Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 December 1948 — Page 25
Sets, 298 Sets, 249
ara embroidery,
Sets, 4.49
8'to a set: ES
4.95 249 e.
s, 249
Jolid colors,
UDIO
a V5 Va Off
te, some soiled,
Albums, 240
GS
Shags, 6.95 4.95 3.95 2.95 $1 enilles, $3-%$5
lark blue, rose
PRK
a % % oft
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the Annex
5.98
en and women,
tes, 15.98 70.98 ons Id a set,
ES
1.59 yd. ts and stripes,
* wide. $1 yd.
vers, draperies
Section’ Three
Twelve Pages
Hi
Faclories Hold Job Levels;
Expansion Problems Faced By HAROLD HARTLEY, Times ness Editor As Indianapolis prepares to give Old Man 1948 a yank on his snowy beard and send him to his happy haunting ground, citizens are glancing back over their shoul‘ders, taking inventory of community gains and losses, and first-guessing 1949. At the turn of the year Indianapolis is blessed with plenty of jobs and prospects of more jobs. This is more than many other cities can say. Our expanded factories and. warehouses are holding postwar employment levels. In the clock and textile belts of New England, for instance, and in the dynamic industrial bee hives of the Middlewest there has been a noticeable and disturbing slow down.
¢ 4 9»
RETAILING, down slightly but less here than elsewhere, staged a spirited comeback in the first weeks of December. Aggressive merchants breathed a sigh of relief when they closed their doors on Christmas Eve: Most of them had done better than they expected. Christmas left
inventories relatively high but not too bad in proportion to sales.
January is expected to-bring attractive sales for quality merchandise. Merchants-are trying harder than anyone else to get prices down. They are restraining buying, delaying deliveries to force manufacturers into lower price levels. These they will pass on to the public in a highly competitive market.
Full employment is the Indianapolis secret. It does not fluctuate gs much as the peak and
valley towns. The reasori is that Indiana's economy is farm-rooted. So long as people must .
eat, there will be a steady flow of dollars into the pockets of Hoosier corn, cattle and wheat growers. This alone asajires Hoosiers of sieady
jobs -in-1949. - * % re
THE EARLY December employment level in factories in Indianapolis was 105,000. There will be a little post-holiday lag, but the projected demand for workers shows another all-time high around Mar. 1. Present “soft spots” are in clothing, hard goods, such as castings, etc.
* nis year saw the edge taken off the housing problem. By early fall the demand for middle class and luxury homes ($20,000 and up) began to decline. But there still is a fabulous market
for economy homes, at the edge of town with
lawns and garden space. -
Marion County Residential Retailers report that there have been approximately 4000 new dwelling units added in 1948.
Builders are gearing themselves for the small home market. Look for an upswing in the home which can be bought on a $50 a week salary.
* The Meadowbrook Apartments made a dent in the housing backlog. Shortly after the first of the year, it will begin to fill and by early
Bg ndianapolis
MEADOWBROOK:
’
A Preview
1 Work and wages: There will be plenty of both in 1949 with a spirited pickup in employment projected for the first of March. 7) Building. The $150 million industrial 4 expansion program will move’ toward completion. Housing will direct its efforts toward the “economy home,” tapping the tremendous untouched market for small utility dwellings from $4500 to $6000. 3 Prices. Steadily lower throughout the year in all lines. The reason: Supply is ‘close on the heels of demand, and in some fields has run ahead. Civic development. Some in 1949 but not much based on the achievement record of 1948. The same old problems traffic, parking, smoke, sewers—may still be in the talk stages in 1950. 5 ‘What kind of year? Nineteen hundred forty-nine will be-a back-to-normal year with the last phases of the war-tuned economy wearing off. Rent controls are likely to remain, but economists see little need for other restraints.
summer Meadowbrook will have absorbed some 700 families from the city’s home hunters, Sela a 5 WINDSOR VILLAGE, the largest single housing development in the state, is filling fast. It will take another bite out of the housing shortage. By the end of the year most of the city should be comfortably housed dnd real estate priced should be drifting back to normal, To list the number of businesses which have expanded including all of the smaller ones would - probably fill this page- Manufacturers,
{
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 194¢ 1048
Makes dentin housing.
“nomenal growth as a distributing center. The
Harding and 16th St. district is an ‘example of the high appraisal manufacturers put on the rich Indiana market.—Good rail and highway
"transportation, plus no other nearby big markets,
provide the reason.
Another encouraging step forward taken dur-
ing the year was the beginning of the slum elimination in Project A just west of Northwestern Ave. Soon will follow Project B . the west end of the Washington St. bridge. In time these disease and crime breeding blights will become attractive dwelling, park and industrial sites. Look for progress along this line in 1949. $ TTT
THE NEW YEAR will bring a few moss-cov-ered problems. And a few new ones. These are issues which have lingered in the
utilities and retailers all poured some $150 million into better physical plants. This means more permanent jobs. Indianapolis: has been undergoing a phe-
talk stages for several years. There are plenty of suggestions, but no decisions. And there may be none. in 1949 unless administrative leaders
Picture Story By VICTOR PETERSO There is an air of fantasy about a carnival. It is an unreal world filled with glittering geegaws and plaster gimcracks. The Kewpie doll, Snow White or Donald Duck that the hawker hands you next Summer when he fails to guess your weight may have been made here. many as 15 colors are used. It means a lot
of painting for more than 100,000 casts are turned out a year from some 50 different
THERE ARE several coriterns here which manufacture plaster models for the traveling show trade. Among them is the Indianapolis Statuary Co. 1549 M ison EE Ave Antonio Guerrini, the ‘owner, '{ native of Italy who..came. ore ny 19: work at the trade. It is hard to believe that the brightly colored finished product has such a humble “beginning. Water and plaster. of paris form the flesh and bone. It is all hand work exw For those who prefer something a bit cept for painting*which is done with a spray] more arty, Mr, Guerrini has imported several gun. original statues from his native Italy. These * o ¢ usually are very decorative and are more THE PAINTER never resorts to a brush difficult to reproduce because of the fine line even for the finest line. On some models as construction.
=WPIE DOLL
crack with plain lines but plenty of color,
inches, the largest being a Spitz dog. This mold has’ been in operation since 1921,
: Over: the years Mr. Guerrini has. found: «that Americans. prefer a medium sized gim-- =~
INDIANAPOLIS SECRET:
DB ; ‘ rarking meters slow in arriving.
think them through, get the best answers possible, and then act. ii * © 9 TRAFFIC. It is'still bad and is getting no better. We approach one-way streets timidly, afraid some individual or group will- object. It is not a matter of cost. It is simply deciding
on the best possible plan, then putting it on trial.
PARKING. There isn't any place to park downtown unless you are fortunate enough to get into a parking lot where you pay the newly hiked rates of the parking lot’ owners. This is an old problem which downtown. merchants will not let the city forget. What they need is off-street parking with municipal help. There have been plenty of plans. :
+ & ¢
PARKING METERS. Before the end of 1949 parking meters, probably of the one cent for 12 minutes type, will be a common sight in the
mile circle. But these have been slow in coming.
And they may not produce much revenue, the
His models range in size from nine to 20
- Politics .... 2 World Report 27 Movies 5 deni 34 §
HRY
reason being that too many curbs downtown are painted yellow. Look around the parking
lota, erry sof
SMOKE. The hide is pretty well scuffed on this political pigskin. It is purely a talk-maker with no sign of action, Smoke control proponents ask only that the city have an ordinance and that it be enforced. Getting both in Indisnapatia seems virtually impgssible. ' * & @
SEWERS. Our sewer program is behind
schedule. It has been snagged with “ifs” and
“ands” to a molasses pace. Again it is the case of doing something, quickly. ¢ &
STREET ‘REPAIR. They are better than at the beginning of the year but there still is plenty of room for the filling of chuck holes, especially in the industrial districts of the East Side. = * ¢ @
STREET MARKING. This has not improved. Hundreds of streets either are not marked or their markers are not legible. If it is a matter.
of cost, maybe citizens will take up-a collection.
80 they can find their way around. * & ¢
ANNEXATION. This is a yes-and-no probe lem. The city can hardly afford to take In adjacent unincorporated areas yet for complete co-ordination, it is desirable. It is something to work out in 1949. As yet, there seems to be no fixed program. : *® o SYMPHONY. We are likely to lose it this year unless the city Bi its share. And there is some doubt that this quality advertising medium for the community will continue to be supported municipally. , ® ¢ :
AND THERE wa draw & line under the — = =
town, this year and next. There are other things which need sttention, but these stand out boldly In a community where the dynamics of its industry and business have far outstripped civic progress. 1949 ‘may bring the town up to ty RSetmospte level—and it may not. 3