The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-04-25
PROBING GASOLINE PRICES
(Great Falls Tribune)

Distributors of gasoline in Montana will not be acting wisely ii
they take a belligerent attitude toward the movement started by
prominent business mel in Butte and other cities of the state to as
certain if Montana motorists are being Disseminated against in the
matter of gasoline prices.
The inquiry, a S The Tribune views it, is a friendly one and is
not a attempt to injure the business or blacken the regulations OF
those engaged in distributing gasoline. Rather, is it assumed that
distributors are selling at the lowest prices possible within the eco
nomic limitations under which they operate, and it is the desire OF
Montana business leaders to help remove or readJust these lin1ta
tions. This endeavor. if successful, should be as beneficial to the
distributors a S to the consumers and should be as welcome.
However II the distributors oppose this movement, the public is
not to be blamed for assuming that they have something to conceal,
and such a assumption cannot result otherwise than in bringing
upon the distributors a lot of unnecessary blame.
Saturday the price of gasoline in Tulsa, Okla the point at which
ing to a well known Montana distributor. The freight rate from
Tulsa to Great Falls is S1S cents a gallon. The cost of distributing
gasoline in Montana is fixed by the distributors at As cents a gallon.
Adding to this the state gasoline tax of 5 cents a gallon and we have
supposed to charge retailers. However, the tank wagon price Sat
urday was 245 cents. Retailers are allowed 3 cents a gallon for sell
profit on the retailing business, bringing the cost to the consumer up
to 2I5 cents a gallon.
If distributors buy their gasoline in Casper, Wyo, instead Of
Tulsa, the price f o b Casper is the Tulsa price plus freight to that
point, o a total of1O17 cents a gallon, The freight rate from Casper
point or a total OF 1917 cents a gallon, making the price of gasoline de-
ivered to the distributors here 1868 cents whether they buy in Cas-
per II in Tulsa. The same is true if it is purchased from refineries
in this state, IS the Montana refners receive, according to the infor-
nation given The Tribune, the Tulsa price plus the freight differ
entail
The principle involved in this price structure is the same as
found in the grain business. The prices of wheat and flour are based
on Minneapolis delivery. A similar situation prevailed for many
burgh plus the freight.
be possible to readjust the Tulsa plus structure without harming
the legitimate business of distributing oil If it can be readjusted,
the distributors should not resent it, for it should not interfere with
the conduct of their business. If it cant be readjusted, then that fact
should be put before the public, together with the reasons why, SO
the gasprice agitations will be ended for a while.
There ae points in states on the east and west of Montana
which, a s far a we can see, are just as far from Tulsa as Great
Falls, but they have a more favorable freight rate. Distributors and
retailers in other states also have a lower operating cost than pre-
walls in Alontana-which, W e presume, is due to a denser popu1a-
ton than Montana has, which permits a greater volume of business
with less overhead.
Montanans do not expect distributors to carry on their activities
at a loss. The feeling persists, however, that it is possible to work
out a readjustment of gasoline distribution in a way that will put
this state on an absolute parity with its neighbors. The distributors
should be as DESTROYS of bringing this about a the consumers.