Salt Lake Telegram | 1943-12-16 | Page 6 | Glimmers of Hope for Geneva

Glimmers of Hope f for r Gen Geneva ea S SEVERAL EVERAL glimmers of hope on the horizon at Geneva have appeared recently First was the statement by Dr J Jt JR R R. R Mahoney director of the tic bureau of economic research at the University of Utah upon his liis return from conferring with steel company and government officials in the east Dr Mahoney expressed optimism over the f future ure of the Geneva plant despite the recent curtailment of operations by halting work on the structural mill H He said he heb b believes ieves the plant will be able to operate successfully after the war Second were statements by our congressmen in Washing Washing- ton t t S Senator nat Murdoch has arranged for a conference between the tiie Defense Plant corporation officials and United States Steel c corporation representatives to go over again the entire matter mattero o 0 L elimination of the structural steel mill Senator Murdock h has asked that Dr Mahoney attend that conference because of his studies of Geneva costs of production and the outlook for postwar r markets in in the west for Geneva steel Representative Robinson announced he will try to persuade the war production b board ard to revoke the structural mill cancellation order He revealed re re- v led that it will ill only take another to complete the I nUll mill and thus finish the entire project He said he hec c could not see the wisdom of action which keeps the project from being finished as planned for the saving of a mere j Third glimmer of hope was the announcement that the first battery of coke ovens at Geneva has been placed in operation T That 1 t is the initial l step toward start of steel production One of three blast furnaces is slated to start producing pig iron before tHe end of December and starting up of three of the nine nipe open hearth h arth furnaces for the production of steel ingots will follow Thereafter additional batteries of coke ovens other blast furnaces furnaces fur fur- nices naces and open hearth furnaces are slated to go into production until the plant is in full operation 1 These glimmers of hope offer of course no assurance as asto asto tot to to speedy start of operations at Geneva as to early renewal of s rk on the structural mill or as to continued operations after the te war But they discount some of the dark rumors which have been floating around and they are a challenge to Utah a and d not to give in to the dark rumors but to try to dispel dispel dispel dis dis- pel them by fighting hard to expand these glimmers of hope In Into Ino o flashing g promise and brilliant reality