Masonry Magazine March 1975 Page. 24
Cumberland
LOX-ALL
MASONRY WALL
REINFORCEMENT
FOR BEST
MORTAR BOND
Patent Nos. 198,987
and 3,183,628
EXCLUSIVE
LOX-ALL EMBOSSING
Makes the Difference!
The bond with the mortar is what it is all about. Exclusive, patented Lox-All design places the shear stress on the steel and compression on the mortar as it should be for maximum strength.
Lox-All Truss Type, Ladder Type or Tab Type, all available with Tri-Rod, Double Side Rod and Corners and Tees. Sold through stocking local distributors and dealers. Technical services from Cumberland's registered engineers or Specification Sheet on request.
Cumberland
CORPORATION
Post Office Box 1446, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401
Telephone: 615/756-5630
Washington Wire
A few favorable breaks in growing conditions could keep the farm prices coming down.
A MODEST BRAKE HAS BEEN APPLIED TO WAGE GAINS in past months, too. Steadily rising unemployment is having its impact on the demands of unions. More slowly rising prices mean less need for labor to offset the inflation. Some economists think that the inflation rate could fall to 6% by year-end.
GOVERNMENT WILL INTERVENE MORE IN LABOR BARGAINING in months ahead. New Secretary of Labor John Dunlop will be out to moderate the wage spiral. Dunlop will focus hard on improving industrial relations in construction, an area where he has had considerable success during the past year or two. His goal is to remove bargaining from the one-company vs. one-union level-where the small employer has much less bargaining power to a wider arena: Local, regional, national where small wage settlements are more likely.
The Council on Wage and Price Stability will be more active, too. It is very concerned because some industries are not lowering prices, despite the slackening demand for their products brought on by the recession. It plans to examine prices of cans, rubber tires and industrial chemicals. The Council already has an investigation under way on aluminum.
HEALTH INSURANCE FOR LAID-OFF WORKER IS GETTING STUDY in Congress. Legislation would pay the medical insurance premiums for up to a full year after a job loss. The AFL-CIO has thrown its support behind a Senate bill, which would maintain the coverage these workers previously had on the job. Most employers quit paying any premiums within 30 to 90 days after layoff. Labor points out that this is when workers can least afford medical bills.
CONGRESS WILL OUTLAW STATE FAIR-TRADE LAWS this year. They are the measures that allow price maintenance agreements between manufacturers and retailers. A pending bill would repeal Federal statutes that permit these laws. President Ford favors such action. So does Federal Trade. They say it can increase competition and save consumers $3 billion a year. In fact, there is virtually no visible opposition to the repeal legislation.
MANDATORY ALLOCATION OF CREDIT DEFINITELY WON'T BE VOTED this year, despite a major drive by key Democrats in the Congress to push it through. Some pending legislation would force the Federal Reserve to channel loans to specific priority uses and away from speculative and inflationary ones. Capital investment, housing, small business, farming and local governments would be specifically designated for priority treatment in granting credit.
The White House is opposed to credit allocation. It contends this would destroy the flexibility of the monetary system. The Fed would have to check every loan made by every creditor, thereby rendering the plan largely unworkable and unforceable.