Friday, May 31, 1946
THE JEWISH NEWS
Page Twenfy
Egypt Denies Visas,
Balks Americans
Going to Palestine
NEW YORK. (JTA) —Ameri-
can citizens are prevented from
pursuing business interests in the
Middle East by "obstructive tac-
tics" on the part Of the Egyptian
government, Dr. Israel Goldstein,
acting chairman of the executive
committee of the American Jew-
ish Conference, charged at a press
conference.
"The Egyptian Ministry in
Washington is blockading trade
and communication with Pales-
tine by its arbitrary refusal to
grant transit visas to Americans
desiring passage through Egypt
en route to Palestine," Dr. Gold-
stein declared. "Egyptian officials
in this country have practiced un-
friendly discrimination against
our citizens by first imposing im-
possible conditions to the grant-
ing of transit visas, and, effect-
ive May 11, by refusing to grant
such visas on any grounds. The
fact that such discrimination ap-
pears to have been applied only
to Jews serves to emphasize the
serious import of Egyptian pol-
icy."
He called uon the U. S. State
Department to make vigorous
representations for the protection
of the interests of American na-
tionals, pointing out that Egyp-
tian tactics "interfered with
American economic interests in
Palestine!' He revealed that more
than 200 American Jews, among
them 'Veterans on their way to
Palestine to study under the G. I.
Bill of Rights, businessmen and
tourists, who had been sched-
uled to depart for the Holy Land
on the SS Vulcania May 11, were
forced to cancel their passage be-
cause they were refused Egyptian
transit visas.
Disclosure by a Detroit newspaper that
Detroit's domestic gas rates are far above
those in other industrial cities raises the ques-
tion of responsibility. Because Panhandle
Eastern supplies natural gas from the South-
west to Detroit, and is vitally concerned in
any rate comparisons, it publishes the follow-
ing additional facts to clarify the situation.
E
every business-
man ... knows that the price of any
article is largely controlled by its cost to
the seller. This is true of food, clothing,
furniture, automobiles ... yes, and it's
usually true of GAS.
So it should be extremely interesting to
every Detroit housewife who uses gas
only for cooking and water heating to
compare the price she pays with the price
which the Gas Company pays.
And, it should also be enlightening to
compare these Detroit prices with the
wholesale and retail costs of natural gas
in three other sister cities to Detroit, all
important in the manufacturing world.
For example, we know that the average
housewife in Detroit uses approximately
1800 cubic feet of gas each month for
cooking and water heating.
VERY HOUSEWIFE .
of gas she pays the
Gas Company the sum of $2.00.
What is the average price to the house-
wives of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and To-
ledo for the same amount of gas? The
For that amount
average cost for those cities is only $1.44.
the Detroit housewife
pays 56c more for the same amount of gas.
Why? Is it because of any higher price
which the Gas Company at Detroit might
have to pay for natural gas from the Pipe
Line Company? Not at all! In fact, the
In other words,
reverse is true!
Gas Companies at Pittsburgh,
Cleveland and Toledo buy over 80 per
cent of their gas from pipe line companies,
and produce the balance of their require-
ments. For all of their gas these companies
pay an average rate of 25c per 1000 cubic
feet, or a price of 45c for 1800 cubic feet
The local
TRANS:::::;:4TURAL GAS FROM
74 E 'VC
YORK
•
CINIC AGO
of gas which they sell to the housewife for
$1.44.
But at Detroit the local Gas Company
pays an average annual rate of only 20 1/2c
per 1000 cubic feet to the Pipe Line Com-
pany—buys 1800 cubic feet for 37c. But
it sells that gas for $2.00.
In other words, the local Gas Com-
pany charges the Detroit housewife more
than 5 times the price it pays. This differ-
ence of $1.63 is called a service charge."
"service charge" on 1800
cubic feet in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Toledo is only 99c.
Isn't it strange that the Detroit house-
wife must pay 39 per cent more for gas
despite the fact that the Gas Company at
Detroit pays 20 per cent less than the
Gas Companies at the other cities?
The average
Panhandle Eastern
produces and trans-
ports natural gas
from the Southwest
to the "gates" of
Detroit, where it is
sold at wholesale to
the local gas utility
for distribution.
K A N S AS
CITY