Page Two
FHE MICHIGAN DAILY
Wednesday, July 13, 1977
Consumers purchasing down in June
WASHINGTON (A - Con-
sumer purchasing declined in
June for the third consecutive
month, the Commerce Depart-
ment reported yesterday in the
most serious signal yet that the
economy may be headed for a
significant slowdown in months
ahead.
While it may be only a coin-
cidence, the slowdown in con-
sumer buying started in April
almost simultaneously with
President Carter's decision to
withdraw his proposal for a
$50 tax rebate for every Amer-
ican. That decision was an-
nounced on April 14.
THE COMMERCE Depart-
ment estimated total retail
sales in June at $59.233 billion,
down very slightly from the
May total of $59.247 billion.
The decline in dollar terms
was less than one-tenth of one
STEVE'S LUNCH
1313 S. UNIVERSITY 769-2288
COME FOR:
Vegetable lempura Sweet & Sour
Korean Bar-B-Q Dinner Beef Dinner
(Bul-go-gee) Fresh Bean Sprouts
Mandoo (Kyoza) Plate Brown Rice
WE TAKE CARRY-OUT ORDERS
per cent. But since the sales
figures are not adjusted for in-
flation, the decline in consumer
buying in real terms was pro-
bably significantly greater. The
June decline in retail sales fol-
lowed a three-tenths of one per
cent decline in May and a drop
of one-tenth of one per cent in
April.
Prior to April, retail sales
had increased at a substantial
pace during the previous two
months after Carter took office
and announced his tax rebate
proposal.
AT THE time Carter with-
drew histax rebate, several
prominent administration of-
ficials, including Secretary of
Labor Ray Marshall, had said
consumers may have been
spending their rebates in ad-
vance and could be left with
empty pockets if they did not
get them.
Combined with other recent
unfavorable economic statistics,
including a rise in unemploy-
ment in June to 7.1 per cent
and the first decline in several
months in the government's
index of economic indicators,
the sage inretail sales may add
to fears the economy is enter-
ing another slowdown, similar
to the severe economic pause
in mid-1976.
However, Carter administra-
tion officialshave expressed
confidence that while the econo-
my will slow somewhat from
tbe seven per cent growth pace
of the first half of the year, it
still will grow at a healthy rate
for the remainder of 1977.
THE COMMERCE Depart-
ment said in its June sales re-
port that sales in both durable
and nondurable goods were vir-
tually unchanged from May,
Durable sales totalled $20.033
billion, compared with May's
$20.073 billion, and nondurable
sales totalled $39.2 billion, com-
pared with May's $39.174 bil-
Wanted!
peop1e who can:
lion.
Sales of autos and auto parts
increased slightly in June to
$11.993 billion, up from $11.959
billion in May, but still was be-
low the April total of $12171
billion.
The sharpest decline in sales
in June occurred for building
materials, hardware and farm
equipment, with sales falling
three per cent to $3.555 billion,
down from $3.66 billion in May.
FDA
finds
'Laetrile
ineffective
WASHINGTON UP) - A gov-
ernment review of evidence on
the substance Laetrile shows
beyond serious question" it is-
ineffective against cancer.
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) Commissioner Dr. Don-
ald Keniedy said yesterday..
Kennedy told a Senate health
subcommittee that the over-
whelming majority of research-
ers agree Laetrile is 'of un-
proven safety and of no effec-
tiveness whatsoever."
T H E COMMISSIONER also
rejected the idea that cancer
patients should be able to $se
Laetrile if they wish.
"I think it is a deplorable
suggestion that this govern-
ment should, on the falsely ap-
plied issue of freedom of
choice, stand aside and allow
patients and family to be ex-
ploited by the purveyors of a
therapy that is of unproven
merit and even of uncertain
identity."
He said Laetrile, derived
from apricot pits; can be made
up of several compounds.
IN ANOTHER development,
two researchers in Ohio said
tests conducted on mice for the
American Cancer Institute
showed that Laetrile had no ef-
fect on cancer.
"The drug had no effect on
the growth of the, tumors," said
David Houchens, coprincipal in-
vestigator with Dr. Artemio
Ovejera of the Battelle Labora-
tories in Columbus. Houchens
said. "It was neither positive
nor negative. We saw no tox-
icity. I would have to say in
this particular test system, the
drug is not effective under
standard testing procedures."
"But this certainly does not
say it would not work in some
tumor in some other system,"
he said.
J.aetrile is available in some
other countries, primarily in
Mexico, and 11 states have act-
ed to legalize its use within
their own boundaries.
THE MICHIGAN DILY
Volume LXXxvi. No. 42-s
Wednesday, July 13, 1977
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