The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-27
EFFORT ID BRINC'
 DECLINE IN COST. |S WIPED IN BUD.
Oil Producers And Refiners Gag Fig ht Of Petroleum
 Marketers Association
By RODNEY F. DUTCHER Lensed Wire 10 The Age-Heral0


 CHICAGO, July 26.-Prices charged for gasoline throughout the country today reveal that the average cost per gallon to the consumer is over three times what it was eight years ago. A poll of leading cities shows that few users of gasoline can buy it for less than figure over 20 cents gallon.
 Prices at pump stations are as fol- lows
 Albany, N Y. 22 cents: New York city and environs, 25 to 27 cents; Columbus o. % cents; Pittsburg, 25 cents; Wilkesbarre, Pa, 23 and "A cents, including state tax of cents a gallon; Philadelphia, "A cents plus state tax; Buffalo, 25 cents from Standard stations, 23 and A cents from Independents; Boston, 24 cents; Detroit, g cents; Norfolk Va, % to 27 cents, including cents state tax; Kansas City, 221a cents including a one-cent tax; Atlanta, z2 cents; Okla homa City, r cents; Houston, Tex, 19 cents; San Francisco, l9 cents; Portland Ore, 22 cents, including a two-cent tax; Dallas, Tex. 19 cents at Standard stations and r cents at Independent; Chicago, 22 cents; Mad ison Wis, 23 to 29 cents; St. Louis, 21la cents; Springfield H., 22 cents; St. Paul, 231a cents; Des Moines. 2S cents; Lincoln, g cents; Milwaukee. 22ia cents; Indianapolis, 24 to P cents; Charleston, W, Va 26 cents and Washington, D. C., 22 and 23 cents.
 Efforts Fail.
 The campaign of the National Petroleum Marketers' association for a reduction of cents a gallon in gasoline prices appears to have been nipped in the bud.
 United opposition of independent oil producers and refiners to any re- duction is believed to preclude any possibility of price-war between the independents and the larger oil com pines, such as would have resulted if the plans of the distributors at the one-day conference of independent oil men here Thursday has gone through
 Distributors on one side and the producers and refiners on the other were still arguing at a late hour Thursday night, but it was pointed out that the hands of the farmers are tied insofar as concerns any re- duction in gas prices without the aid of the latter, who control the price of crude oil, and no hope was held for the action toward lower prices which had been expected.
 
 The attitude of the distributors is that they owe the public fair price and that they can sell more Iasoline if it is cheaper; the opposition to price reductions contends that a shortage of gasoline may soon be ex pected. that in view of lean times, past and prospective, the oil men should now make all the profit they can. and that a price war would re- suit disastrously for the' indepen- dents.
 L. Y. Nicholas, president of the as sociation, which called the meeting and invited the refiners and produc- CTS to attend as associate members without voting power, opened the conference with plea for lower prices as a duty to the public" and a precaution against naturalization of the oil industry. He charged the existence of an artificial market created by a group of refiners over which the independents have no con- trol," and the greatest overproduc- ton of crude oil in the history of the world''-in spite of which, he said. profiteering continues.