The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-08-20
HUGE GAS TAX
DODGE BY BUS
LINES limited
Greyhound Firm Believed to
Have Used 100000
Gallons Free.
STATE QUIZ UNDER WAY
No Record of Payments Is
on File at Office of
Indiana Auditor.
BY DAN NJ. KIDNEY

Whether Greyhound bus lines,
operating in Indiana, have been US
ing 1000 gallons of gasoline each
week day and 1000 gallons each
weekend since last February with
out paying the Accent state gas tax,
is under investigation today by Lee
land K. Fishback, state gasoline tax
collector
The matter was brought to Fish
backs attention by The Times about
three weeks ago. Then he seemed
certain that the Greyhound Lines,
Inc, a Pennsylvania railroad sub
sidiary, was buying gasoline from
the Standard Oil Company OF lnol-
ana, which paid the tax at its
Whiting Ind0 refineries.
Since then he has learned that
the gasoline contract for the Grey
hound buses here is held by the
North American Petroleum Com
pany, 4440 Addison street, Chicago.
Billed to Christie
A man named G. j. Christie Is
said to have made the contract Tor
the Chicago company, and many
of the tank cars have come here
billed in his name, Fishback stated
today.
All cars are shunted on the sid
ing of the Soreco Service, Inc, 1752
boulevard place. This company
has a contract for storage and
trucking gasoline to the Greyhound
garage, 915 DAILY street, Fishback de-
clared.
Deputy Auditor FiShback, examin-
ing the contract for storage and
hauling the gasoline which was de-
livered to the Greyhound lines, eX-
onerated the Soreco Company from
any participation in possible eva
sions or any legal liability for the
tax.
No Record on File
No record of tax payments on this
gasoline is on file with the state
auditor. either in the name OF
Christie. the Greyhound lines, the
North American Petroleum, or the
Soreco companies. Fishback is OF
the opinion that no tax has been
paid on approximately 100000 gall
Ions used by the Greyhound COM
pany.
Only payments made at all were
by the Soreco company and those
were for gasoline used at the serv-
ice station and never exceeded three
cars month during this period.
Usually, Soreco payments were for
from one to two cars, the record
shows.
A check-off of the bills of lading
show that tank cars of gasoline
were spotted" as follows on the
Soreco siding:
February nine, March ten, April
fourteen, May fourteen, June nine,
July eleven and from Aug. / to Aug.
16, eleven.
Each car contained about 5000
gallons of gasoline.
Traced Six or Eight
During this period, tWenty-slx OF
the cars were billed to the Barton
Oil Company. Fishback says they
have traced eight of these on
which no tax has been paid.
Procedure followed is to try to
make settlements through the at
torney- generals Office.
State Auditor Archie Bobbitt re-
peatedly has declared that the
bootleg gasoline business has been
confined to the state border coun-
ties, where it is easy to truck gaso-
line in without check-off.
If the Greyhound business proves
to be as outlined by Fishback, II
will disclose one of the worst Of
tenders in the heart of the capital
Today the Greyhound lines sent
a report to the papers showing that
337,135 miles were Travelled by then
buses during July, with ll2,37o
miles per accident. This, 1t was
said, is a 200 per cent improvement
over the system as a whole, when
-.--..5 .,,;tt- T,,Iry 1000