Facts & Figures

Green Christmas? Holly, unlike Christmas trees (TIME, Nov. 19) will be scarce and expensive this Christmas in most of the U.S. Reason: late spring frosts and unseasonal rains left trees in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia (which supply most eastern holly) almost devoid of berries. What little holly there is must be shipped from Texas and the Northwest.

Custom-Built Tickets. Standing in line for railroad tickets may soon be a thing of the past. In a matter of seconds, a new machine developed jointly by the National Cash Register Co. and the Southern Railway delivers a ticket freshly printed with destination and price to the customer.

The State Gives. A bill passed by Congress will repeal the U.S. Government's low rates on "land-grant railroads." Under the grants, the Government subsidized southern and western railroad building with 131 million acres of land. In return, the roads gave the Government a 50% reduction in rates for transportation of military supplies and troops. Total Government savings: about $1,160,000,000.

Cheaper Talk. At a Bermuda conference, the U.S. and the British Empire (which control 81% of the world's cables) agreed to new low rates. Starting April 1, rates will drop to 30-c- a word for fast cables, 15-c- for deferred and 10-c- for night. Under some present rates,* this is a whopping cut. New York-London rates, under an agreed 20-c- ceiling, were not affected.

*Examples: New York to South Africa, 50-c- a word; to Somaliland, 83-c-; to Australia, 60-c-; to Singapore, 89-c-.

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