Evening star., 1941-04-03
Basis 10 Settle
Ford Wa|kout
Reported Laid
Move Announced
By Gov. Van Wagner;
Fighting Renewed
BY TIE Associated Press.

BY lT6 hSSOCldIeu fItSo.
DETROIT, April 3.-Gov. Murray
D. Van Wagner announced today
"the foundation has been laid for
successful mediation" of the strike
that has closed the Ford Motor Co S
River Rouge plant, largest single
factory unit in the world.
Both company and union officials
have made definite binding COM
mitments to me to meet certain basic
requirements for mediation" the
Governor declared in formal press
statement.
The statement was made as op-
erations at the plant, employing
more than $4,000 hourly rated work.
ers, we're at a standstilf and after
renewed outbreaks of fighting oc-
Cured near the mile-long factory in
suburban Dearborn.
Fighting Renewed.
Coincident with the Governors
announcement, James r. Dewey,
Federal mediator, left his headquar-
tiers for personal inspection of the
situation at the factory. He said he
hoped to meet with Ford officials
and get a start on the conference
which was postponed this morning
after renewed fighting, in which a
timekeeper seeking to enter the
plant gates was severely beaten, one
man reported knife wound in the
abdomen and other clashes occurred.
-Four Negroes in an automobile
were beaten severely by union pick
cts who chased them nearly a mile
from the main plant gate, and
three of the pickets were struck
down as a car following the Ne
groes' machine plowed through the
fighting group at speed which wit
nesses estimated at 40 miles an
hour.
The clash occurred in heavy traf-
flc on Dix road. a block east of Mil
Ter road, along which the worlds
largest industrial plant stretches for
a mile. Three of the Negroes, whose
car was overturned, fed; the other
was picked up by unionists and
taken to a hospital. The car that
struck the group Of fighters sped
away without slackening speed.
Stabbing Reported.
A heavy-set picket about so years
old reported he was stabbed in the
stomach during the fracas.
Unionists said the trouble started
when the Negroes. driving along
Miller road. became irked at slow
moving traffic and speeded up,
humping the car ahead of them,
spinning it around and knocking
down bystander.
Three Negroes rode in the large
black car which sped through the
group of fighters on Dix road, scat
tering them.
Engine Work to Go On.
United Automobile Workers &C. I.
o. pickets were in evidence at all
gates of the company, but there
was no barricading of streets in the
area, means by which strikers
kept employees from approaching
the plant yesterday.
State police said today the union
had agreed to permit construction
workers employed by subcontrac-
tors on an aircraft engine factory
being constructed within the River
Rouge plant. to reach their jobs.
In this engine plant initial produc-
ton on a defense order for Pratt
& Whitney airplane engines is
scheduled for sometime in June.
At gate 4-scene of most of yes
terday's riots and of a serious riot
in 1937-there were "a State police
lined up across the gate. Behind
them were Ford service men. Out
side the gate a picket line stretching
a block in each direction marched
endlessly.
One man who tried to enter the
gate, only to be turned back by the
service men, was severely beaten by
assailants who left the picket line
to intercept him as he was leaving
The injured man, who was ther
taken in through the gate to the
(See FORD, Page A-S)