William Alling 
Dec. 3., 1994 
William C. Alling, Of Mount Zion, Died Saturday In Wilkes-barre General 
Hospital.

American Public Should Not Be Fooled By Those Who Bad-mouth Gatt 
I Disagree With The Anti-gatt Letter Which Is, In Reality, An Anti-free-trade 
Letter Written By Mike Thomas (nov. 26).

Sunday, December 04, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1F 





Swinging at fastballs in the strike &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I got my annual season-ticket order form in the mail last week from none
other than The New York YankeesThough I've never bought a baseball ticket on
much more than a week's notice, year after year the Yankees keep hoping I will
and keep sending me their full-season brochure. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I admit, in the past, the December mailing has given my kids and me the
chance for some pleasant fantasy. "What if we lived closer to New York?," they
ask. "What if we could afford a season ticket?," I say. "Where would we sit?,"
they ponder. "Where would we park?," I wonder. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This year, with Major League baseball on strike and greedy
multi-millionaire team owners and players seemingly further apart in their
demands than they were in August, no one in my house is in the mood for
fantasy, much less ticket buying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The brochure provided nothing more than a laugh. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In fact, it turned out to be an insulting joke, when we saw the section
that announced ticket prices will go up, as much as 40 percent for some seats,
next year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I stashed that flyer someplace where I'll probably never find it, but I
also realized last week that many local people aren't laughing over the
baseball strike. Instead they're being hurt financially much more than the
fans. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For instance, the approximately 800 local workers at Topps Company Inc.,
who print millions of baseball, football, basketball and hockey trading cards
at a Duryea plant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Topps officials and Teamsters Local 229 agreed in November not to even talk
about raises, benefits or a new contract until next year when baseball and
hockey (the National Hockey League season is stalled now because of a player
lockout) matters are resolved and the trading card business operates under
more normal conditions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the meantime, a Topps spokesman admits the baseball strike has had "a
clear impact on the company." Sales are down and fewer 1995 baseball cards are
being printed, spokesman Marty Appel says. Employment has dropped about 10
percent in Duryea, though Appel blames that on seasonal business fluctuations,
not the baseball strike. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ironically, Topps stockholders, whose shares are trading at $5.875 and very
close to the year's low of $5.50, may get a boost in the midst of the baseball
dispute. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the Wall Street Journal, last week, David Katz of Matrix Asset Advisors,
dubbed Topps a logical takeover candidate for a big company with marketing
muscle like Wrigley, Warner-Lambert or Mattel. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It seems the little guys, in the world of baseball trading cards, are
suffering the most. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the Classic Cards and Collectible shop in West Pittston, owner Bob
Yanalevitch says, "I have a large clientele that collects baseball cards.
Since the strike, they've just lost interest. They couldn't watch it on TV or
see their favorite heroes so they turned away from baseb

Swinging At Fastballs In The Strike I Got My Annual Season-ticket Order Form In The Mail Last Week From None Other Than The New York Yankees.