted Puerto Rico as a model for underdeveloped regions. From 1940 to 1960 per capita income rose from 121 to 622 dollars aided by liberal wages and a 10-year tax-free investment incentive bringing 700 new industries and 50,000 jobs, while migration to the mainland grew. Yet over 12 percent of the work force remained unemployed and income levels lagged behind the least prosperous U.S. state. Governor Luis Munoz Marín balances urging U.S. investment with actions critics say edge toward independence, including a push for OAS membership. The island’s political path remains tangled as it seeks stronger ties with the United States. Washington Notebook notes shed light on the era’s business anxieties and a lighter aside about fallout water rations.
Lt Gen Andrew McNamara heads the unified Defense Supply Agency and jokes about botched purchases by the separate services. He recalls Harvard training and praises his Battle Creek headquarters. An Air Force Systems Command division uses audio analgesia to ease dental drills, letting patients pick music and raise volume to Niagara Falls.
Twenty years ago many state papers carried notices of Hon. John H. Hunt death, praising his public career as attorney and former legislator from Kanawha County. Now a contrarian denies these reports in detail. Also the Hatfield McCoy feud, lingering 25 years, appears to be ending as the Hatfields and McCoys embrace religion.
UPI analysis notes a conflict between Nehru the peacemaker and Nehru the nationalist as India shells Goa and two other Portuguese enclaves. The piece recalls his past calls for peaceful removal of Portuguese holdings, contrasts with military action, and cites Kashmir, Kerala, and domestic communists.
The economy shows strong confidence with consumer spending rising as factory earnings hit a new high of 95.82 weekly and hourly pay at 2.36. November sales reach 19.25 billion, with 1962 outlook upbeat, auto production rebounding, and factory output at historic highs.
Notes list WVU students including Mary Scott Regina Pickus Milton Pickus Grace Hutchinson Eileen Jarrell John Hawley Jr Latane Ware Warren Hodel Amerigo Cappellari Deem Rahall Eugene Cook Robert Bright. Also reports on a Woman's Club meeting where Mrs F L Banks presented Christmas Customs on an Old Virginia Plantation. Chiang Kai-shek held prisoner at Sian-Fu per Domei dispatches.
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