Friday / Weekend Open Line


The often impressive or alarming appearing swings in the New York stock exchange must be kept in perspective. In the long run, the market has made steady advances. Recently closing at over 17,000, it was on this date 42 years ago that the Dow Jones Industrial Average first topped the 1,000 level. Developed by Charles Henry Dow, the index was first published in 1896 with a mark of 40.94. For decades, the index contained mostly stocks in the manufacturing sector. Today, its components reflect a more diverse economy. In 1990, 157 million shares were traded on an average day. Now, that figure is 670 million shares. To help Americans pick their stocks and mutual funds, there are some 15,500 investment advising establishments in the U.S., employing nearly 96,000 people. Profile America is in its 18th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Saturday, November 15th. Many pioneering men and women are being honored as National American Indian Heritage Month continues. One of them is Susan La Flesche, an Omaha Indian from Nebraska, who aspired to become a doctor. Her ambition led her to enroll at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Not only did she graduate in 1889, but did so at the head of her class, becoming the first female American Indian physician. Dr. La Flesche returned home to Nebraska, where she married, raised a family, and built the first Indian hospital in the state. Among adult American Indians and Alaska Natives, over 79 percent have a high school diploma or equivalent. About 14 percent have earned at least a bachelor’s degree in college. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sunday, November 16th. This month in 1883, the ancestor of today’s familiar U.S. time zones first appeared at the initiative of the American Railway Association. A schoolteacher named Charles Dowd is credited with first proposing the notion of time zones as early as 1863, in order to rationalize railroad timetables, there being 80 time standards then in use by localities. There was wide but incomplete acceptance of the railway association’s zones, and the adjusted zones were not made law until 1918. In 1884, delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C. and established a standard system of 24 time zones around the world. Making timepieces is about a $600 million a year business for 121 establishments in the U.S., employing some 2,400 people. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.