European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 21, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday january 21, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 7 drought pushed prices up 4.4% in 1988 Washington a consumer prices Rose 4.4 percent in 1988, the same As a year earlier As hefty drought induced increases for groceries offset stable Energy prices the government said thursday. Worry about inflationary pressures has preoccupied Many economists but that pressure has not produced an acceleration in inflation thus far. The 4.4 percent gain in the labor department s consumer Price Index matched the 1987 increase which was the highest since 1981 but was four times the 1.1 percent rate in 1986, a 25-year Low. A 0.3 percent Rise in the Index in december which followed a 0.3 percent november increase helped inflation finish the year at a moderate Pace. The summer drought which shrivelled crops and seared pastures pushed food prices for the year up 5.2 percent the steepest Rise since 1980. Poultry and egg prices jumped 17.9 percent and 16.5 percent respectively because of the drought. On the other hand beef and pork prices which Rose for the first six months of the year fell during the second half As Farmers sent More animals to Slaughter As a Way of avoiding High feed costs. Energy prices for the year Rose Only a slight 0.5 percent following an 8.2 percent jump in 1987. Still they were far below Levels before the 1986 Oil glut when Energy prices plummeted 19.7 percent. Fuel Oil prices jumped 2.8 percent in december after falling for six consecutive months. Despite the december Advance the Price was 6.3 percent below that of a year earlier. Electricity charges Rose 1.1 percent for the year while natural Gas prices were unchanged. Gasoline prices were 1.1 percent lower than a year ago. Price increases for new and used cars also were moderate 2.1 percent and 3.4 percent respectively. However the prices of Auto insurance and of financing car purchases took Steep jumps of 8.4 percent and 8.3 percent respectively. The Cost of medical care up 6.9 percent also Rose faster than the general inflation rate last year. Tobacco prices posted one of the steepest rises of any subcategory up 9.4 percent for the year. Clothing prices Rose 4.8 percent Overall with men s and boys apparel up 6.0 percent and women s and girls clothing up 3.4 percent. December s 0.3 percent increase left the Price Index at 120.5 percent of its 1982-84 base meaning that a hypothetical selection of goods costing $ 100 during the base period would have Cost $120.50 in december. That figure was up 30 cents from november. Former president Reagan who left office Friday has listed the taming of inflation As one of his proudest accomplishments. Under his predecessor Jimmy car Ter the nation saw double digit Price increases of 13.3 percent in 1979 and 12.5 percent in 1980. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the report shows that inflation continues to show signs of moderation. Inflation has been going Down since  Many economists worry that the country May be in for a taste of the bad old Days this year. They say tight labor markets and rising factory operating rates will inevitably Lead to higher costs for Consumers. The factory operating rate in december was 84.2 per cent the highest in nine years. The higher the rate the greater the likelihood of shortages and Price increases. At 5.3 percent the unemployment rate was the Low est in 14 years. Labor shortages in some states particularly in the Northeast have already pushed up wages for entry level jobs. But other analysts say consumer resistance and foreign Competition Are helping to Dampen Price increases. It s difficult to pass along Cost pressures said Donald Ratajczak an economist with Georgia state University. Consumers will Back off and wait a Cou ple of months to see if they can get a Price discount. Domestic production capacity pressures. Proba Bly Don t mean As much As they once did. There Are re sources readily available offshore if our prices Start to  Csc computer purging halted Washington a a Federal judge thursday barred the White House in the closing hours of the Reagan administration from destroying information in a National Security Council computer system. The information was generated on the professional office system profs which was used by former National Security adviser John Poindexter fired Csc aide Oliver North and others until november 1986. From it congressional and criminal investigators retrieved Mes sages to help reconstruct the Iran Contra affair. . District judge Barrington Parker issued a temporary restraining order at the request of the National Security Archive and a division of the american civil liberties Union. A hearing will be held wednesday before . District judge Charles Richey. The groups sued former president Reagan presi Dent Bush and the archivist of the United states say ing in a statement they Are trying to prevent the destruction of historically significant White House computer tapes. During the last three years of the Reagan  profs is used by Csc personnel and White House staff to communicate on an internal electronic mail network. The information in the system is contained on magnetic tapes which we were told the White House destroys from time to time attorney Kate Martin said at a hear ing in which Parker granted the restraining order. The Iran Contra affair illustrated the importance of information stored in the profs system said Scott Armstrong founder of the National Security a chive a non profit group. Despite repeated attempts by Csc staff to shred the paper record and delete the computer record the profs backup system on magnetic tape allowed investigators to reconstruct much of the Iran Contra related  assistant attorney general John Bolton argued at the hearing that the destruction is not some sinister conspiracy but rather staffers in the Reagan administration staff trying to perform House cleaning chores so that the Bush administration can come in with a clean  the archivist has Given approval to erase these systems and none of the information has any Rele Vance or anything to do with the Iran Contra affair said Bolton. But Parker said his decision simply maintains the stat us quo. In response to a Justice department lawyer s arguments Parker asked How is there any Adverse Impact by keeping information in the system intact. Chopsticks Plant trying to pick up pieces Hibbing Minn. A a chopsticks Plant that was hailed at its 1986 opening for taking on the Japa Nese in the Trade War is $7 million in debt and closed for repairs after losing $3.5 million in 1988. The heavily subsidized Plant in this economically suffering mining town was shut Down dec. 15 and its 65 employees Laid off because of faulty equipment said Ian Ward the company president. Machinery intended to Speed production was vibrating and spoiling the chopsticks veneer said Ward president of Lakewood Forest products the Vancou ver British Columbia owner of the Plant. But japanese purchasers Haven t gotten discouraged and will buy As Many sets As the Plant has produced said Don Myers a Lakewood spokesman. Lakewood originally said it would employ up to 120 workers and produce up to 7 million pairs of disposable chopsticks a Day but it was making about 700,000 pairs a Day when it closed Myers said. The Iron Range resources and rehabilitation Board loaned $3.4 million in december 1985 to get the Plant started. The company got $1 million in Loans Grants and free land from the City and state. The Plant contracted to Supply a consortium of japanese buyers lost $3.5 million in 1988 on sales of $420,000, said Myers. The Plant is Worth $13 million but the company is $7 million in debt Ward said. Production problems have plagued the operation since its june 1986 opening. More problems surfaced in july 1988 when the Plant installed a new lathe Ward said. A nearby machine called a Reeler made vibrations that disturbed the lathe s finishing work. The maker of the Reeler touted As an improvement Over the previous Model is building a new one at no Cost to Lakewood Ward said. It s to be ready in Jan uary with production resuming in february. The City faced with a severe decline in the mining of Iron Ore gave Lakewood a $225,000 Grant 10 free acres of land a $250,000 loan and $275,000 in tax increment financing to get it started Hibbing City administrator Harry Gherardi said. The state loaned the company an additional $250,000, he said. Lakewood raised $603,000 in Stock offerings to get going again. Once this one is up and running we May build a second or third Plant Myers said. Household income Avor a for 1985 j$23,618 Small cities ,319 1,113 Large City suburbs 31,609 City suburbs 125,843 18,350 Chicago try Faure graphic by Tim a Iiama source . In a Bureau income 8.25.87 nevertheless the Federal Reserve Board whose prime Job As the nation s Central Bank is keeping inflation under control has been pushing interest rates slowly but steadily higher since March in an Effort to slow the Economy and ease inflationary pressures. Cynthia Latta an economist with data resources inc., a Lexington mass., forecasting firm agreed with Ratajczak in predicting Only a modest speedup in Price increases this year. I have More Confidence in the. Fed than i Ever did she said. I think they la have real trouble getting inflation Down to the 2-percent Range but i think they la keep it from  go death total at 10-year Low in fiscal 1988 by Norman Black a military writer Washington the number of . Serv ice members who died last year on Active duty fell to its lowest total in More than a decade a new defense department report shows. The annual report found that military personnel did a better Job during the year of avoiding training and off duty accidents. The number of deaths attributed to illness or disease also declined although the number of suicides Rose slightly. The defense department charted 1,833 deaths in fiscal 1988 from All causes among the roughly 2.1 million men and women on Active duty. That total reflects a continuing trend to Ward falling death rates. The 1,990 figure in Fis Cal 1987 was the lowest total charted at least since fiscal 1977. Consolidated service figures for years prior to 1977 Are not readily available. The latest report consisting of 172 pages of statistics was released thursday. It covers fiscal 1988, or the 12-month period from oct. 1,1987, to sept. 30, 1988, and is entitled worldwide . Active duty military personnel  the report lists five deaths attributed to hos tile action during the year. Three of those deaths involved Navy sailors or officers who were killed in terrorist bombing incidents in Italy Spain and Greece. The other two were Marine aviators killed when their cobra helicopter was shot Down in april during fighting in the persian Gulf. The study found 1,083 service members lost their lives accidentally in fiscal 1988 a decline com pared to the 1,153 reported in fiscal 1987. Deaths attributed to illness or disease also declined with 314 reported in fiscal 1988 compared to 394 the proceeding year. Heart attacks remained the pre dominant cause of illness related death with 214 in fiscal 1988 compared to 249 in fiscal 1987. The latest report charted an increase in the num Ber of suicides among Active duty personnel rising from 247 in fiscal 1987 to 257 last year. The num Ber of homicides remained Static 95 in fiscal 1988 compared to 98 in fiscal 1987