BRITAIN WINNING FUEL BATTLE
(Press Assn-
« CRISIS NOT YET OVER POWER PLANT STOCKS BEING BUILT-UP
-Rec. 9.30 p.m.)
LONDON, Feb. 17. Britain has entered the second week of the fight for fuel with the situation made brlghter by an all-out weekencl effort by thousands of workers. Coal ships arriving in the Thames in a steady gtream were rapidly unloaded. Temperatures are expected to be around freezing point for some days yet'and any return of snow would mean a serious setback in the piling up pf stocks. Therefore there can be no-predietion of when. the crisis will end. Jliners, dockers, seamen and railwaysm'!!. working through the weekend. have kept coal rolling across Britain from pits to power stations. The Miuistry of Fuel paid a tribute to the ".nagnifieent work" of everybody toiH-e)'ued. Ruihvaymen at eoalfields pushed ahead "in appalling conditions in frozei: yai'ds with frozen equipment." As the result coal stocks af power stations have considerably inereased. The Ministry of Fuel however, issueti the waming : "It is certain that eu. - must continue in the eoming week, ;ti!(i probably next week also." The waming added that industry, when it resumed, would only be able t„ work at half-speed. Powtv siations saved 38,270 tons on Friiiay. and saved another 47,000 tons „)i Saturday, bringing stocks - to l.OiW.iHHi tons. The tiet result of the week's work, theref'ie. is that power stations now have 14 I days' supply of coal in han ' insteai! «>t' nine days' supply as was iield when ihe shut-down began. Gas and coal supplies have aho sliiiiitly impvoved. Miners in South Wales, with only li per eent. of absenteeism, kept oistht pits working on Sunday. Four pits were worked in Somerset and nlhers at Blyth, Tyne and Sunderland. I)..ek workers, with almost no abHMitee-. worked at great speed distiiare'ine eolliers and giving them -.arnaround. Teii eolliers arrived at London, .anyin-j 20,000 tons of coal in one tiijiu-hnitr period. T'ne railways, giving coal trains aksiilute priority, cleared most of the ucr:.niulation of coal at pitheads and eiii.'ity wagons on the retuir, jomr.ey so that eoalfields can resuir 1 M-^aie production. : rnins are being used to cariy eavgws «: snow since in deeper euttings tlie. e is 110 other way of remov - inti' drifts Tiie Xavy has feported scattered lia'ht ieetloes in the North Sea. Some appeared otf the Netherland* coast durinii the week Trawlei- reported that ice ca-nght in their net- prevented fishing 1=30 miles Kt.-o of Bridlington, Yorkshire. Mr. Attlee Confident "I ara , 0 iont that, in spite of the serious probt.-ms we have to overc'ome. we shall i.Hiijf eeonomic and social life in Britain "o a new level of prosperity," the Prime Minister, Mr. Attlee, addressin"' workers at Manchester. In the oal crisis Britain had to ftu-e ■tnt only ihe eti'ects of the war on the iuimip bidustry and manpower, hut aho th;- ni.of serious problems of the lonjf-terai eti'ects of disorganisation, "f the ih i: e-.-ed conditions of the miners, ar.i the failure of Liberal ar. ! Tory (Jii'.cnunents to deal effectively with iiasi - industry. Shortage of aianpowe!- i"c;ains oue of the biggest problem s . fnless 1a rain could succeed in invteasiiijjr I'nii vidcal outjmt for private pi'otii, i: ciitdd not alford to have 'torkers ricting their efforts by vontinuiiif nructaes which were leg'itimate cnur.Mi in the struggle against •apitalist cxalaitation, with the fear •'iunemnl..,. aumt in the baekground. Hr. Attlee told a Staffordshire •Meting timi ihe Government had 110 'Wendon >;' having a coalition. He did think ihe Conservatives wanted I b. If ai:y c ',>u;i did wish to enter a I ^alition it v.ouhl have to carry a man- | ^ste for Soeialist policy. Talk of a B eealition v. a- cinnplete and utter noiiI Jense.
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Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5330, 18 February 1947, Page 5
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615BRITAIN WINNING FUEL BATTLE Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5330, 18 February 1947, Page 5
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