The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-09-17

tee which reported no real oil and gas shortage. His pleadings for gasoline economy have been resented by motorists. His dep- uty administrator, Ralph Davies, of Standard oil of California, has been severely criticized by the railroads which claim that they have ample tank cars to move oil but that the big com panies do not want to pay the rail rates.
 However, if there is one man
 who Is extremely grateful to
 Harold Ickes for taking tho rap
 in tho oil and gas hullabalo0,
 he is the gentleman in the
 White House.
 For there is one thing r. D. R. knows that most people don't know, namely, that another bic request has just come from the British for more oil tankerS. He also knows that whenever there Is c submarine rail, tho Nazis pick out the oil tankers and sink them first out of every convoy. He also knows that extended U. s. naval operations in the North Atlantic which are going to be greater than ever before again something which ?. D. R. alone has reasons to know will re- quire much more oil than the Navy has on reserve ct present.
 In other words, the oil short.
 age may not be here at the
 moment but it Is just around
 the eOrner, and Ickes has been
 standing the gaff for the Presi-
 dent and the British.
 BRITISH EMBASSY
 British 1'orylsm has not breathed It's last. Canadian girls work ing in the British Embassy in Washington, testify that, although picked with scrupulouS care, and brought from Canada for cxact- ing war work, they are among the lowest paid workers In the Capital.
 The going wage for these girls is $ll0 and $i20 a month, which Is far less than British girls are getting for the same typo of work in the same place. But many of the British girls come from the titled families of Eng land, and enjoy not only a higher base pay lon which, however, they have to pay heavy income taxes) but they are allowed $7 day "overseas allowance. This in It. self Is nearly twice the salary of the Canadian girls.
 Dissatisfaction of the Canadian workers has become a matter of concern for Embassy officials, who have still other reasons to fear their reaction. Many of the Canadians are French Catholics, and the bombing of French cities, plus the possibility of bombing Rome, has Embassy officials wor- ried.
 VACUUM CLEANERS
 In Leon Henderson's OPACS of- flee in the newly finished tem- porary building on the Mall, a meeting was held to hear griev- ances from manufacturers of con- sumers goods. The head of a well-known vacuum cleaner com- pany was there.
 'Do you reaIize," he pleaded, 'what's going to happen to American homes if we don't get steel for the manufacture of vacuum cleaners?"
 And he got down on his knees on the floor and went "poof". A cloud of dust billowed into the air, Defense officials laughed, and he won his point.
 CAPITAL CHAEF
 Wendell Willkis's tactics in the Senate movie industry investiga- ton are to draw questions against himself. After one volley in which he seemed worsted. Willkie turned to newspapermen and said: "As long as can keep them trying me, they're not trying my client" ~. Senator D. Worth Clark, chairman of this Senate committee, reading a letter to the crowd, stumbled on the high school word precis, fumbled 1t. called t pre-ski There are so many bright boys ct Fort Bliss, Texas, that the soldiers have start- ed Q Phi Beta Kappa club Camp Wheeler Georgia. has 6