THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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THE MICHIGAN DAILY rage r~trie
BUSINESS BY CANDLELIGHT
British suffer energy austerity
By JULIE FLINT
LONDON () - Pip George, a
senior lawyer in a large chemi-
cal firm, groped into his dark-
ened office at 7:30 a.m. and col-
lected a large red candle to light
his way upstairs.
"One more candle and you'll
look like Liberace," called a
bleary-eyed colleague, one of
many white-collar workers slog-
ging six and seven days a week
to keep on top of the chaos
spawned in British industry by a
three-day working week.
THE NEW short week imposed
by Prime Minister Edward
Heath's conservative government
Jan. 1 to conserve dwindling coal
and oil stocks, already has
thrown about 735,000 workers
onto part-time unemployment
pay, in addition to the half a mil-
lion hard-core unemployed.
Large businesses are making
ends meet, although with in-
creasing difficulty since a three-
month ban in overtime work by
miners in the state-owned coal
mines escalated into a nation-
wide strike on Feb. 10. Many
smaller firms are in deep trou-
ble.
There is still gasoline in the
pumps - for those able to pay
more than a $1 a gallon for it-
although getting it may mean
getting into a long line.
DAILY OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
Tuesday, February 26
Day Calendar
ISMRRD: L. Burrello, "Evaluation of
Interdisciplinary Training in Special
Education," 100 ISMRRD, 130 S. First
St., 3:30 pm.
Medieval, Rennaissance Collegium: E.
Vinaver, Northwestern U, "The Quest-
ing Knight," 1035 Angell Hall, 4 pm.
Army ROTC: Gen. D Beach, "Army
Research & Development," Rackham
Aniph., 4 pm.
Ctr.Chinese Studies, Ctr. Russian, E.
European Studies: P. Osnos, Washing-
ton Post, D. Spurr, former UPI Bureau
Mgr., J. Woodruff, Baltimore Sun,
"Watching Communist Countries:
Three Journalists' Points of View,"
Commons Rm., Lane Hall, 4 pm.
Romance Languages: C. Gibson. "New
Viewpoints on Colonial Spanish-Ameri-
ec," Lee. Bm. 1, MLB, 4 pm.
Physics: R. Savit, Nat'l Accelerator
Lab, "Parton Model Constraints on
Semi-Hadronie Processes," 2038 Randall
Lab, 4 pm.
Kelsey Mps. of Archaeology: D.
Thompson, U of Ga, "Antinoos at An-
tinoopolis," Aud. A, Angell Hall, 4:10
pm.
Psych Film Seires: "P. C. Friend;"
"Railroad Agent;" "Babbitt;" "They
want to Make Work Human Again,"
Aud. 3, MLB, 4:30 pm.
Women's Basketball: U-M vs. Delta,
6 pm.; U-M vs. Macomb, 7:30 pm.,
Cridler Arena.
Film, "Famine in Africa," 1202 SEB.
7 pm.
Ethics, Religion, UAC: "Sunseed."
documentary, Mendelssohn Theatre, 7,
9:30 pm.
Computing Ctr.: S. Gerstenberger,
"Introductory Use of Magnetic Tapes,"
Seminar Rm., Computing Ctr., 7:30 pm.
Music School: Univ. Symphony Or-
chestra, T. Alcantara, conductor, Hill
And., 8 pm.
Residential College: Violin-piano re-
cital, A. Smith, violin; S. Cantor, D.
Wood, pianists, E. Quad Aud., 8 pm.
DIMMED STREET lighting or-
dered in the government's emer-
gency fuel-s ving package may
be scary, but Scotland Yard says
it isn't unsafe and hasn't yet en-
couraged muggings.
For weeks housewives have
been cooking, cleaning and iron-
ing with reduced voltage since
coal supplies 70 per cent of Bri-
tain's electricity. But newspa-
pers warn of electricity black-
outs 27 hours a week if the coal
mine shutdown drags on and tele-
vision broadcasts night after
night exhort: "SOS-Switch Off
Something, now."
Families who burn coal now
burn less - of necessity. Indus-
try Minister Patrick Jenkin this
week urged coal merchants to
halve deliveries to homes. Most
merchants responded that shrink-
ing stocks haddalready forced
them intomeven more drastic
economy measures.
LATE - NIGHT television, first
cut from 1 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to
save fuel, is back to normal, but
only to enable political leaders
to carry their battle for. this
Thursday's national elections on-
to the screen. Britons will
elect a new parliament then.
Shopping in stores lit by can-
dle or gas lamp no longer raises
an eyebrow, although shoplifters
are reportedly out in force.
"It can be difficult choosing an
exact color or a record sleeve by
gaslight," said one London shop-
per. "But it's hardly a depriva-
tion. What is unpleasant is the
smell of the lamps. It seems to
hang over everything."
FAR FROM suffering from the
power crisis, shops say business
is booming..
"There's a feeling that if it's
scarce now it's going to be scarc-
er still next week," explained'
one shopkeeper. "And the week
after that it may not be there
at all. The best time to buy,
therefore, is now."
Some products are already in
short supply, plastic, paper and
tinned goods especially.
"Come to us with a bucket and
we'll give you toothpaste," said
one manufacturer. "But we have-
n't got any tubes to put in it."
THE STEEL industry, although
a privileged recipient of remain-
ing coal stocks, has slashed pro-
duction to 65 per cent and warns
of a total shutdown if the min-
ers' strike isn't settled soon.
Many Britons, fearing the cur-
rent power chill is only the tip
of the iceberg, seem determined
to live for tomorrow today.
Movies are packed. Beauty
salons are booked solid. "Maybe
the ladies need to cheer them-
selves up," said the manager of
Chelsea's posh Cadogan Club.
Hairdressers working six half-
days a week are crammed.
FOR INDUSTRY, however, the
present is grim and the future
grimmer.
Bankruptcy threatens hundreds
of small businesses, which em-
ploy one-third of Britain's labor
force and account for 25 per cent
of private sector output. Some
have already closed, unable to
cover a normal week's overheads
with only three days' output.
"Nobody can make a profit in
three days," said Ted Whittle,
head of a small silk thread firm
in the industrial Midlands.
"We reckon we need four just
to pay for wages and raw ma-
terials and we only start mak-
ing money on Friday."
MANY small firms struggling
to keep production flowing dur-
ing the miners' overtime ban
were 'Inprepared for the strike
which threatens a two-day or
even one-day work week if pro-
longed.
"A two-day week would be the
beginning of the end," said Eric
Spears, managing director of a
Birmingham small parts firm.
"We would have to dismiss most
of our workers, stop buying ma-
terials and sell some of our
machines."
British Leyland Automakers,
Britain's biggest exporter, says
its production has fallen to 60
per, cent of capacity and says
it is not making ends meet.
"We need 75 per cent to 80 per
cent to keep our heads above
water," said George King, a
senior executive. "Don't let's kid
ourselves. We are managing our
company well given the circum-
stances, but the profit we should
be making is our future invest-
ment."
THE DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH COMMUNICATION
AND THEATRE STUDENT LABORATORY THEATRE
presents scenes from
Schiller's MARY STUART
AND
Aeschylus' THE AGAMEMNON
Wednesday, February 27
Thursday, February 28
ARENA THEATRE, Frieze Building
4:10 P.M. ADMISSION FREE
It Pays to Advertise in The Daily
CORRECTION!
New World Film Co-op will present:
"THE SOUND OF MUSIC"
TONIGHT!
Tuesday, February 26
at 7 and 10 p.m.
(not Wed. and Thurs. as stated in the ad on Sunday)
.Wt.
Uw0or wtoirO JVa t w u ,i-
- 4
DON'T DELAY, BUY TICKATS NOW!
r
"Uproariously amusing!" N.Y. Times
HAPPY ENDING &
DAY OF ARSE ,4CE
Two comedies by Douglas Turn ir Ward
Obie Award Winners of the Negro Esemble Co.
GUEST DIRECTOR.
CARLTON MOLETE I,
SPELMAN COLLEGE
March 13-16,1974
8:00 P.M. Mendelssohn Theatre
Tickets available at U Players Tiq ket Office
M-F, 10 AM.-1 P.M., 2 P.M.-5 P.M. Closed March 2-10 764-6300
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN I LAYERS
This ad is the work of Orrie Frutkin and 3,vine Sann,
U r
GROUP GUITAR LESSONS
6 Consecutive Weeks,
Materials Included,
ON LY $12.00
We also teach
flute, banjo, recorder,
bass, sax, drums, piano,
oboe, and clarinet.
FOR ENROLLMENT, CALL 769-4980:
ANN ARBOR MUSIC MART
336 SOUTH STATE Open 9:30 a m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; Sat. 'til 6:30
A A.0,c Sw\Awd. of hsN&A"seer t The Ajv.bsfngCond
Would you be willing to tell the world, "I did this?"
After all, you're pretty good at what you do. Probably
proud of it, too.
Well, most of us will never get to sign our work. And
maybe that's a shame. Because as good as we are, it might
make us better. And we can afford to be. Whether we're
teachers or short-order cooks, farmers or
steamfitters, sales managers or city
.
managers.
We'll all have more to show for it.
More money, for one thing.
Because we'll be giving
each other our
3035 Washtenaw across from Lee Oldsmobile
Wednesday & Thursday, Feb. 27, 28
DIANA ROSS in
It's a spewing smoke-
$tack. It's litter in the
streets. It's a river where
fish can't live.
You know what pollu-
tion is.
But not everyone does.
So the next time you see
pollution, don't close your
eyes to it.
Write a letter. Make a
call. Point itoutto someone
who can do something
about it.
People
start pollution.
,I
i i
7
t .1
I
money's worth ?" .'..
for the products, the services and
even, thegovernment we pay for.
r aFor another thing, we'll be giving Amer-
ica a better chance to take on our foreign
business competitors. Not just here. All around
the world. That would help bring the lopsided
balance of payments back onto our side. And
make your dollar worth more.
Best of all, as we hit our stride, we'll be protecting
jobs here at home. For ourselves
and the future. And we'll have a
deeper sense of satisfaction in the
jobs we've got.
You don't have to sign your work to
see all these things happen. And more.
Justdo the kind of work you'd be
nroud to have carry your name.
ivAw
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