Evening star., 1940-08-13

Capt. Rieber Resigns
Oil Firm Post Over
Westrick Publicity
Board Choirmon Denies
Sending Fuel to Nozis
Since War Started
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13.-Capt.
Torkild Richer, stocky, $l00,000-a-
year chairman of the Texas Corp,
has ended a 35-year career with
the international oil f1rm, the re-
suit of recent disclosures of his
association with a German COM
mercial emissary to the United
States.
The 58-year-old Norwegian born
oil executive. who went to sea at
IA and became q tanker skipper at
81, explained after a seven-hour
meeting of the Board of Directors
yesterday he had submitted his
resignation because of certain
publicity detrimental to the Texas
Corp, in connection with reports
of the activities of DIR. Gerhard
Westrick, commercial counselor of
the German Embassy.
As a result of the revelations
concerning Westrick, Capt. Rieber
acknowledged helping the Nazi
representative to get a drivers
license and offering him the use
of company car.
The Gilman explained he con-
sidered this good business" since
DR.. Westrick, a German Supreme
Court lawyer, had represented the
company on occasions in Germany.
Board Expresses Regret.
The drivers license subsequently
was revoked by the State Motor
Vehicle Department after a hear
ing which brought testimony from
a Texas Co. official that the COM
pany had paid for the car DR..
Westrick used but had expected
the German official to pay back
later. DR.. WeStrick's license was
taken away on grounds his apph-
cation contained false statements.
A board statement announced
acceptance OF Capt. Rieber's resig-
nation with real regret on the
part of each individual member,
but that under existing circum-
stances it seemed advisable to ac-
cept this resignation"
Capt. Rieber was represented in
statement by the corporation as de-
claring that the company had no
permanent investment in Germany
and had not had any for more than
20 years; that no oil had been deliv-
cred directly or indirectly to Ger
many since the war started and that
Capt. Rieber had seen DR.. Westrick
on three occasions, but that he had
never visited the German at mis-
suburban Scarsdale residence
AS for himself, Capt Rieber was
represented as emphasizing that he
was an American citizen and chat
under no circumstances could he
be identified with or sympathetic to
any kind Of un-American activity
Board Chairman Five Years.
A vigorous and sometimes daring
captain of industry, Rieber won mis-
spurs with the Texas Corp, first as
master of one of the company's
tankers and later as builder of Tex
acos first Eastern terminal at Bay
onne, N J. He became board chair
man in 1895.
Among successful deals he en-
gineered was the sale of large oil
shipments to Gen. Franco in the
Spanish Civil War. Others included
the opening of the huge Barco con-
cession in the Colombian jungles.
which became highly successful
enterprise
No successor to Capt. Rieber was
named, but it was indicated that W.
S. S. Rodgers, president, would take
over his duties, at least temporarily
Statement by Company.
The company statement reviewed
Capt. Rieber's statement to the
board as follows:
He stated that he had been
handling the foreign business of
the Texas Corp. for many years and
that in the course of business he
had contracted in Germany for a
number of tank vessels. several of
which were delivered before the war,
and two of which, with the permis-