European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday january 27, 1991 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9for first time in 5 years from wire reports Washington a the nations economic growth declined 2.1 percent in the fourth Quarter of last year the first drop in nearly five years and the largest decline since the recession of 1982, the Commerce department said Friday. Economists saw the decline from october through december As confirm mat Ion of at least a moderate recession with what one termed Quot a list of risks. A mile  a a a a. A a a. A a. A a Ait was the biggest Gnu drop since the Depths of the 1981-82 recession and primarily attributable to a huge $21billion falloff in consumer spending. Worried about the state of the Economy and the situation in the Middle East americans Cut Back purchases of everything from autos to groceries. Quot the Bush administration blamed Saddam Hussein s aug. 2 invasion of Iraq for the slump and maintained the country would suffer Only two quarters of negative Gnu growth. V a Quot a a a a a a a a that would make the current recession Shorter than the 11-month average of the eight previous downturns since the end of world War ii. A a barring a major turn for the worse in the persian Gulf Odds Are that the recession should be relatively Brief in magnitude and duration a said Commerce undersecretary Michael Darby. Darby said the administration is pinning its Hopes for a Quick recovery on continued Strong demand for . Exports a relatively Low level of unsold business invent lories and the Hope the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates because inflationary pressures Are easing. However private analysts were not nearly As certain the country would be out of a recession soon. They said that even if the persian Gulf War docs end quickly there Are other factors such As the problems with the com try a financial system which Are dragging Down growth. A from the Gnu report the Economy looks to be in a moderate recession but the list of risks is a mile Long a said Allen Sinai chief economist of the Boston co. A the jury is still out on when and How the recovery will  Bush Gorbachev Summit Likely to be postponed strikers disband Lee Patterson of Forest Park ga., right helps Clear out Eastern airlines machinists strike Headquarters. The Headquarters was located in College Park ga., near Flats Field International Airport in Atlanta. The machinists ended their 22-month-old walkout last week when the airline shutdown. By the new York times Washington a Bush administration officials said the United states intended to inform the soviet Union on saturday that Washington wants to a postponed indefinitely the Summit meeting scheduled Early next month Between president Bush and president Mikhail s. Gorbachev. The soviet foreign minister Aleksandr a. Bessmer Nyoh was scheduled to meet in Washington on saturday with Secretary of state James a. Baker 111. A senior administration official said that unless Bessmer Nyoh brings a startling and convincing new message about a changed soviet policy for the Baltic republics or possibly concessions that will allow the uncompleted negotiations for a treaty limiting Long Range nuclear weapons to be concluded he will be told the administration wants to postpone the Summit meeting scheduled for feb. 11-13. A unless Bessmer Nyoh pulls a Rabbit out of a hat the plan is to postpone a a senior administration official said. One reason that . Officials in recent Days have indicated that they Are inclined to postpone the Summit May be the Hope that this signal would induce the soviets to break the deadlock in the negotiations for a strategic arms reduction treaty known As Start. V Bush and Gorbachev had hoped to sign a strategic arms reduction treaty at the february Summit. But the two sides have been unable to resolve highly technical disputes Over How to verify certain aspects of the treaty. If Bush could say he was going to Moscow to sign a treaty that would slash Long Range nuclear arsenals by 30 percent it would be much easier for him to justify the meeting despite the violence in the Baltic. A a a a. But even if such a treaty is possible the Summit would still be in jeopardy officials said. A a a a it a not Only the. Baltic that s a problem a an administration official said. A it is also the idea of the president being in Moscow for three Days in the Middle of a  a a. A a. A a formal announcement about the Fate of the Summit is expected monday after Bessmer Nyoh meets with Bush at the White  a cancellation would almost certainly be presented As a a Mutual decision a in Hopes of lessening the embarrassment and Domestic political damage to Gorbachev. A a a in a Brief news conference Friday Bush declined to commit himself but he gave the most downbeat Public assessment yet about the prospects for a Summit meeting in the Wake of the recent killing of 9 pro Independence demonstrators by soviet troops in Latvia arid Lithuania by the los Angeles times six of the nations 10 largest cities Are now West of the Mississippi River and most of the 29 cities to reach a population of 100,000 in this decade Are California suburbs according to final 1990 census data released Friday. With the news that the country a Westward shift has enlarged the suburbs and shuffled the roster of major cities the census Bureau also confirmed for the first time that los Angeles is the nations second largest City. The City s population Rose to nearly 3.5 million an increase of about 500,000 from 1980, Chicago which had been no. 2, was among several cities in the East and Midwest to lose population. Chicago slipped below 3 million people for the first time since the 1930 census. In the past 40 years Chicago has lost 837,000 people a 23 percent of its populace. New York meanwhile remained no. 1 and grew by a Quarter million people to 7.3 million reversing a decline that began in the 1970s. The trend toward population loss plagued Many older cities in the East and Midwest in the 1980s, but not in the Sunbelt West. Houston edged past Philadelphia to become the fourth biggest City. San Diego jumped to sixth place in this census Fol Lowed by Detroit Dallas Phoenix arid san Antonio. Baltimore which had been in 10th place slipped off the list. Fridays figures were the last in a series of three initial reports on the 1990 census. Details on ethnic minorities education and other facets of the population will Corne later. The populations of the states were announced earlier. In fridays numbers the fastest growling american City of 100,000 or More was Mesa ariz., a suburb of Phoenix that swelled by 89 percent in the 1980s. But in California 42 smaller towns and cities saw faster growth and 18 places in the state crossed the 100,000 threshold to qualify As medium sized . Cities. At the end of the decade 195 . Cities were Home to More than 100,000 peo pie. Some Are so new that they were not incorporated before the 1980 census. Most do not resemble cities of the past. There is usually no main Street but almost invariably a freeway at the heart of the City. Sometimes there Are no department stores or shopping malls and often no ethnic minority neighbourhoods. A people Hope to leave behind them the strains and stresses of Urban life the problems of pollution the problems of traffic a said Alan Heslop professor of government at Claremont Mckenna College in California.. Cities listed Are the 20 largest cities according to the 1990 census. 1990 change 1990 change 1. New York 7,322,564 3.6 11. San Jose 782,248 22.2 2. Los Angeles 3,485,398 17.4 12. Indianapolis 741,952 5,8 3. Chicago 2,783,726 �?�7.4 13. Baltimore 736,014 -6.4 4, Houston 1.630,553 .8 14. San Francisco 723,959 6.6 5, Philadelphia 1,585,577 -6.1. 15. Jacksonville a 672,971 24.4 6. San Diego 1,110,549 26.8 16. Columbus 632,910 12.0 7. Detroit 1,027,974 -14.6 17. Milwaukee 628,088 -1.3 8. Dallas a 1,006,877 11.2 18. Memphis. 610,337 -5.5 9. Phoenix 983,403 24.4 19. Washington 606,900 -4.9 10. San Antonio. 935,933 15.1 20. Boston 574,283 2.0 source. . Census Bureau but unlike the Story of american suburbanization in the 1950s, the experience of the past decade May have proved disappointing he said. A people found that the traffic was following them and the growth began to present them with Many of the problems they thought they a left  four of the nation s new mid sized cities Are in Texas. Laredo on the Mexico ass Susan Harris Border reflects the huge influx of latino immigrants into the United states during the past decade. Two others Mesquite and Plano Are suburbs of Dallas. The fourth is Abilene. Two of the new mid sized cities a Scottsdale and Glendale a Are suburbs of Phoenix. Two other new 100,000-plus club members Are state capitals Salem ore., and Tallahassee. Ida