Masonry Magazine February 1968 Page. 32
Washington Wire
(Continued from page 30). position. Note that fighting was most bitter during the talks over Korea.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE ECONOMY
when the Viet Nam war finally calms down-either by a truce or gradual escalation? The cost to this country would remain high for quite a time, since troops would be withdrawn only slowly and there would probably be a big flow of foreign aid. Nevertheless, there would be a marked easing of demands on industry. Contracts would be stretched out. In the short run, the economy would see a very mild slowing. But after a while, the forecasters say, would come the greatest boom ever seen here.
A PUBLIC CORPORATIΟΝ ΤΟ ΤΑKE OVER
THE POST OFFICE is getting serious study these days by a Presidentially appointed panel. The company would set postal rates and sell bonds to get the equipment that is so badly needed to restore efficiency. The TVA might be used as a model. The proposal will have rough going, if it is made. Unions and heavy mail users will fight it. But it is an idea that will keep coming up until it is finally enacted.
CRIME IN THE STREETS IS SHAPING UP as the
Number One domestic issue of the 1968 political campaign. It could well outrank taxes and inflation. The Republicans have been planning to make it a key plank in their platform. And now the President is seeking to pre-empt the issue, to make it his own and stop the GOP. It is his old tactic of grabbing the middle of the road. Some old political pros feel he may pull it off and pick up a lot of votes.
THE KOREAN FLARE-UP HAS STRENGTHENED Johnson politically, and has given his reelection chances a big boost.
That's because this country was clearly the victim in the Pueblo affair. There is not the hawk-dove split that has divided the country in the case of Viet Nam. As in the past, the voters can be expected to rally to a President against an external threat. Of course, the elections are still many months away. A lot can happen between now and then. Some negative developments can hurt the President's standing. But as of now his stock is rising, and the public opinion polls continue to show it.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY POSSIBLY CHOOSE the next President, because of the three-way race that's now developing.
Third-party candidate George Wallace is given a good chance of picking up several southern states. If neither the Democratic nor Republican candidate wins a clear majority, the issue is thrown to the House. The winner would be a minority President.
AED Elects Waitzman President
The 1968 Executive Committee of Associated Equipment Distributors. From left to right: P. D. Hermann, Executive Director: Fred F. Berry, President of White Star Machinery & Supply Co. in Wichita, Kansas, and Vice President of AED: D. L. Schumacher, President and Treasurer of Flack Equipment Co. in Dayton, Ohio, and Vice President of AED: James W. Waitzman, President of Tractor & Equipment Company, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, and President of AED; J. W. Griffith, President of Minneapolis Equipment Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Senior Vice President and Treasurer of AED; and William M. Young, President of Finning Tractor & Equipment Company, Ltd., Vancouver, B. C., Canada, and Canadian Vice President of the Association, Mr. Young is currently President of the Canadian Association of Equipment Distributors.
Jim W. Waitzman, President of Tractor & Equipment Company, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, has been elected President of Associated Equipment Distributors.
As President of AED, Waitzman will head an industry association serving over 1300 distributors and manufacturers of construction equipment in the United States and Canada.
As a past president of Alabama Equipment Distributors Association and immediate past Senior Vice President of AED, Waitzman enters his term of office with a good deal of valuable experience. He has also served AED as a Regional Director and as Chairman of the Association's Used Equipment Committee.
masonry
• February, 1968