Evening star., 1945-10-03
Union Reported
Ready toAccept
Oil |PeaceP|an
Stringe mt Controls
On Distribution
OfCouI Ordered
BY the Associated Press.


CIO oil workers reportedly
were ready today to accept a
Government plan that would
end their cross-country refinery
strikes. Coal and telephone
troubles persisted, however.
The oil plan calls for arbitration
OF the unions wage demands and a
temporary Is per cent pay increase.
The union wants 80 per cent.
Decisions of the unions Executive
Board and of the 10 companies
whose plants are struck In is States
are to be given to Secretary of La
Dor Schwellenbach at pm. today.
Decision Due Today.
Rejection of the peace plan al
most inevitably would lead to Gov
ernment seizure of the refnerles.
Secretary Schwellenbach has said
Army and Navy oil supplies soon
will be critically short and that
civilian stocks already are in dam
ger in such key areas as Detroit.
Detroit Mayor Sees Truman.
Meanwhile, Mayor Edward j. JEFF
fries, jr., of Detroit, appealed to
President Truman and Secretary
Schwellenbach for quick action to
settle the strike because Detroit
needs gasoline badly"
After comforting with the Presi-
dent, Mr.. Jeffries said Mr.. Truman
appeared very aware of the serious
ness of the situation.
Noting that the controversy has
been under discussion for some time
Mr.. Jeffries added:
I'VE presume we'll have some re-
suits. They have been talking about
this for two weeks. We can't drive
our automobiles and trucks on that
kind of gas"
The Mayor saw Mr.. Schwellen-
bach for an hour before going to the
White House.
Fast-spreading soft coal strikes
served, meanwhile, to intensity the
Labor Departments efforts to settle
the Oil dispute, now in its 17th day !
A scheduled four-hour demon
stration' shutdown Friday by 300
900 members of the National Fed
Grafton of Telephone Workers also
has the Government worried.
The coal strikes, already involy-
ing more than 10000 miners. pro-
ducing one-third of the Nations
supply, forced the Solid
Fuels Administration to impose
stringent distribution controls. Coal
supplies from the critical areas
were tagged for essential services
only, such as hospitals and utilities.
Lewis Sits Tight.
Under the order, retail dealers
will be unable to obtain soft coal
from mines producing
more than SO tons a day in West
ern Pennsylvania. West Virginia.
Eastern Kentucky and Northeast
ern Tennessee.
John L. Lewis sat tight as mine
after mine shut down in Pennsyl-
yania and West Virginia. These
followed refusal of the
soft coal operators to confer with
Mr.. Lewis on recognition of his
foremen'S union, branch of
United Mine Workers District so.
The mine chief appeared to be
waiting for either the operators to
agree to, or for the Government
to call such conference.
If Secretary Schwellenbach can
clear the oil strike crisis today, he
will be free to turn to the miners
dispute.
The Oil Workers Executive Board
was reported on good authority to
have voted to accept Secretary
Schwellenbach's proposal for a is
per cent increase when the indus
try shifts from a 4S to 40-hour
week, and to submit the question to
an arbitrator for final settlement.
Seven Firms Ask More Time.
o. A. Knight, union president,
said he had been prepared to give
the unions answer to Mr.. Schwel-
lenbach at pm. yesterday-the
time first set by the Secretary for
acceptance.
But seven of the companies want
ed more time, and the deadline was
pushed ahead "a hours.
While II companies are partici-
pating in the conciliation conference
called by Secretary Schwellenbach.
the Stanolind Pipe Line Co. is free
from strikes. 1t, therefore. is not
subject to some terms of the Secre-
tary's proposal.
OF the other 10. only the Sinclair
Oil Co already has accepted. Other
companies involved are the Cities
Service Oil Co, the Texas Co., Tide
Water Associated Oil Co., Standard
Oil Co. of Ohio, the Pure Oil Co..
the Socony-Vaeuum Oil Co., Shell
Oil Co., Inc; Union Oil Co. of Cali
fornia and the American Re-
f1ning Co.
Government labor officials frank
ly were puzzled about what could be
tSee LABOR, Page A-4.)