The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 1

Flyers whip Devils on 2 Flockhart goals -p Mm Vol. 307, No. 176 25 CENTS Thursday, December 23, 1982 M982. Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. 7T SEPTA's nightmare: Who'll show up to rmi ains: By Sara Kennedy Inquirer Stall Writer When the trains stop shortly after 6 p.m.

on Dec. 31, workers who have operated the commuter rail network for Conrail will lock up the cars in the rail yards and go home. Six hours later, a reorganized work force under the new management of SEPTA theoretically will materialize to begin bringing the trains back to life. But the local transit agency, which is taking over the lines from Conrail on Jan. 1, will not know until the final hour whom has hired.

Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs, carrying 50,000 passengers twice a day, terminating at Suburban Station and Reading Terminal. SEPTA officials have been warning for weeks that administrative difficulties could halt service if a labor dispute and resulting work stoppage did not do it first. But a work stoppage had appeared more likely, since SEPTA and the rail unions, whose members presently operate the system, were noisily rattling sabers at each other almost daily. Most of the unions reported little progress in we're going to order you in to he said yesterday. On Tuesday, Roth accused SEPTA of attempting to provoke a labor strike Jan.

1 so the reason for the absence of service could be placed at the feet of railway labor. Yesterday, Gunn said SEPTA 's object had been exactly the opposite. Had labor agreements been reached early in December, the transition would have been simplified and uninterrupted service ensured, Gunn said. "If we'd had contracts early in December, I think we could have reaching new contracts by the first of the year; some threatened strikes. Then, on Monday, Thomas R.

Roth, a spokesman for 15 labor unions, announced that union members would appear for work Jan. 1 even if contract agreements were not reached in the interim with SEPTA. The union leaders sought more time for negotiations to continue, he said. But by then, SEPTA was already past the date that it could keep service going without interruption, according to Gunn. "Now, we're saying, 'We're not going to lock you out; avoided this," he said.

The employees who are expected to eventually make up SEPTA'S work force are divided into two categories. Engineers and conductors, who actually ride the trains, are called "operating employees." The others, such as those who maintain equipment and track, are called "nonoperating employees." The law governing the transition process allowed SEPTA to sign up 800 job applicants for nonoperating positions last week, Gunn said. In a mara-(See SEPTA on 8-A) That uncertainty one of many confusing aspects of the transition is the main reason SEPTA officials have announced that they will temporarily suspend passenger service for up to two weeks in early January to resolve administrative snarls of the changeover. "We won't know who has accepted employment until they show up, and that's Jan. 1," SEPTA General Manager David L.

Gunn said yesterday. "First of all, we'll have to see who shows up." The train lines primarily connect Soviets press offer on missiles Dismiss concerns voiced by West 8 apply for cable franchises By Ron Wolf Inquirer Staff Writer Eight companies seeking to provide cable-TV service in Philadelphia filed 11 voluminous applications yesterday for exclusive franchises to be awarded by the city. It marked the third time in 16 years that Philadelphia has obtained proposals for cable service. Proposals were also solicited in 1966 and 1979. The offers made for three of the four franchise areas propose cable systems as advanced as any in the country.

At a time when applicants in many cities appear to backing away from discount prices and lavish promises, most of the Philadelphia offers represent unexpectedly attractive deals. The rates and services described in several of the applications compare favorably with the best agreements obtained by major cities. Boxes of paper overflowed a lOth-floor conference room and an underground loading dock at the Municipal Services Building as the companies delivered their offers before the 2 p.m. deadline. The city required 75 copies of each application.

Two of the weightier plans required 10 thick volumes each. One applicant, Comcast Cablevision of Philadelphia delivered 4'2 tons of material to Joseph W. Brown, commissioner of public Philadelphia Inquirer JOHN PAUL FlLO Comcast vice president Barbara Lukens stands by 4 V2 tons of proposals by her firm, which seeks franchises in two zones property. and few residents will be able to Six of the applicants had been owned companies that emerged By May or June, the mayor and get cable service before early meeting with local officials and within the last few weeks to seek the City Council are expected to 1985. community groups for several franchises, choose companies to build and The franchise areas cover South months to prepare their offers.

The last-minute entries were operate cable systems in each of Philadelphia and Center City The eight applications submitted Philadelphia Inner City Cable Sys- four franchise areas for a term of (Area 1), West Philadelphia (Area by these six had been expected, terns Inc. and Independence Cab- 15 years. Construction will re- 2), the Northwest (Area 3) and Three additional applications levision Inc. Both filed applica- quire two to four years, however, the Northeast (Area 4). were submitted by two minority- (See CABLE BIDS on 14-A) By Robert Gillette Los Angeles Times Service MOSCOW Appearing yesterday at a rare news conference, two senior Soviet officials urged Western leaders not to reject the Kremlin's new European arms control proposal and dismissed allied objections as unrealistic.

But they failed to clarify the offer, advanced Tuesday by Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov. One of the officials, Leonid M. Za-myatin, chief of the Communist Party's International Department, hinted that the Soviet Union would quit the Geneva arms limitation talks if NATO carried out its plan to deploy 572 new U.S. Pershing 2 and land-based cruise missiles in December 1983.

Western diplomats said Zamya-tin's remarks appeared deliberately vague and calculated to suggest a threat without being explicit. "There is a misunderstanding," Za-myatin said, that "if the Imissilesl are installed, the negotiations will go on. What will there be to discuss? A further buildup of nuclear arms?" Soviet warning In a speech Tuesday marking the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union's formation, Andropov said there would be "grave consequences" to arms negotiations in general if the new missiles were installed. At the same time, he said the Soviet Union would be willing to reduce the number of its intermediate-range SS-4, SS-5 and sophisticated SS-20 missiles in Europe to 162, the combined number of missiles held by Britain and France, the only nuclear powers in Western Europe. He made clear that the offer was contingent on NATO's forgoing its plans to deploy the Pershing and cruise missiles.

NATO planned the deployment of those missiles as a deterrent to the buildup of SS-20s targeted on Western Europe. The U.S. State Department said Andropov's proposal was unacceptable because "it would leave the Soviets with several hundred warheads on SS-20S, while denying us the means to deter the threat." Allies' position British and French officials also rejected the proposal, saying their nuclear forces were independent national deterrents, not part of the NATO defense force. The major point, Western diplomats here said, was that the British and French missiles were intended to respond to a Soviet attack on those two countries alone, not all of Western Europe. Britain maintains 64 Polaris missiles aboard four nuclear submarines.

France has 80 similar missiles aboard five submarines and 18 medium-range rockets on land. The Soviet offer would reduce Moscow's force of intermediate-range missiles "in Europe" to a total of 162 missiles. Vadim V. Zagladin, deputy chief of the Communist Party's International (See SOVIETS on 2-A) The 97th Congress, having rebuffed Reaganomics, is closing in disarray Analysis Jordan gives 7 conditions for joining talks By James McCartney inquirer Washington Bureau WASHINGTON King Hussein of Jordan has presented President Reagan with seven basic demands as conditions for his participation in further Mideast peace negotiations, U.S. and Jordanian officials said yesterday.

One demand is for firm assurances from the United States that Israel will accept the principle that it must withdraw from the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza strip. Another seeks U.S. guarantees of Jordanian territorial integrity against possible Israeli attack. Basic demands were the subject of intensive high-level talks here yesterday between U.S. and Jordanian officials during a visit by Hussein, who met Tuesday with Reagan and was to see him again today.

The objective of the talks is to clear the way for Hussein to join in peace negotiations with Israel, Egypt and the United States under the (See MIDEAST on 12-A) THE A's are a Philadelphia rock group that has found that there is no place like home for success. Pagel-D. Weather Index By David Hess Inquirer Washington Bureau WASHINGTON The 97th Congress is fuming and sputtering to an end this week, in virtual retreat from President Reagan's economic program after a fitful, two-year performance that reached its most fevered pitch in the summer of 1981 and steadily cooled after that. At its start, driven by a new president determined to change the course of history, the 97th came to be known as "Reagan's robots" in its zeal to do the President's bidding. In those early months, it boosted military spending to record peacetime levels, enacted the biggest tax cuts in history, slashed huge pieces from domestic social programs and even threatened to strip the federal courts of their ultimate authority for judging constitutional questions.

At the end, however, it was milling about in disarray, haunted by a fear that it might have been too rambunctious on economic matters and too subservient to the President. Though the 97th Congress had What Congress did Here is the status of major legislation considered in the closing days of the lame-duck session of Congress: Gasoline-tax increase: Passed by the House, which then adjourned; a vote in the Senate is being blocked by a filibuster. A vote to end the filibuster will be taken this morning; if it fails, another effort will be made Monday. Funding for government agencies: Passed by Congress and signed by President Reagan. Eliminated from the bill was funding for the first five MX missiles, which Reagan wanted, and for a public-works jobs program, which he did not want.

Other bills: Measures that failed to pass, or that were not voted upon in both chambers and therefore are dead for this session, include a part of the Caribbean aid program, immigration-law reform, a Spanish-language radio station to send information to Cuba, and restrictions on imports of foreign automobiles. some notable achievements, such as extension of the Voting Rights Act and passage of a nuclear-waste control bill, it made its chief mark in history with its early support of Reagan's unconventional economics. Called "supply-side" by its advocates, the President's economic program is based on the theory that huge tax cuts both for individuals and corporations will spur savings and investment and lead to rapid economic growth, even though the loss of revenue will cause "temporary" federal budget deficits. The President also sought to deal with inflation by encouraging the Federal Reserve Board to keep a tight rein on the money supply. When this was coupled with the prospect of big budget deficits and heavy government borrowing, the result was higher interest rates that (See CONGRESS on 10-A) MOSTLY CLOUDY today with a chance of light rain during the afternoon.

Highs in the low to mid-40s. Cloudy tonight and tomorrow with periods of rain and drizzle. Full weather report, Page 10-D. Action Line The Arts Business Classified Comics Editorials 11 18-A 1-D 11D 1-C 8-D 2-D Horoscope 4-D Obituaries 8- People 15-C Puzzles 9- Sports 20-A TVRadio The 2d-worst dump in the U.S. No sign warns of Tybouts Corner's poisons City, on a list of 418 hazardous-waste sites eligible for federal cleanup.

That list gave heavily industrialized New Castle County the dubious distinction of having more toxic dumps, six in all, than 36 states and territories. As a state, Delaware ranked 13th; Texas was 14th. Although the nation just learned of Tybouts Corner, the dangers here are no secret to local residents. "A problem?" said Sarah Wagner, 60, who lives alone and has relied on a neighbor three miles away for wa-(See DUMPS on 4-A) have seeped out for more than a decade from this abandoned 50-acre former county landfill, threatening the drinking water for up to 100,000 people. There is nothing to show that the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified the little-known Tybouts Corner this week as the second most dangerous hazardous-waste dump in the nation. The EPA ranked tiny Tybouts Corner ahead of widely feared dumps like Love Canal in Niagara Falls, N.Y.. and Price's Pit near Atlantic By Bob Drogin Inquirer Staff Writer TYBOUTS CORNER, Del. A single rusting yellow iron bar guards the way. There are no signs to keep out the hunters.

No signs warn the teenagers who drink in the broken blockhouse. Nothing stops the toughs who race cars in the soft brown dirt. No one has warned the families who fish and clam nearby. There is only the faint stench and yellow puddles and stark dead trees to warn of the deadly chemicals that tS I PriilMtolphit Inquirar MICHAEL MALLY The unmarked entrance to the abandoned, contaminated landfill in Delaware cited by the EPA 4- I.