The Wilmington morning star., 1940-10-29
In Washington
BY U CATION
The News Washington

WASHINGTON.-The oil which
the United States can't bring IN
from Mexico because the row over
Mexico's appropriation of Amerl-
can oil properties hasn't been set
tied is beginning to flow in a fairly
heavy stream toward Japan.
The stream hasn't yet got big
enough to alarm insiders in Wash
ington, but the trend is that way.
Conceivably, it could nullify any
embargo which the United States
might put on oil exports to Japan.
The Mikado's armies in China
and his warships on the seas can
be refueled with oil which would
be coming into the United States
if the major oil companies could
settle their quarrel with the Next
can government.
Until recently, Japan bought lit
tie oil from Mexico-less than 100
900 barrels in 1888 and only Ill.,
900 barrels in 1889. But the total
jumped to ass, 900 barrels last year
and has gone much higher this
year. Right now, it is reported,
three Japanese tankers which for
merly ran between Japan and Cal
ifornia have been diverted to Tux
pan. Tuxpan is on Mexico's east
coast, which means that it must
pass through the Panama Canal to
reach Japan.
Those figures are smaHs of
course, compared with former
American shipments to Japan. In
the first eight months of this year,
for instance, Japan bought 7,480,-
900 barrels of American crude oil,
nearly $500, 900 of gasoline and
1888, 900 barrels of residual fuel
oil. Yet japanese purchases Of
American oil are off sharply, as
compared with last year. Aviation
high-octane gas has been embar.
coed. Purchases of crude oil are
not likely to run greatly above
half the figure for 1889, and gaso.
line exports are down almost in
proportion.
Meanwhile, oil men in Washing.
ton are waging a merry fight tc
shut off even the small trickle o!
Mexican oil which is now getting
into the United States. It is i'm
ported chiefly by Sinclair, which
has settled it's scrap with the Mex
lean government and is taking oil
in payment for its appropriated
properties. Oil interests barrel,
failed in an attempt to get a Law
through Congress to keep Sinclair
from importing this oil, but a new
law is being drafted and will bt
offered a little later. If passed, j
would of course increase pressure
on Mexico to sell to Japan or any
other buyer.
Both the major oil companies
like Standard, and the myriad in
dependents are working together
on this scrap, since Sinclair is I'm
oerselllng its competitors with thu
Mexican oil it brings in.
BRITISH LUKEWARM
ON FLYING FORTRESSES
Inc British are due to get {
flock of the U. S. Army's flyins
fortress bombers shortly-and thu
lronlcal part about it is that the,
cont want 'em nearly as much a:
everybody thinks they do.
Early models of the flying fort
ress (Which are the models thu
British will get) haven't i'm
pressed the British experts much
me claim is that they have ;
ollnd spot" in the rear-in othe,
words, that there is one angle O
approach which these early mod
guns.
Models now in production, to
getner with some already in serv
ice, nave corrected this defect
Out these, according to the dope
y the ones the British won't get
0ts Dig reason for the intense
SiiuSn desire to get new plane:
an o,n ~ sne U. S. is that both the,
,au the Germans have their owr
ngntlng planes on a mass pro
duction basis now That raan.