Waterloo Courier (Newspaper) - January 3, 1974, Waterloo, Iowa Jest a Minute People always play up the bad side of things Nobody ever puts up a sign that says Dog Established in IKS Waterloo Iowa Thursday January 2 Sections Friday's Weather Warmer j Complete weather t It Ceils Get Ready lowans might just as well start right now adjusting their driving habits to conform with the new national speed limit signed Wednesday by President Nixon This federal law -in itself does not reduce speed limits on Iowa highways That must be done b'y the state legislature which will convene Jan 14 The passed by Congress and signed by the President simply says that any state that does not establish maximum speed limits of 55 miles per hour or less for both cars and trucks will lose its share of federal highway funds AT LEAST SIX states have already acted to reduce speed limits to conform with the federal Carolina New Hampshire Oregon Virginia Florida and Wisconsin The lower speed limits went into effect in Wisconsin last Sunday There the speed limit of 55 mph applies to all cars and trucks except trucks weighing more than five tons which are restricted to 45 mph The Iowa legislature may be expected lo act promptly to impose the 55 in this state It shouldn't cause much debate since it is a compromise between the 50 mph limit requested by Gov Robert Ray and the 60 mph limit favored by the House Transportation Committee If the legislature acts promptly and the new law is put in force by publication it is entirely possible the lower speed limits could be imposed by the end of this month THERE IS growing evidence the lower speed limits will not only save gas but also save lives Despite the obvious safety benefits of lower speeds some drivers claim that 50 mph driving presents a new hazard They say they tend to become so relaxed that they get sleepy So maybe slower speeds will also require more frequent coffee stops I In any motoring On the THE ASSOCIATED Press has voted Notre Dame the No 1 college football team for season See story on page 13 A CHURCH HAS urged the Waverly City Council to continue honest government in the city citing a lack of integrity in national politics Story on page 17 CONTENTS OF wills are to be kept confidential according to Senior Forum on page 8 Cedar Falls News 16 Metropolitan and state Classified Advertising Northeast Iowa Comics Teen Television 23 Waterloo Women's News Briefs Exposure Victim WAUKON Iowa claimed the life of David Anderson 19 according to Allamakee County authorities Anderson's body was found near the Mississippi River in the Yellow River Forest area last Nov 10 An autopsy report on Anderson's death was released Wednesday Gas Cuts Seen BETTENDORF Iowa Many Iowa service stations report they have been told their gasoline supplies will be cut hack in 1974 the Motor Club of Iowa says The club said Wednesday are to range from 15 per cent to 50 per cent of 1973 fuel allotments There may be some cutbacks as early as the end of January it said Gasoline availability is generally good throughout Iowa and fuel supplies for the next seven days are mostly normal except for possible shortages in the Burlington and areas and some allocation cutbacks in the area The club said reports indicate price increases of one to two cents a gallon in some eastern and Iowa areas II said there is one report from the Ottumwa area of a six-cent boost per gallon 8 Die 37 Hurt PHNOM PENH Cambodia AP Khmer Rouge rockets hit Phnom Penh late Wednesday night and again Thursday afternoon and officials said eight persons were killed and at least 37 wounded Seven rockets landed in the Cambodian capital at 3 p.m One hit near a crowded taxi stand a block from the central market Oil Firms Agree to Limit Sales Simon Tells Accord Energy chief William E Simon said Thursday that oil companies and independent distributors have agreed to set a limit of 10 gallons of gasoline per customer at service stations Simon also predicted that gasoline prices will increase over the next month or two to levels about 8 to 11 cents higher than in early December Simon told a news conference his price estimates increased from his estimate of about seven cents last week took account of a of gasoline price hikes to be authorized Feb 1 SIMON SAID the new increases would come as a variable formula designed to give service station owners partial com- for the reduced amounts of gasoline they can sell as gasoline tion is cut under federal regulations Simon has already ordered creation of a standby gasoline rationing program but has deferred until later a decision whether to put it into effect He has also asked the public to limit its Nixon Will Sign Social Security SAN CLEMENTE AP Despite some misgivings Pre- sident Nixon is ready to sign into law an 11 per cent increase in Social Security benefits Although Nixon was known to feel that the timing of the hikes would have an adverse effect on the federal budget aides indicated he would sign the measure Thursday and issue a statement citing some of his objections Nixon had to act on the by midnight or it would die by pocket veto THE would increase the average monthly payment for a retired individual from to and for a couple from 276 to The President signed a number of major bills Wednesday including a billion defense appropriations act This was billion less than the administration had requested The bulk of the reduction billion was in procurement funds at billion NIXON ALSO signed a increasing by million the total amount of loans and guarantees that the Small Business Administration can make before June 30 The same measure retroactively the Agriculture De- loan gram for rural residences damaged in disasters occured between Dec 26 1972 and April gasoline purchases voluntarily to 10 gallons per week THURSDAY'S announcement of ment with the distributors marks a further tightening of gasoline controls although still on a voluntary basis Simon said major oil companies and independent distributors and retailers have agreed to encourage a policy limiting service station gasoline sales to 10 gallons per customer He said the companies could enforce this as company policy at the service stations it owns directly but could only urge it upon franchised service stations The sales limit if enforced would still leave a motorist free to drive on and purchase another 10 gallons at the next service station but as gasoline supplies dwindle waiting lines may discourage this tactic SIMON reported that gasoline tion was running some 7.8 per cent below normal demand forecasts over the four weeks ending Dec 21 This was an improvement in fuel saving from the 5.7 reported the week earlier but still far short of the 20 per cent gasoline reduction now believed necessary he said Simon said several factors would com- bine to push average gasoline prices even higher than previously predicted over the next several weeks One obvious factor is the recent round of steep price increases on foreign oil led by a doubling of the price of Arab oil late last month IN ADDITION a new price increase of 1.5 cent per gallon was granted retailers on Jan 1 to take into account for the first time cost increases under the federal program Simon said reduced gasoline sales re- from production cuts and saving measures would reduce the income of service station owners and operators and they would be partially compensated by further price increases to be announced in about one week and to take effect Feb 1 Simon said this would take the shape of a formula attaching a variable price increase to the amount of sales and their reduction THE NET result he said would be a price increase of 8 to 11 cents per gallon over the prices of early December actual prices he said would vary throughout the nation In a related an Internal Revenue Service survey showed that gasoline stations are violating price lations at a higher rate than any other industry under government price guidelines About 20 per cent of service stations were selling gasoline above the legal ceiling price the agency said THE RATE of the price violations is far greater than in other industries under price control and is leading the IRS to step up its enforcement efforts nationally a spokesman said A spokesman said the IRS plans to have 300 agents assigned solely to checking price violations by gasoline stations Most of the violations probably do not involve flagrant price gouging in which motorists are charged or more for a gallon of gas the spokesman said But the number of such serious violations is increasing Also on the rise judging by IRS statistics are the number of price refunds ordered by the agency against service stations charging more than the legal selling price The spokesman said it appears an increasing number of gasoline stations are using various gimmicks to get government's price regulations THE THREE major oil companies Amoco Sun Oil and Standard Oil of Ohio increased prices Wednesday The wholesale gasoline increases of 5.8 cents a gallon for Amoco two cents for Sun Oil and a cent for Standard follow similar increases announced Monday by Standard Oil of California Union Oil Co and Shell oil Nixon To Act on Crisis SAN CLEMENTE Calif AP Secretary of State Henry A Kissinger declaring that the Arab oil embargo is increasingly announced Thursday dent Nixon will make a major personal effort to promote cooperation among consuming and producing tions WITHOUT going into detail Kissinger told a news con- ference that agreement on prices and supplies would seen to best serve everyone's own interest the oil users nor producers want a global depression After his news conference Kissinger said Nixon will take undisclosed initiatives next week and announce them er Responding to questions the secretary of state said that roughly 20 countries would be encompassed by the new move Nixon is planning One of the major aims of the Nixon policy he said would be to bring soaring oil prices in line with the needs of the world economy ASKED when he thought the Arab embargo on oil shipments to the United Slates might be lifted he said We can't tic it to any particular time frame However he expressed the view that continuing Arab use of oil as a weapon was increasingly inappropriate in view of U.S support for a United Nations resolution out- lining bare bones of a proposed Middle East ment Moreover he said the United States is the chief promoter of peace negotiations Ho also said anew that the President plans journeys this year to Japan and Union Watergate Burglar Freed Ice Cave Icicles hanging from the underside of the Main Street overpass in Hartford Conn frame passing traffic and give the span a appearance AP WASHINGTON AP E Howard Hunt his thin face showing the effects of 10 months in prison for the Watergate break-in is home with his children once again I'm free for the lime be said Hunt was released Wednesday but how long he remains free will be decided by the U.S Court of Appeals which has been asked to rule whether Hunt should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty in district court THE HIGHER court ordered Hunt and fellow conspirator Bernard L Barker freed last Friday pending tlic outcome of their appeals Barker's release from prison in Florida was expected Thursday or Friday I find it very encouraging that the court has seen sufficient merit in my appeal to order my Hunt told newsmen going through of pledging he will abide by conditions set by the court He also thanked the many thousands of concerned Americans who have sent me telegrams and letters over these Jong months He said this has made my incarceration far more bearable HUNT WAS reunited with his four children who live in nearby Potomac Md Mis release and the expected release of Barker would leave four of the original Watergate defendants still in prison three of whom could be released soon cither by parole board action or appeals court order a Tank in Italy Think Gas Too Costly Here? Look at Europe JL Duane Swinton author of this article recently returned to this country after a tour of duty with the U S Army Signal Corps at Germany He held the rank of 1st Lieutenant Following his discharge Swinton and two friends travelled miles in an auto tour of Europe Prior to going into active service Swinton was a reporter for the Waterloo Courier Almost to fill a car up with That's the prospect anyone driving a medium-sized American car would face if he pulled up to a gas pump in Italy While many Americans arc currently worried about the possibility of gas rationing and not being able to get any gas on Sundays most Europeans have already been suffering under strict conservation regulations for the past month and a half because of the fuel shortage THE FOLLOWING observations were made during a recent tour of several European countries The for a full tank of gas is now a reality for American airmen stationed near Naples who might pull into an Italian gas station During the last week of November gas prices in Italy jumped from per gallon to per gallon as the Arab boycott took effect In most European nations gas is running about per gallon but even before the boycott prices were about to per gallon Those same airmen also would not be able to drive into Naples on Sunday to take a stroll along the bay Sunday driving in Italy has been banned since Dec I KNOWLEDGE of religious holy days is also essential for a person driving in Italy Roman Catholic holy also national holidays and driving in Italy is forbidden too on holidays Thus Italians were forced to park their cars for two days on Dec 8 and 9 because Dec 8 was the feast of the Immaculate Conception a religious holy Dec 9 was a Sunday During those two days horse-drawn buggies which usually cater to carrying tourists to the various points of interest in Rome were doing a booming business serving almost as normal taxis WHILE it's not unusual to see numerous bicycle riders in such northern European cities as Amsterdam or Copenhagen it was most unusual to sec many Romans trying their skill at riding bicycles down the narrow streets of Rome where the Italians arc more accustomed to their small Fiats or laying on their car horns while caught in a hour traffic jam A biR evening out on the town in Rome on a Saturday Tourists and Ro- mans alike had better get their big evening over before and bars close in Italy now at midnight Like some gasless Cinderellas of the customers must be safely at home or in their hotels by midnight besides there's really just no place to go in the romance capital of the world early on Sunday mornings HOWEVER MIDNIGHT Sunday is a different the drivers have their wheels again and seeming ly whether they have any place to go or not they're out roaring through the streets of Rome ungrounded for another six days In West Germany the Sunday driving ban has taken on different hours the ban there is in effect from 3 Sunday until 3 Monday giving the Germans time to quaff a few of their favorite Pils beers after midnight and still make it home before the earless witching hour But home they'd better be by 3 The German courts can fine an unauthorized Sunday driver up to marks over although typical fines arc running about The fines apply not only to driving on Sundays but also to even starting a car engine However probably more horrifying to the typical German driver than the ban on Sunday driving is the establishment of 6 new speed limits to conserve fuel Top speed allowed on a German road now is 100 kilometers 62 miles per hour Previously there was no speed limit at all on the German autobahns super- this meant that if a German had or BMW that could travel miles an hour he more than likely would fly down the autobahn at exactly that speed IT'S AMAZING now to see Volkswagen buses keeping up with the Porsches and BMW's which drivers of used to sec only as fleeting blurs One area of the German economy the tourist industry has been hurt because of the Sunday driving ban and because of this a new system of banning weekend driving is to go into effect this month Because tourists simply did not have sufficient driving lime to travel to some of the more scenic spots in Germany driving will now be banned from 3 p.m Saturday to 3 Monday for half the German drivers one weekend and for the other half on the next weekend Which weekend a person can drive on is to be determined by the number of his car SURVEYS HAVE shown that although most Germans were initially opposed to the driving ban and felt that they had become prisoners in their homes on earless Sundays most have come to accept the ban as necessary In fact surveys now show that many Germans have come to realize that they were prisoners of their cars in that since they had cars they fell obligated to drive them to go some place on weekends rather than stay home Now with the Sunday driving ban they no longer feel this obligation and arc content to slay home Americans in West Germany there are some stationed there in the Armed Forces must abide by the same lations as the Germans do The only reprieve is in the area of gas prices While a German is currently paying about per gallon of gas at his favorite station an American pays about half thai much at European Exchange System EES gas stalions or at German stations which accept gas Still during the lasl year and a half gas prices at even the EES stations have doubled I EES gas coupons arc rationed to military personnel persons owning a car with an engine over 50 horsepower arc entitled to 100 of coupons each month and under 50 horsepower brings 50 gallons each month This ing of coupons was in effect before the fuel shortage hit West Germany MILITARY OPERATIONS in West Germany have also been affected by the lack of fuel Field exercises have been cut to a minimum in order to conserve fuel Many units which previously might have sent some personnel out al least once a week for field training have not moved equipment for the two months Some peculiarities have resulted from the fuel shortage too Al one small Air Force base in West Germany no church services have been conducted on Sundays since early arc held on Saturdays so that personnel may them Some American schools which depend on fuel oil for heal have also been threatened with closing In Kaiserslautern where some Americans are con- noles were home lo parents before Christmas vacation saying that an elementary school may be forced lo close in January if a shipment of fuel oil did not arrive Switzerland landlocked and dependent on fuel shipments arriving through other European countries has undertaken some methods of its own Some of the smaller gas stations in Switzerland arc limiting customers to franc about and three gallons gas purchases Official rationing has been undertaken in no European countries although most nations have established contingency plans for rationing Not only are the Swiss concerned about how much gas a person purchases in Switzerland they also are checking how much gasoline is in each car tank coming into the country THUS CARS with less than half a tank of gas trying to get into Switzerland are denied entry and Swiss border officials shaking their heads and wagging their fingers politely send the cars back in the same direction from which they came
