Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              ''
Wyoming Valley This is IT.
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
The Weather
Today scattered  nhowera. Tomorrow  acattered  ahoweni
43RD YEAR, NO. U-^8 PAGES
UNITED    PRE8S Wire  New. etenrlra
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 1949
PRICE TWELVE CENTS
, Western Extension; * Let Contracts in July
For Eastern End;
Banner Revenue Year
Harrisbuig, June 18. (UP)—Gov. James H. Duff today disclosed the route for the 66.7-mile western ex¬ tension of the Pennsylvania Turn¬ pike and announced that the pres¬ ent 161-mile toll road has juat com¬ pleted Its banner revenue year.
Duff said construction of the ex¬ tension would "definitely get under way thla fall." He said that traflSc count estimates were "even better" than those for the 100-mile eastern extension now under construction. "So there will be no financial prob¬ lem."
The first aection scheduled for construction extends from Irwin, western terminus of the present .no.OOCOOO turnpike, to Monroeville. The lower end of the extension will be given construction priority to afford faster alleviation of the traf- fi<- problem in the populous Pltts- hurgh metropolitan area. Tn I..et Eawtem Contracta
The Governor said that all con¬ tracts for the $87,000,000 eastern extension, from Middlesex to King of Prussia, would be let by July 15 and "actual work on every segment will   be  under  way by  Aug.  1."
Duff disclosed that the state liighwa.vs department will award contracts In the fall for a road link down the Schuylkill River from the eastern extension terminus of the turnpike at King of Prussia to the Philadelptoia city line.
Duff said no estimate was avail¬ able as yet on the cost of the w'estern extension. It will extend in a northwesterly direction from Irwin to the Ohio line oipposlte Petersburg, O., 10 miles south of the eastern boundary of Youngs¬ town, O.
Passes Pittsburgh
Blazing Drought Costing Millions in Crop Losses
Dry-Ice Rainsform Created in County But Misses Target
Boston, June 18. (UP)—Death tolls climbed, millions ot dollars worth of crops withered and fire endangered parched foresta in the northeastern United States and parU of Canada today afte^ three scorching weeks without rain.
Hardest hiSin the record June drought waa New England, where 37 deaths were attributed to the heat and a crop loaa of $45,000,000 waa foreseen If the Weather Bureau'a prediction of conUnued dryness proves correct.
In New York state, rainless for, ~-
2.3 days, the drought was reported! to have caused $500,000 damage to. crops In the past week.
Jusf Won't Rain on Valley Gardens
"Worst drought in years," says Stanley Moslowski, still waiting for rain after almost two weeks of hoping he doesn't lose his precious community garden crops down along the Wilkcs-Barre Connecting Railroad In the Firwood section of the city. Story on Within City Limita, Page A-16. ,
$100,000 Additions for Valley's Naval Armory
Will Augment Main Building to Meet Expanding Program, Provide Carage And Storage Space for Equipment
Plans for the construction of an addition to the U. S. Naval Training Center and the building of a garage near the structure at the corner of Mercer avenue and Bennett street in Kingston were announced here yesterday by Lt John F, Kenny, Inspector-instructor in this region for the Fourth Naval District, and Lt. CJmdr. Joseph E. Fay, commanding officer of Battalion 18.
Nearly $100,000 will be spent for the erection of the two new structures, according to specifications released by the Fourth Naval ! District and the U. S. Navy. listrative building which  runs par-
The extension will pass cast andj    Navy   officials   explain   that   the:allel to Mercer avenue.
north of Pittsburgh from a distance I addition to the Naval Training Cen- nf    about   10  miles,  spanning    the tgr  wm   extend  along  the   preaent
Allegheny River between Oakmont and New Kensington. The aecond major bridge link will be across the Beaver River at Hotjiewood.
Six  clover-leaf   Interchanges   are nroposed  to  handle  traffic  to  and
structure on the Bennett street side. Another extension is pleinned for the front of the Naval Training Center, along Mercer avenue to¬ ward Bennett street to house addi» I tional  administrative offices.
! 
from major highways traversed by.
the   extension.    The    interchanges I^"' Expanding Progrnm
will be on U. R. 22 due east of Pitts-i    The   new   wing  Vill   be   40   feet
burgh. Traffic Route 28 above Oak-1 and 100 feet long, and will be front-
mont.   Traffic   Route   8    at     Upper ed   by  the   new  administrative  ex-
Talley Cave.v,  Traffic  Route  19  at tension  which  will  be  21   feet  by
Thorn Hill, Traflic    Route    18    at 51   feet.
yet
Homewood Ohio line.
Toll   charges   have   not    as heen   adopted / for  the  eastern   ex¬ tension. Tolls on the present seven- tunhel  route  range  from  $1.50  ''"'jcnpcini an automobile to $10 for the largest'' '^ class of truck over the full 161-mile span   of   divided   four-lane
The garage will be erected In the northeast portion of the Naval Training Center lot toward Duplan Silk Mill. It will be 30x45 feet and will be of cinder block construc¬ tion. The garage will house all ve j hides used by the Naval Training Center in addition to providing storage lockers for paint and other 'equipment I Other plans for improvement of Uhe Naval Training Center include . the extension of the parking lot around the rear of the building and an entrance from Bennett street.
To save their crops from the drought, Zaner Brothers, who op¬ erate live largp farms in Nesco¬ peck, sent an airplane up with 800 pounds of drj- ice to try the latest method of making rain. It worked, but the rain that waa created missed the Zaner farms, falling Instead on Berwick.
Tlie plane went up to 5.000 feet with ice obtained in Harrisburg earlier In the afternoon and found favorable clouds late yesterday aftemoon.
"It was wonderful," Pilot Joe Bower reported last night. "We hit a big cloud and got rain in about three minutes. It started to fall at 6 oclock in the even¬ ing." Hie rain lasted several hours. But it missed the Zaner farms.
Pilot Joe added: "We got a swell shower in Berwick. Too b^d it missed the Zaner Brothers farm. We'll try again on Sunday and hope to get a nice shower for Zaner. This was my flrst ex¬ periment in rain making and I feel it waa very successful. We could have done better If we had ¦ome good clouds to work on."
Luzeme county is suffering as much from thn drought as other parta of the state, J. D. Hutchi¬ son, county farm agent, reported yesterday.
"We need lain badly," he de¬ clared, "because the region's strawberry and raspberry crops am suffering. Grans and hay aro quite short. Wheat is at a criti¬ cal stage. Things are growing, but not an they Rhould. We need a couple days of rain."
And Butte Gets 4 Inches of Snow
Butte, Mont., June 18. (UP)— An unseasonable June snowfall melted off the streets and green vegetation,of mlle-hlgh Butte to¬ day, aa the sun broke through a stormy overcast that had lain a four-inch .mantle of white over the city.
But before tha anow began to drip away and fall In larga chunks from eavea and gutters of the city's houaea, the city pre¬ sented a .spectacularly beautiful picture. Green trees, shrubs and hedges were covered with the white blanket. Brilliant early summer flowera were back-drop¬ ped by the white covering of the  gardens.
Snow in the mountains north of Butte temporarily closed the Butte-Helena highway. On steep Boulder Hill, 17 Inches of snow was reported iand 12 inches blocked the highway for several hours over MacDonald Pasa be¬ tween Helena and Missoula.
tants nicknamed Ottawa "Hotta- wa."
New England Hard Hit
The Weather Bureau at Boston said the widespread drought waa "particularly bad" in New England, where the parching sun brought the prospect of a fall milk shortage, higher vegetable prices and the ria- ing menace of forest fires.
Scattered showera fell in aectlona of western New England and more were predicted for the reat o* the .six-state area tomorrow, but the Weather Bureau said they were far too light to penetrate the sun-baked ! earth.
I Farmers, desperately harrowing Itheir soli in search of moisture, said the showers merely served to
the entire section surrounding the sides and front of the training center will be completely land¬ scaped when the new structures are completed.
Bids already have been solicited for the new buildinga, Navy offi¬ cials stated.
EXPECTANOTHER E
E
T
and another at the ^his part of the project is planned to provide additional training quarters for the rapidly expanding program of Battalion 18, Navy officials explained yesterday, type classrooms and a large locker room are Included in t..«i„"'Uhe plans for the new wing. The «ay. The time saved travelling locker room will be 42 by 36 feet that distance over moderate grades If/"! ^''" '"', 1°=^'^' '" ^^^ '^^' »' and curvea ranges from two to aix '"^ "^"^ ^'"^• Jiours. The new addition to the training
Earned  $H,SSU,000 center will be of cinder block con-
The Oivcrnor said turnpike reve-.struction.    The    three    structures nue   during   the   fiscal   year   ended .which   make   up   the   prijsent   ar- June    t    was    $6,330,148~the    best rangement are of  the quonset hut, 'Continued   on   Page  A-2) type,   extending   from   the   admin-1
873,867 Sfaie Children \ Got Health Examinations
Harribburg, June 18. (UP)—The, in dental care. The department j state health department reported j said 32,439 children had dental de- today that 873,867 Pennsylvania jfeets corrected during the first school children were given com- three months of the school year. I plete medical and dental examin- Over that period immunization! ations during the 1948-49 school treatment for communicable dis-1 year eases were provided  thus: P*'^' three-months postponement of
.Sbite    He«lth    Secretarv    Norris      Diphtheria,  82,036;   scarlet  fever, fi"   52.5,000,000   a   year   rate   boost W   Vaux  said   m-Sna^^^  rcpor s119.'»32;    tetanus.    16,580;    whooping asked by the Bell Telephone Co. of indic'lte^l.rt''rei:i'^Ul'rfLtX;'ei cough. 34,416   and typhoid, 4245.      ^^^'^f/^^^ ^""^p*^,^^^^^^^^ decreased from flve to 15 ner cent I    The  department   chief  said   only      the failure of Public Utility Com¬ in  chUdren  oT school  age '26,100 children of school age in the;™'s5>on attorneys to complete cross- cmiaren  of  school  age. , ^^^^   ^^^^   ^^^   examined   during|Mammation of Bell witnesses yes- "This shows that progress is be-ltho year.   These missed the checks ]'erday raised the  possibility    that Ing made  in  the corrective service because   they   were    absent    from hearings into the increase may not part of the department  program," elas.ses at  the  time of the exam- ^^ finished In time for the PUC to Vaux said. inations.     During   the   year   1,993!reach   a   decision   in   the   case   by The heaviest  part  of  the  health! doctors,   1,500   dentists    and    l,.S74|JuIy 21, when the rates are sched- Program  in the public schools was i nurses were engaged in the work,   [uled to take effect.
.—^  Already  Postponed
The rates, originally filed to take effect Jan, 21, were postponed for .six months by the commission pending Its investigation.
To  the north,  a Canadian   heat j draw crop roota toward the surface Navy officials explain thatlwave waa being blamed for $100,-1where  the  aun  threatened  to  kill
000,000 in crop losses and tempera-1 them.
tures were so high rueful inhabi- (Continued  on Page A-2)
Czec/i Arc/ibis/iop Tells People Not to Believe 'Confessions HeM ay Make
May Not Complete Hearings In Time; PUC to Act
Harrisburg,   June   18,   (UP)
lie Has Plenty
Lock Haven T other of theY ear Says Modern Kids Need only Discipline
Lock Haven, Pa., June 18 (UFi Tho American "Father of the Year" said today there's nothing wrong with tfie younger generation that » little old-fashioned discipline wouldn't cure.
William   Casper   Peter  ought   to He  has  18 children  and
know.
many grandchildren and great- Krandchlldren that he often meets thetn on the street without recog- "'2ing them.
"The omy way I know some of wem ig when thev say 'Hi Grand- POP'" he admitted.
The 79-year-old farmer, chosen by the National Father's Day Com- j to be obeyed. They were. mittee for the 1949 award as the feather of the Year," always in¬ sisted that his children "obey the letter of the law." HIamos Modern Parents
The   trouble   nowadays,    "Uncle
Billy" thinks, is that parenU don't expect their children to obey and can'i be bothered  to correct them.
Peter never had trouble with his 18-or with any of his 140 grand¬ children or great - grandchildren who live within a radius of 25 soi miles from his home and gather each July for a big family reunion.
"I have always Uked kids around mc," he said with a twinkle In his blue eye.s. "They never bothered me —and I made 'em mind."
He laid down a set of rules In the home, he said, explained them to the children, and expected them
Prague, Czechoslovakia, June 18 (UP)—Archbishop Josef Beran ap¬ pealed tonight to his Catholic fol¬ lowers In Commimist-ruled Czecho¬ slovakia not to believe any "confes¬ sions" he might make in the future.
His words, recalling a similar plea by Josef Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary before he was tried and imprisoned for life, touched off one of the most spontaneous dem¬ onstrations seen here since the (Tiommunista took over.
The 64-year-old Catholic arch¬ bishop spoke to his followers from the pulpit of the chapel of the Stahov Monastery a few minutes after he left his palace where Czech secret police still stood guard. "BeUeve in Me"
In tones unusually fervent for him he said:
"Perhaps very soon you will hear all sorts of thinga concerning me from the radio. You may hear that I have made confessions or other things. I hope you will believe in me."
He also warned his followers:
"One day if you learn about the conclusion of an agreement be¬ tween church and state, you should know that I would never conclude an agreement which would infringe
"Nobody ahall force me to do that.
"No true Catholic can exist where the bishopa are not in the church.
"There are Judases whom even the love of Christ cannot deter from  treason.
"Not all whose namea are pub¬ lished In the newspapers ara really In agreement with what ia being done—many are not even aware of what has been done." Branda New Conunittee
This statement referred to clalma of the Prague press during the past week of growing aupport for the new government-sponsored "Catho¬ lic Action Committee." Several himdred priests have been listed in the press. «
Women sobbed aof tly in their pews as he spoke.
After the service commenorating the feast of Corpus Chrlstl the archbishop left to get into his car.
The congregation crowded around blm and shouted:
"We won't let you be taken! We won't give you up!"
It took 20 minutea to clear them a^de enough for him to reach the aiftomoblle. One clinging woman was caught beneath the wheela as the car started away. She waa car-
Harry  J.   Diskin,   assisUnt   PUCi'"?", "*^'''«  °' '"«  ''^''''''^ """^  the, ried away,  injured.
bishops.
Jn Today's Issue
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''ovies   c—e
Oiiitiiary  A—ID
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chanlcsburg, Pa., engineer, are ex¬ pected  to offer direot testimony in an  effort  to block    the    telephone rate Increase. Peter   said,   however,   he   didn't j^^y Suspend Increase believe parents should choose their     jj tf,g hearings are not completed, children's friends for them or object ^^g PUC may suspend the rates for to wholesome entertainment. | an additional three months. It could
The Father of the Year is proud |grant a temporary rate increase, of the fact that there have been pending completion of the hearinEjs, no law-breakers in hia family, not jbut such action is rare when utin- even a motor code violation. He ties are not losing money, thhtks parents should be disciplined, Bell contends that it is not mak- by the courts when they refuse to;ing enough money. make a "proper home for their! Bell's witness. Professor Doreau, . children and bring them up right." j testified that Bell .<^hou!d earn from I .Slill Coming 16.6  to 7.2  per  cent  rate  of  return,
j    The   Peter   clan   is  still   ¦;rnwing |depeiiding   on  how   large   the   rate IContinued  on  Page A-2) base is.
4 *
counsel, hoped to flnish cross-exam ination of Bell witnesses yesterday, I but J. M. Marshall, assistant Pitts¬ burgh city aollcitor, took up mosti of the time trying to discredit Dr. j Herbert B. Doreau, profes.sor ofi economics at New York University, • as an expert on Bell's rate of re-i turn. I
Tho hearings will resume June 291 and run for three days. I
Aft«!r cross-examination is com-' pleted, the PUC and other com¬ plainants have the right to put. their  own  witnesses  on  ttie  stand.'
The city of Pittsburgh; Mario L.i^"'ch has crippled construction in Bove, Pittsburgh real estate man, Wyoming Valley for seven weeks, and Samuel R, Boyer, retired Me-i'^ expected to end today.
(Continued   on   Page  A-2)
Floods Are Rising Again In Virginias
6 Believed Dead, Over 200 Missing as Clourburst Follows Two Days Heavy Rain
Petersburg, W. Va., June 18 (UP) —Rampaging floodwatera of the Potomac and upper Shenandoah rivera apread death and destruc¬ tion In acorea of communitiea in Weat Virginia and Virpna today.
Six persona wera reported dead and at least 20 others missing.
Two bodiea were recovered late today and four other persons were reported dead. Reporta on the ntmiiber of mlsalng ranged as high aa 20.
Rain began falling In the Petera- burg district ag-aln tonight and the swollen tributaries of the ?otomic River's aouth branch began to rlae once more.
Reacua crewa, who alao a few hours earlier had aucceeded In opening a major road into stricken Petersburg, were forced back when the raging watera cut off access to the highway agalfl. Find Pollceman'a Body
At Petersburg, W. Va, the uni¬ formed body of Stata Police Cor¬ poral A. M. Hurat, 41, waa found about a half mile from hia washed out home. Hurat'a aon, about three years old, atill waa missing. His wdfe and a daughter were not at home when the flaah flood struck.
Mrs. Irene Gaiter, Negro, told i from her hospital bed In Keyser, W. Va., how she clung to a tree near Petersburg from 11 oclock laat night to two oclo-'k thla afternoon after a car In which ahe was riding with four others was 'Washed into the Potomac's aouth branch.
Mrs. Qalter'a hua'band was res¬ cued, but their two-year-old son and two others believed riding In tite car, were missing. Mra. Gaiter was rescued by firemen.
A flash flood that struck a 60- mile stretch of a rich agricultural area in the Potomac River valley of northeastern West Virginia left three persona reported dead and at leaat 11 others mlasing. Nine of the missing were from this ruined town and two from Mooreville.
On ths other side of the Appa¬ lachian mountaina, police aald that one woman drowned and three other peraons were missing and presumed dead after the upper Shenandoah River and its tribu¬ taries swirled out of their banks (Continued on  Page A-2) *
Byrnes Attacks Truman's Plan as Economic Slavery
Lexington, Va., June 18. (UP) — Former Secretary of State James F. Byrnes charged today that Tru¬ man administration programa be¬ fore Oocngress would create a "wel¬ fare state" In which the American people would be "economic slaves."
Byrnes, once one of the most powerful New Dealers of the Roosevelt era and a close confidant of President Truman, c\it loose with a blast at administration policies.
In a speech at Washington and tiCe University's bicentennial cele¬ bration, he called upon Congress not to economize on foreign aid but on all proposals pulling this country toward a "welfare state."
He voiced  fear that the  United Statea  may  be    "going  down   the road to state-ism." Slaves of Che State
"Where we will wind up, no one can tell," he said. "But if some of the new programs seriously pro¬ posed should be adopted there is danger that the individual, whether farmer, worker, msmufacturer, law¬ yer, or doctor, soon will be an eco¬ nomic slave pulling an oar in the galley of the state."
Byrnes devoted most of his ad¬ dress to foreign affairs, praising the firm stand taken toward Russia by the American representatives at the Big Four conference in ParU.
He warned the Soviets that their.^ present tactics might lead to a re¬ birth    of   Germain militarism and
I that a revived <3krmany might turn ,on Russia.
. Then he tore into the domestio policies of the Truman administra- I tlon. in which he once was a pow- lejrful  flgure.
I His remarka seemed certain to touch off a political explosion in iWashington, where administration forces are flghting an uphill battle to get the President's social-eco¬ nomic program through Comgresa.
Byrnes' blast was all the mora startling because during the early days of the New Deal he was tha late President Roosevelt's trouble- shooter in Congress. Early New Deal Leader
Byrnes, as a representative from South Carolina, piloted the early New Deal mea-surea through te passage. He was rewarded by ap¬ pointment to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Under President Truman. Byrnea as Secretary of State launched thla country's "firm but patient" policy of dealing with Russia.
He resigned in January, 1947, fot reasons of health, parting with President Truman on apparently the best of terms.
The Truman legislative program Includes such controversial schemes as compulsory medical Insurance, farm price supports, repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, broadening ot social security. Increased minimum wages and civil rlghta legislation.
Ford Rejects Pay Boost, Says Buggy Ride Is over
Valley Scene
"Sign" carefuUy printed in duat on rear of hug« trailer^ truck roUing down road: "Pleas* Paat Quietly—Driver Asleep."
Girl in snappy little conver¬ tible blowing/ horn impatiently as traffic light turned to big truck burdened toith load of concrete blocks and driver leaning out to say, "OK, Miss Hot Rod. OK."
Loeal home economic stu¬ dent in first week aa aoda jerk in Atlantic City, winning a raise by discovering a new and better recipe for malted milks.
Slightly inebriated gentle¬ man cmnparing his wateh with the Sunday Independent clock and complaininp to that clock, "You're two mtnitfea fast."
Detroit. June 18. (UP)—The Ford Motor Company today rejected the dO United Auto Workers $100 pen¬ sion and wage demands, proposing instead an 18-month extension of current wage rates.
"The postwar buggy-ride of ever higher wagea, costs and prices is over,"- Ford Industrial relations chief John S. Bugas aaid in a let¬ ter to UAW Preaident Walter P. Reuther. In Downward Trend
"The economy is in a downward trend. It would lie utter folly to take any action which would In¬ crease the prices of our producta," he aaid.
Ford and the UAW are nego¬ tiating a new contract to replace the present agreement which ex¬ pires July 15. The UAW has de¬ manded company-financed $100-a- month pensions for aged workers, a health and social security pro¬ gram, and "fourth round" wage In¬ creases.
Ford asked the UAW to with¬ draw all ita "general economic de¬ mands for a period of 18 months," and proposed freezing of present waga rates for a like period.
The wage freeze would be subject to discussion after six months and one year If the bureau of labor statistics index ahowa a chamge of four points.
Reuther Refuses
Reuther turned a quick thumbs down on the wage freeze, charging the company with "proposing the aame kind of economic patent medicine . . . that steered our economy into the catastrophic de¬ pression of 1929."
Unemployment is growing today because the American people do not have enough money to spend for goods and services to sustain the purcha^ig power for a full employment economy," he said.
"Failure to increase purchasing power and worker security will in¬
tensify, not relieve, tha unem.ploy«
ment situation."
Want No Higher Prices
Taking a pessimistic view of the economic future, Bugas said "We will reject any change in our con¬ tract whioh would meail Jiigher labor costs—whether In the form of wage increases or pensions, and other welfare funds."
"We must oppose any program which means hjgher wagea but fewer jobs," he said.
"What we do now will have an Important effect upon our national economy for years to come," Bugas warned In his letter to the UAW chief.
DEMOCRATS URGE PUBLIO TO PUSH HOUSING
Washington, June 18. (UP) — Democrats urged voters today to bring pressure on the House to approve President Truman's hous¬ ing program over objections by Republican economy advocates and private real estate groups.
Chairman J. Howard McGrath of the Democratic national committee asked state party chairmen and their top aides to "get the truth" about the housing program "to every precinct worker and every voter." He urged party workera to "lick the anti-housing lobby once and for all."
McGrath's campaign followed Prtsident Truman's charge yester¬ day that a "little group of ruth¬ less men" is trying to "mislead" Congress and the nation on hia housing proposals. The President said the program is not "socialis¬ tic" as its opponents contend.
Meanwhile, Vice President Alben W. Barkley put in a plug for home construction. He told a conven¬ tion of the New York Bankers' Association that there still is a great backlog of need for housing. He said It would buttreaa the na¬ tion'a economy if thia bousing !¦ buUt
Building Trades Strike Expected to End Today
The strike of the building trades,tion picketed by the laborers' tm-
Mason tenders, hod carriers and laborers in the construction trades will vote this afternoon at 2:30 at DAV Hall, rear of City Hall, on the wage offer made by the Wy¬ oming Valley Contractors' Associa¬ tion. Business Managar Wllllam Langan of the AFL Hod Carriers' and Laborers' Union, urged all of its  400 members to be present.
Settlement of a strike that has been in progress since May 2 is freely predicted. Latest offers from the association give mason helpers 12 H cents hourly raise and labi*- ers 13 cents. An estimated 1,500 construction workers refused for weeks to work on local construe-
ion.
, An hourly boost of 12 H cents earlier this week ended a strike of union cement finishers, who had ceased to work Aprll 1, because of a wage dispute. The cement fin¬ ishers are a branch of the plas¬ terers' union, the latter group hav¬ ing ended its strike some weeks ago.
In the contract offered the la¬ borers' negotiating committee, com¬ mon laborers will be boosted 13 cents to $1.25 an hour. Other clas¬ sification scales will be increased aa follows: Mechanical tander, from $1.27'a to $1.40, and plaster¬ ers'   tenders   from   $1.45  to  $1.57Mi.
Foremen will be boosted from $1,155  to  $1.67'i2   cents  per  hour.
Overtime will be paid at double time.
Phila. Union Passed up Pay Boost so Men Keep Working after Plant Stops
Philadelphia, June 18 (UP)—Eiw- ployees of a Philadelphia machine (ilant wound up their first week under a layoff prevention plan to¬ day and agreed it waa better to forego higher wages for more job security.
Workers who otherwise would have been laid off are repairing and painting In a plant-wide Im¬ provement program at the Ameri¬ can Pulley Co.
The com,pany, caught-by a busi¬ ness decline, hit upon the idea when It faced the necessity of dis¬ missing  veteran  employeea.
It was decided to Incorporate the plan as a supplement to the union contract In lieu of a wage increase for the 250 employees at this time the contract was signed last week. Union Goes Along
Officials at the company explain¬ ed to the United Electrical Work¬ ers (CIO) that a wage increase now wouid result in pricing their products off the market. That would mean more lay-offs. The company already has been com¬ pelled to dismiss 150 workers since laat  fall. |
Tbe union agreed to the program!
which would provide an estimated 16,000 hours of work in the next few months and enable employees to take home a weekly pay check even though production orders were  not  coming in.
"Every union wants a wage in¬ crease," said union official Sam Dii Maria, "but what good ia a wagej Increase if you're going to lose your  job?"
Last Tuesday. 40 men who oth¬ erwise would have been sent home, started cleaning and re-painting the black machinery a lighter gray color. They figure they're making the plant more attractive to work in while they're earning their regular personal rate, which av¬ erages about $1.20 an hour. Assured 4 Days a Week
The rate is normal for produc¬ tion line work, although some em¬ ployees earn more by producing above their quotas. And under the layoff—prevention plan, the men are assured of work at leaat four days   a   week.
By the time the repair work runs out it is hoped there will be more work on the production line. Om¬ pany officials think the repair work will take aix or eight months.
\
The plan is only temporary. Th* present company-union contraet may be reopened for wage disctia- slons next Dec. 31.
Frank E. Brown, com'pany •«• rctary-treasurer and labor rala» tlons director, said he thought tha program could be put Into effeot in larger manufacturing plants.
•"Bigfeer plants would just ha,v« bigger projects," h« said, "and more varied skills among tha anv ployees should make It easlMr id apply in a large plant." Alwaya Work to Be Dona
Around a factory, as around ¦ home, there always are jt*a whicll should be done but somehow n«vu get done, Brown pointed out. Thera are safer loading paltforms to ba built, an eyesore to be torn down, or walls to be painted.
"The older the plant, the aooN needs to be done," he added.
Brown said he did not anticipata objections from unions beoauss "plant improvement on a Hnal scale is a normal ocourrenca !¦ regular business practice."
"This is not a make-work proJ eet," he said. "We are only doing work in advance o7 when Jt w«uU b« done ordinarHjr."
^^