The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 5

4 Akron Beacon Journal Tuesday, October 4, 1983 D7 3 Time to ditch the national 55-mph speed limit NEW YORK Hey, Washington, in Louis Rukeyser voted to legalize public drunkenness, just as none has been permissive of motorists whose speeds were not deemed reasonable and proper.) The economic cost of the 55 mph speed limit is incalculable, but it is surely vast. Trucks arrive later with goods, adding to prices. The productivity of those regularly on the road is diminished. And the emotional cost is huge, too both for those who purchase the electronic apparatus of highway lawbreakers and those who, while remaining unarmed, feel pangs of guilt at violating laws after a lifetime in which they were taught (and may have taught others) to obey. The 55 mph edict was a big-government intrusion into the states' areas of authority and competence that was conceived in haste, imposed in error and has now clearly outlived its time.

We should speed it on its way. McNaught Syndicate no limit whatsoever. Throughout Europe, highway speeds routinely exceed those legislated in the land of the free and the home of the brave though gasoline prices are markedly higher than here. Don't misunderstand me. This is not some personal beef occasioned by a speeding ticket; the police and I get along just fine, as it happens, and I am not advocating either law-breaking or reckless driving.

But when a government rule gets as far out of touch with practical realities as the 55 mph clearly has done across this nation, somebody ought to have the sense to stand up and say so. Ours is supposed to be a federal system (indeed, making it more so was a prime tenet of and there could hardly be a more obvious place for the states to exert their own authority. In states that find a genuine safety interest in retaining a 55 mph speed limit, their own legislatures could simply vote to continue it. Other states, contemplating superhighways specifically built to take traffic at 70 mph, and other isolated, well-constructed roads with straight-ahead, unlimited vistas, might well choose to put the arbitrary "double nickel" rule behind them. Here is an issue on which, clearly, the people already are speaking with their accelerators.

Such widespread disregard of a law perceived so widely as unreasonable is itself dangerous, and corrosive to the legal process. It is reminiscent of our ill-fated experiment with Prohibition another occasion on which national busy-bodies futilely sought to impose their own standards on a population that was not sufficiently risk-averse for the moralists' tastes. The proper solution, then as now, was local option, with each state free to set the rules that seemed appropriate. (Even without national fiat, no state case you haven noticed, it's time to think again about that 55-mile-per-hour national speed limit. It's a drag on the economy, it breeds disrespect for all laws and it's typical of the kind of "emergency" governmental intrusion that, once begun, lingers long after any plausible excuse for its continuance has evaporated.

If Ronald Reagan is serious about implementing his rhetoric to get the federal government off our backs, here's one easy place to start. The right to set highway speed limits should be returned to the 50 states, which had it throughout American history until the "energy crisis" and which have proved themsehves far more knowledgeable about local conditions and requirements than any national edict possibly could be. The foolishness of the situation is apparent to any motorist on virtually any highway in America or abroad. First, the law is routinely violated in every part of our country. Drivers who were willing to restrain themselves during a period they were told was a national emergency are clearly under no such inhibitions when the headlines talk of oil "glut" and falling world prices.

The rest of the planet, meanwhile, chuckles at what it regards as a characterise American overreaction to a passing problem. In France, the autoroutes have a posted speed limit 20 mph higher than that imposed in the United States. On West Germany's autobahns, there is Competition fierce for too Aurora's OSI i sooo imMm 4S rr hMuL 1 V-Birii. a -n--Tntnr'imr-iitrT- Zf- i war against bigger companies such as Apple Computer Inc. and Tandy maker of Radio Shack computers.

These and other companies were able to appeal to the masses with personal computers that were less technical and had a "little more bells and whistles," Wertman said. WHILE OSI's products often were superior in capabilities to its competitors equipment, the OSI microcomputers were also harder to use, requiring owners to write complicated programs and wire circuit boards, Wertman said. When Kendata, a distributor of Victor computers, took over the company, it brought the neces- Sce COMPETITION, page D10 Associated Press Flxible celebrates The advance-design Flxible transit bus rolls off the production line at the company's Delaware, Ohio, plant. The company celebrated the production with a cere- mony and a banner across the door. Delaware is northeast of Columbus.

The bus is destined for use by the New Jersey Transportation Authority. Flxible is being sold by the parent company, Grumman to General Automotive Corp. Other Flxible manufacturing operations are In Loudon-ville, southwest of Woostcr. By Katie Byard Beacon Journal business writer The "closing of Ohio Scientific Inc. (OSI), an Aurora microcomputer company that for a few years competed with companies in California's Silicon Valley, was a result of the fierce competition in the industry, according to those familiar with OSI's operations.

OSI reportedly had 16 employees at the time Bank America's BA Commerical Corp. foreclosed on its assets Aug. 30 under a security and loan agreement. OSI reportedly owes about $4.2 million to various creditors. Kendata Inc.

of Trumbull, a retail sales organization for Victor computers, purchased OSI earlier this year from MA-COM Inc. of Burlington, Mass. A foreclosure notice was posted at the Aurora plant and a moving van took away items last week. Lawyers for BA Commercial Corp. and Kendata officials declined to comment on the closing.

On Monday, an OSI employee answered the telephone at the Aurora facility, but she declined to say whether operations were continuing. David Wertman, a former management employee of OSI, said the closing "certainly doesn't mean we should prepare a funeral for the industry It is unfortunately a late interment of a long dead corpse." WERTMAN, who was OSI's national accounts manager during 1981 and the beginning of 1982, said OSI had long suffered from a variety of problems connected to competition in the industry. OSI was started by a hus-band-and-wife team in their Hudson garage in 1975. Wertman, now president of Cleveland-based Criterion Technology was with OSI when MA-COM acquired it from Mike and Charity Cheiky, who reported that OSI grossed $10 million in 1978. At the time MA-COM took over, the company was lacking in marketing knowhow and losing its Price of gold tumbles to under $4 Associated Press NEW YORK The price of gold tumbled below $400 an ounce Monday, slipping to its lowest level in a year, after having languished between $400 and $450 an ounce for seven months.

The decline was the first pronounced move in gold since bullion plummeted $100 an ounce in February. Analysts said Monday's slide erupted from several factors, including a brightened outlook for restraining inflation, slack demand for bullion worldwide and concern that debtor nations might sell gold reserves to help pay their bills. Gold fell $11, to $390.90 a troy ounce, in contracts for current delivery on the Commodity Exchange in New York. In later trading, Republic National Bank in New York quoted gold at $390.50 an ounce, also down $11 from its late bid Friday. Earlier, in London, gold fell to $391 from $406.50 late Friday the first time it has fallen below $400 since it closed at $390.50 on Oct.

5, 1982. In Zurich, gold lost $14, closing at $392.25. Gold's decline sent shock waves through the stock market in Johannesburg, South Africa, GM offers new financing Associated Press DETROIT General Motors Corp. car dealers may offer 12.9 percent financing until Nov. 1 on all 1983 and 1984 cars and light trucks, a General Motors Acceptance Corp.

spokesman said Monday. However, dealers are not compelled to participate in the program, which started Sept. 22 as GM's model year opened, John Andrews said. GM's last program offered 10.9 percent financing on selected 1983 models. Car loan interest rates average between 13.5 percent and 14 percent now, Andrews said.

GM's car supplies totaled 52 days at the end of August, while normal inventory is 60 days. Spokesmen at Chrysler Corp. and American Motors Corp. said they are not offering cut-rate financing. A Ford Motor Co.

spokeswoman was not available to comment. where some mining stocks lost 10 percent of their value. Gold is traditionally considered a shelter against inflation. In January 1980, as inflation soared and international tensions were strained by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the taking of U. S.

hostages in Iran, gold soared to an all-time high of $875 an ounce. By June 1982, gold had skidded below $300 an ounce, later rising above $500 last winter. This year, inflation has been moderate and expectations are of only slight price gains for the next two quarters. Traders said there was a noticeable drop in prices of other commodities last week, such as copper, reflecting expectations of a less-robust economy, and that perception affected gold trading. General introduces 2 new truck tires comparable conventional radial truck tires, the company said.

The new tires are available in two sizes and are being built at General's Mount Vernon, EL, facility. The company is one of four major tire manufacturers worldwide offering a low-profile radial truck tire. General Tire has introduced two new truck tires the Ameri-LPR and the Ameri-LUG LP, built in a low-profile radial. According to vice president Troy Kegans, the tire should improve fuel economy, increase treadwear, offer bigger payloads and lower excise tax. "For these reasons we believe the low-profile construction will be dominant in the industry by the end of the decade," he said.

The Ameri-LPR is a steering axle tire while the Ameri-LUG LP is its drive-wheel companion. Both tires are lighter weight than NEWS IN BRIEF Miscellany People Consumer Prices tnttoxi 197 (Tool '''Tj tfT 1 1 'ill 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 1983 1982 1981 Bncun Journal MorTronics buys seven Pa. chicken restaurants MorTronics of North Canton, said it has acquired seven Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants from a Pennsylvaina company. Terms were not disclosed. The restaurants, all in the Harrisburg area, operate profitably and have annual sales of about $2.5 million, MorTronics said.

The company was recently granted franchises in the Harrisburg and Lancaster, markets by KFC Corp. It already has opened two locations and has a third under construction. Including its new acquisition, MorTronics operates 39 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants and expects to open seven more by next spring. In addition to operating restaurants, MorTronics distributes and services electronic video games in the western United States. Buses roll on Firestone tires Trailways Lines Inc.

of Dallas said it has signed an agreement with Firestone, making it the exclusive supplier of tires for all of Trailways' 2,000 buses. Previously, Trailways used two suppliers, the company said. Officials said the one-supplier system will allow Trailways to consolidate its inventory and simplify its maintenance. Firestone called the five-year agreement "a multimillion-dollar contract." President Leon Brodeur said the company is "looking forward to a mutually rewarding, long-term relationship" with Trailways. Consumer prices rose in August at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.4 percent, the Labor Department reported.

The index rose to 300.3 percent of the 1967 average from 299.3 in July before seasonal adjustments. DOW OFF IN QUIET TRADING: Stock prices lost ground for the fifth straight session Monday, but the Dow Jones industrial average recovered to finish above its early low. In quiet trading (77.23 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange), the Dow dropped 1.83 points to 1,231.30. It had been down 10 points early in the day. The NYSE index fell .26 to 95.98.

STEEL PRODUCTION CLIMBS: Steel production rose to 1.641 million tons in the week ended Oct. 1, an increase of 1.2 percent from the previous week's 1.622 million tons, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported Monday. The industry's production amounted to 56.9 percent of capacity during the week, compared with 56.3 percent in the previous week. KROGER WORKERS REJECT PACT: Employees at 69 Kroger Co. stores in Kentucky and southern Indiana have rejected a proposed contract that company officials said Monday was their "last, best and final offer." Kroger's was seeking to drop the top wage rate for new part-time newly promoted full-time workers by $3 an hour.

Local 227 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union recommended the contract be rejected. U. S. TRUCK OUTPUT JUMPS: Domestic automakers will build 2.4 million trucks in the United States this year, marking the highest level of truck production since 1979, Ward's Automotive Reports said Monday. The publication said by the end of this month, some 1.98 million trucks will have been built, including about 254,000 in October.

Joseph A. Soehnien, president of Superior Dairy in Canton, has been elected president of the Greater Canton Chamber of Commerce for a one-year term starting Jan. 1. Soehnien is the senior vice president of the chamber. The Northeast Ohio Association of McDonald's Operators, a group representing 126 restaurants, has elected Caesar Burkes of Pepper Pike, chairman; Joseph Benden of Woos-ter, co-chairman; Alien Smith of Cleveland, secretary; and Brock Bell of Mentor, treasurer.

The Purchasing Management Association of Akron has elected Janis E. Reed of Goodyear Aerospace president for the 1983-84 season. C.S. Candea was elected first vice president; John Brown, secretary; Gene Stephens, treasurer; and Thomas Sobeck, director of national affairs. John D.

Papp of the B. F. Goodrich has been elected president of the Akron-Canton chapter of the American Marketing Association for the current season. President-elect is George E. Prough and vice presidents are Ann B.

Duke, Richard K. King and Kim O. Leyland. Record income at Interstate Interstate System, a nationwide trucking firm based in Grand Rapids, said it had record revenues of $4.8 million in the week ended Sept. 26, topping the previous high of $4.7 million set in late February 1981.

Interstate also said it had record one-day sales of $1.2 million on Sept. 30, breaking the old record of $1.1 million set in late February 1981. The company, which has operations in the Akron area, attributed the record revenues to an improvement in the economy and new pricing..