Masonry Magazine June 1967 Page. 18
Cameo I
Cameo II
These all-glass wall units were designed for Pittsburgh Corning Corporation by Peter Muller-Munk Associates, Inc. Each block is 8" x 8" x 4" of clear glass accented by an opaque black pattern. Color is fired-on ceramic frit for permanence, is scratch and abrasive resistant. Sculptured relief surfaces of each pattern are identical on each side. A partial vacuum, hermetically sealed into each unit, has a high insulation value, eliminates surface condensation. Good for environmental control, units reduce sound transmission, actually eliminate dust and air flow from the outside, admit light while providing privacy. Cameo units can be used alone or in combination with other masonry materials.
PITTSBURGH
CCORNING
pc
theWASHINGTONvire...
ANOTHER MAJOR STEP-UP IN SPENDING FOR VIET NAM must be regarded as a likely possibility, one with significant implications for business activity. It is not too much to say that the war may be re-emerging as the dominant force in the economy as it was last year. It is still too early to guess at how big-and stimulative the coming escalation will be. The President seems likely to take his time in disclosing the dimensions of the build-up.
Business must face the prospect of a shift to a war footing. Talk of further widening of the conflict is being heard with increasing intensity in Washington-even at the risk of arousing China. On the other hand, to be sure, peace could come at any time. But that's not the drift at this time.
The U.S. may shortly have to choose between guns and butter. Johnson has resisted this, to keep his domestic program from being scuttled. But he may not be able to put off a fateful decision for many months more. Whether or not war needs get an all-out priority will depend on the degree of escalation.
WASHINGTON IS PLAYING A NUMBERS GAME WITH WAR SPENDING, as in 1966. The estimates of additional expenditures above and beyond the $22 billion in the Budget Johnson drafted last January-cover a broadly varying range. At the minimum, there'll be a rise of $5 billion during the next 12 months. That's the guess of Chairman Stennis of the Senate Preparedness subcommittee. He has all along been the first to call Administration figures inadequate.
At the high end of the scale, you hear $10 billion -even $20 billion to pay for an increase in Viet Nam troops to more than 600,000. Some officials privately feel that outlays could exceed the Budget by $10 billion-an ominous increase.
THE SPENDING HIKES WILL BALLON THE DEFICIT for the next 12 months. The red ink need not go as high as the $25 or $30 billion some have talked. But the figure is bound to top the latest official estimate of $11 billion-itself an increase over the first projection (last January) of $8.1 billion. Knowledgeable experts say $16 or $17 billion is the least that you will see.
Government officials are already worrying about how they can stabilize the economy in the face of the potentially large additional demands for manpower and materials. They wonder whether it will be necessary to tighten credit severely to restrain inflation... or to impose price and wage controls.
THE EXTRA WAR SPENDING WILL BE PILED ON TOP of a civilian economy that will be rebounding briskly by the fourth quarter of the year. Federal government economists feel more sure about the prospects of recovery than ever. To be sure, the indicators still look weak or sluggish. They have not begun to turn up. But there are signs that the factors which brought on the "readjustment" in the first place have just about spent themselves.
The inventory hangover has now been fairly well worked off. While it was in full progress, it was depressing production, employment, and incomes. A return even to modest build-up will spur activity. And note that car sales have perked up.
THE BIG DEFICIT CHANGES THE OUTLOOK FOR TAX INCREASES this session. Congress cannot face a large figure with equanimity-not when the question of supporting the troops in Viet Nam is raised, to force a vote of approval. The White House will make its drive for approval only after it can produce some good business reports. It simply can't ask while signs point downward.
But needed evidence is expected to be in by July or August. That is when Johnson will go all-out to win approval of his request. Officials go out of the way to make it clear that the President wants no repeat of the inflationary price rise and tight money that was so disastrous at the polls in 1966.
CONGRESSIONAL OBSERVERS GIVE THE PRESIDENT CLOSE to an even chance of getting his tax proposals enacted into law. The legislators don't want to be saddled with the blame for inflation, either. There is an increasing feeling that a huge deficit can (Please turn to page 22)