The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-01-29
WILL Cancel WAFER
HAUL OIL CONTRACTS
Seizure Of Tankers Is Given As
Reason Companies Compelled
Rescind Agreements


Honolulu s oil supply is seriously
threatened by the intention Of the
Standard Oh Company to cancel it's
contract with all customers that re.
eeiVe shipments of oil by water, and
the General Petroleum Corporation has
notified Northwestern customers il sup.
plies that II may be necessary to can
eel its contracts at any time.
Such is the information contained in
recent issue of the San Francisco
Chronicle, and confirms the action of
the local representatives Of the oil
companies when they notified large
local consumers that they could no
longer be bound by contracts, aud that
oil orders received would have to be
subjected to the possibilities of secur-
ing shipments from the States.
government assumption. Of control Of
all the tankers on the Pacific Coast
has made necessary the drastic move,
according to William s. Miller, vice
president Of the Standard Oil Com
pany and A. l.. We'll, chief counsel for
the General Petroleum Corporation,
says the Chronicle. ~
Standard Oil = act will affect con-
sumers in Honolulu, Panama, Oregon,
Washington and British Columbia. Gen
eral Petroleum 8 customers are in the
Northwest.
Cancellation Provision
4" We are getting ready to cancel all
contracts that involve water ship
ments," Miller said, "but we will con.
tinue to make deliveries as usual as
long as we can. Provisions in our con
tracts make possible cancellation in
contingencies such as that forced by
the government requisition of tank
ers.
h" Standard Oil will continue to serve
its customers, but the service will not
be under, contracts. We expect ship.
ments to 60 on as usual unless some
thing unforeseen happens. 4" ...
General Petroleum mailed letters of
warning to its customers early this
week. rA =
"We notified them to prepare for
cancellation of our contracts at any
time" We'll said, "under the contin,
| gency clauses. 1t may not be necessary
to break the contracts, but we have
been warning our customers for some
time that the situation might force US
to act. We have told them to try To
make other arrangements for getting
! their oil.'
Rail and Pipe Lines
| CONSUMERS by rail or by pipe lines
will not be affected by the act of the
oil companies. The situation of oil
users in the State of California remains
unchanged for the present.
! But oil men believe industries in the
Northwest. Panama and Hawaii will
suffer. AN the oil used by the big man
ufacturing plants 4, of the & Northwest
comes from California, and shipment by
rail is impossible, according to oil men
The Northern Pacific and Great North
ern Railroads, consuming thousands OF
barrels of oil every month, 'are supplied
from California.
70 show the impracticability of OF
shipments by rail, ON account of cal
shortages, an oil man says that rail
road touching California oil fields pre-
ferred to have its fuel piped over tn,
mountains, paying for the extra serv
ice, rather than to handle the com
modify in its own cars.
Tankers Communicated
The government has commandeeret
all the tankers on the Pacific Coast
and already three of the largest hav'
been sent to the Atlantic Coast, it wa,
explained. In canceling their contracts
it was pointed out, the oil companies
are preparing for the day when thu
government may divert all the tanker
to its own uses, making impossible pri
vate shipments.