Winona Daily News (Newspaper) - February 8, 1974, Winona, Minnesota Thousands of drivers vow to keep rigs parked More truckers on roads but resistance to proposal grows By CRAIG AMMERMAN Associated Press Writer More trucks were moving on the nation's ways today but resistance to the proposed settlement of the crippling nine-day shutdown by independent drivers was strong Thousands of drivers rallied largely around the men and groups which touched off the shutdown They vowed to keep their rigs parked until they get lower diesel fuel prices That was the demand which started the strike movement I think we are a long way from ending this said strike leader J W River Rat Edwards in Kansas City As long as the government refuses to talk sense we won't either And 300 strikers attending a meeting with Edwards day night vowed to stay shut down So did drivers attending Thursday night meetings in Joplin Mo Branford Conn Wildwood Fla Coates Minn Palmyra Dl Moorhead Minn Glasgow Del and Phoenix and Tucson Ariz To flex their strength some of the protesting drivers went out and closed down more truck stops Thursday night Pennsylvania Gov Milton J S h a p p the self-appointed mediator who initiated the Washington settlement talks vowed to visit dissident pendents to explain the ment to them and get them rolling again Others favoring the settlement agreed to in Washington early Thursday planned to do likewise But National Guardsmen re- mained on duty in eight states to keep the peace and escort truck convoys of gasoline and food Federal officials said they might call out federal troops if necessary State police in at least states said that truck traffic was up but still far below nor mal levels In almost every case drivers speaking out Thursday on the proposed settlement echoed the view of Roger Gallaway of Overdrive magazine It's a he said They sold these guys down the river Violence was down bly Thursday after the proposal was announced There were re- ports of tare slashings hose tings and scattered shootings A bullet struck a policeman's car in Oklahoma There were still more than workers laid off and some more layoffs were ex- to be felt briefly even if the strike ends There were also predictions of scattered food shortages in the Northeast where prices for scarce meat poultry and produce were climbing rapidly And it was predicted meat and produce would be short in supply for a week or so with prices higher than normal Against that background a few independent truckers said they thought the settlement fair and it was time to return to work But the majority of those speaking out said government promises of all the diesel fuel that truckers need an diate surcharge on freight rates to compensate for past diesel fuel increases and future rate hikes to pass along increased costs were not enough The general sentiment of Negotiators now trying to sell drivers on plan those opposing a return to work wss that the proposed ment reached in Washington would only be inflationary and would wind up on the con- sumer's back Some truckers spokesmen present at the Washington talks predicted the trouble would end by the first of the week It was possible as some of them con- tended that most of the ones speaking against the settlement were militant independents who initiated the strike But it was also far from clear what power the truckers in Washington would have over the largely dis- organized independent drivers who only recently formed into dozens of loosely knit groups The settlement terms being carried to these drivers will low them to charge more for the cargo they carry to cover charges for past and future fuel cost increases It guarantees them all the fuel they need and Sunday sales of it It promises government study of possible increases in weight limits of the mammoth rigs and an dit of the oil industry And federal energy chief liam E Simon said he would ask bankers and other creditors to be sympathetic to the drivers unable to meet current debt payments because they have been idled Cloudy through Saturday with chance of snow Year of Publication Winona Daily News WINONA MINNESOTA 55987 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16 Pages 15 By JAY PERKINS WASHINGTON AP for striking ent truckers arc turning from selling the government on the needs of truckers to trying to sell the truckers on the ity of the government The White House was mistic that the tentative Chief negotiator William Hill of Pittsburgh said he felt the shutdown could end by the first of next week if they ual drivers get the program and the package explained to them He said Pennsylvania Gov Milton J Shapp who organized and mediated the negotiations ment reached Thursday would end the strike but r cafte tests continued had promised to bounce like a grasshopper all over the to Federal Energy Office deputy administrator John C Sawhill said those plans involved the possible use of federal troops to keep the highways open to truck traffic Many independent truckers leaders denounced the ment as a sellout One River Rat Edwards of sas City said As long as the government refuses to talk sense we won't either But the negotiators said they felt they could end the down once they explained what Shapp who started his career by driving a coal truck said the independent truckers did not get everything they ed but that the negotiations nevertheless were a major breakthrough He said he believed the tions would bring prompt positive assistance to the truck drivers The Federal Energy Office agreed to give the truckers all the gas they need instead of limiting them to 110 per cent of the amounts they used in 1972 The office estimates this will make an additional government concessions of diesel fuel available to to the independent drivers I truck stops each day No one sure agreement will hold SLASHED TIRES Truck drivers ex- amine slashed tires on their trucks parked in one of the exits from a truck stop in Breezewood Pa The trucks were used to stop others from moving out Drivers are refusing to have the tires replaced or to move the rigs until the trucker dispute is settled AP fax Truck negotiations strange complex By ROBERT A DOBKIN AP Labor Writer AP With the nation's eco- nomic health riding on the outcome an unlikely set of negotiators shuttled between a Washington hotel room and the White House trying to get striking independent truckers rolling again And although they produced a tentative agreement Thursday no one was sure they could make it stick The talks were some of the strangest and more complex labor negotiations in years with a cratic governor on one side and a Republican administration on the other There was no contract and nothing to be signed and the federal mediators didn't know whether for the truckers spoke for all or just a few The problems involved not only the independents but the major fleet carriers and the giant sters union as well And the solutions required action by numerous federal agencies the states and Congress It made it very difficult trying to put all these pieces said W J Usery Jr the ment's veteran chief mediator after four days of marathon negotiations Unless the highway shutdown is ended quickly this country faces the same kind of economic chaos threatening Great Britain in the dispute with coal miners The independent truckers are a relatively small group of businessmen operators of their own rigs wielding their power to win relief from the fit squeeze generated by the energy crisis Trucks carry 70 percent of the nation's stuffs and most other freight including gasoline A good bit of this is hauled by the independents It wasn't until the fourth day of the strike with its effects spreading across the country that the government finally agreed to sit down and listen to their problems And that was only at the insistence of Pennsylvania Gov Milton J Shapp It was a Democrat who brought the two sides together and kept them talking but his pre- sence added to the complications The federal mediators had to walk a tightrope to avoid partisan politics yet see to it that Shapp received his share of attention while not dowing what the Republican administration was doing Sources said that while the administration acknowledged that the truckers had legitimate grievances it ordered a hard line There was the fear that if the truckers received too many sions other groups would resort to the same sure tactics described as terrorism bv Atty Gen William B Saxbe Further complicating the negotiations was the interest of the Teamsters and its president Frank E who denounced the strikers Fitzsimmons is Nixon's closest labor ally and the Teamsters have always been regarded as man for the entire trucking industry Although not involved in the negotiations he was kept advised of all developments reportedly by Labor Secretary Peter J Brennan Impact of oil embargo fails to match fears WASHINGTON AP The federal government has been told that the impact of the Arab oil embargo may be less severe than had been expected And a group reported Thursday oil imports may actually in- crease in February and March For the first quarter of 1974 the group said the United Slates may face an 11 percent oil shortage in- stead of the 14 percent pre- only last December The report was made to the Emergency Petroleum Supply Committee an oil industry advisory group will a government official as its chairman by one of its subcommittees Walter Uhle a retired vice president who presented the subcommittee report said the Arab oil em- bargo was most severe in December before the Arab nations began relaxing their oil cut-off to all but a few nations considered friendly to Israel The relaxation has im- proved the situation outside the United Uhle said For the first quarter of this year he said Europe can expect a five percent oil shortage instead of the 18 percent predicted in ber Japan and South Korea may be 10 percent short in- stead of 15 to 25 percent and the free world age should be about 7 cent instead of IS percent Uhle said the new first quarter estimates assume that the Arabs will continue their embargo against the United States the lands Portugal and South Africa Federal officials have ad- mitted some Arab oil was being leaked to the United States As late as Thursday however four hours after report but apparently before it made its way through official channels John C Sawhill deputy administrator of the Federal Energy Office said there was no reason to ex- any change from pre- sent oil import levels until the embargo is lifted On the Impeachment WILLIAM SIMON Suggests state action President Nixon's lawyer and lawyers for House Judiciary Committee which is considering the possible impeachment of Nixon have agreed to get together soon for a talk story page 2 Riant Tne Winona Planning Commission Thursday night gave the gras light to a residential project in Knopp Valley the size of the city of St Charles story page 3 Director Robert MUSI Welch today was named Jack Frost and will reign over weekend's Winona Jaycees Carnival story page 3 Senate Watergate committee has agreed to delay its final report May so as not to interfere with the prosecution story page 5 TrAllA Sen Case has charged the Nixon I B allC administration made a secret deal to lend Russia at least million at 6 percent interest and violated a law by not telling Congress story page 16 Sailors have ringside seat Skylab astronauts return home safely ABOARD US NEW LEANS AP Skylab came safely home from man's longest space age today splashing down with pinpoint precision in the Pacific Ocean after 84 days in orbit The Apollo taxi ship carrying Gerald P Carr William R Pogue and Edward G Gibson parachuted into the sea 3.4 miles from this recovery ship to climax a record flight which the space agency said proved America can do anything in manned space flight that it so desires During nearly three months in space the astronauts had circled the globe times Gibson Carr Pogue traveled million miles and CDT after a journey of 84 days gathered a wealth of scientific and medical data on man bis earth and his solar system The astronauts hit gentle wa- ters 176 miles southwest of San Diego at 1 hour and 16 minutes ing the previous Skylab 2 record of days With visibility of 10 miles Continued on page 11 Skylab return MILK GOES TO WASTE Marvin White an Oakland Md dairy farmer pours milk out as a cow watches White like other dairy farmers in the area struck by the truckers protest cannot get his milk to market AP Five other states consider plans New sixth state to adopt rationing By JEFFREY MILLS Associated Press Writer With the federal ment still undecided on im- posing nationwide gasoline rationing an increasing ber of stales are ing controls on their own New York on Thursday be- came the sixth state to adopt a voluntary tive day rationing gram Five other states are considering programs to the fuel shortage In addition numerous localities have enacted such plans In telegrams to the governors federal energy chief William E mon said states should con- sider programs if stale problems are severe However Simon's deputy John C Sawmill said tlin federal government is re- to impose wide rationing on grounds that only a few states have serious gasoline problems Simon wired the governors and local government to urge voluntary limits on gasoline purchases in an effort to end the panic buying that has caused long waiting lines at service stations Simon suggested that oline purchases should be no less than worth and no more than 10 gallons at a time He recommended local governments ate the operating hours of retail outlets to make sure some gas stations are open at all times of the day and throughout the month The six slate rationing plans involve selling line to drivers with numbered license plates only on even numbered days and to drivers with ed plates on odd-numbered days plan is in effect in Oregon and Hawaii and goes into effect Monday in Massachusetts New York and Washington A plan scheduled to go into effect Monday in Maryland has been delayed at least un- til Tuesday for a public hearing An Associated Press vey shows that officials in New Jersey California Delaware and sas are studying the of some form of line sales restrictions Another Associated Press surveys shows the East especially the Northeast with less gasoline than er areas of the country The eastern part of the South also is hard hit heavily urban slates like Florida British coal miners refuse to delay strike LONDON AP Britain's coal miners today rejected a last-minute plea from Minister Edward Heath to put off their strike until after tha Feb 28 national elections Union leaders decided instead to call out the nation's miners on schedule from mid- night Saturday raising the specter of widespread cuts during the week election campaign and paralysis of British industry by pring Tim miners walkout Is now expected to strengthen the ion prospects of Heath's Con- who plan a on the issue of who runs the elected nent or trade un- ons Whatever the political age leaders of all parties in had agreed that of the strike would be in the national inter- est The decision to go ahead with he strike was made by the man Executive of the National of Sid Vincent Lancashire area secretary told newsmen after he meeting that the vote was almost unanimous Vincent said that Joe mley the union's relatively moderate president had vored a strike postponement The Conservative prime ster who has been standing against the miners wage demands coupled his an- Thursday of the election with an appeal for of the strike The hinted that if the was postponed industries hat have been on a three-day vork week since Jan 1 to save lower will be permitted to op- irate four or five days a week Economists say that if the short woeks continue they will start taking heavy financial toll at the end of February By then they say many firms that have survived despite two months of money losses will bo forced to close throwing lions out of work
