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UNITED PRESS 1 NEWS - -BRIEFS Cost of Living at All-Time High WASHINGTON, D. a, May 23. The cost of living, which started back on the upward trend in March, now may have hit an all-time high, government economists said today. The Labor Departments bureau of labor statistics reported yesterday that its consumer price index rose about one-half of one per cent between mid-March and mid-April to put the price barometer only two-tenths of one per cent below the record mark set last January. Ridgway Says Reds Put on Defensive WASHINGTON, D. C, May 23. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway asserted today that the Communists have been forced on the defensive by "the growing strength and determination of .the free world." The former Far Eastern commander, who on May 30 will become chief of Western European defense forces, said that Communist propaganda has hit "a new pitch of hysteria and vulgarity" because the free world is frustrating their designs. Negotiators to Take 3-Day Recess PANMUNJOM, Korea, May 23. Deadlocked Korean armistice negotiators decided at a heated session today to take a three-day recess. The United Nations proposed the recess to give the Communists a chance to "consider our position." The Reds angrily agreed to the break. Ask Removal of Price, Wage Controls The American Farm Bureau Federation said here yesterday it will recommend to both the Democratic and Republican national conventions a platform calling for removal of price and wage controls. Acheson Arrives in Germany BONN, Germany, May 23. U. S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson arrived today for a western big three foreign ministers meeting and the signing of a separate peace treaty with Western Germany in defiance of Russia. Weinberg Indicted for Perjury WASHINGTON, D. C, May 23. Dr. Joseph W. Weinberg, the "scientist X" accused by a House committee of divulging atomic secrets for relay to Russia, was indicted on perjury charges today for denying he was a Communist. Weinberg, wartime physicist at the radiation laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley, was ousted from the University of Minnesota faculty a year ago. Aussies to Join Yanks on Koje Island KOJE ISLAND, Korea, May 23. Australian infantrymen were ordered to Koje Island today to join American paratroopers in getting "uncontested control" of prisoners of war who still taunt their guards with flags and signs of defiance. The army did not disclose how many of the British commonwealth soldiers were moving to Koje. Turn Back Railroads to Private Ownership WASHINGTON, D. C May 23. The Army today turned management of the railroads back to private, ownership, effective at 4 p. m., thus ended 21 months of I I ! nominal Army possession, control and operation of the major rail systems of the United States. Allied Bombers Blast Red War Factories SEOUL, Korea, May 23. Swarms o: Allied fighter-bombers struck Communis war factories near the North Korean capi tal of Pyongyang today in the climax of j two-day attack that probably was the big gest air assault of the Korean war. Amer ican and Australian war planes, flying da; and night after the opening blow at dawi Thursday .smashed at least 305 building and damaged 151 others.
