Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-10-27
Ickes Seen
Falling Like
An Elephant
Oil Ban Ploinest Error,
Says MaIIon Il
BY PAUL MALDON

+, BY PAUL MALhON
WASHINGTON. Oct. 27.-Mr.
W Ickes fell out of his own oil
crisis as gracefully as an efe-
plant from a tree.
The feather bed upon which
he chose 10 alight was the ex-
cuse that the British would re-
turn Is tankers by November j
and IS more about the end of
that month.
Not a feather will be found in
this ticking upon inspection. The
proven facts are that there is no
shortage on the eastern sea-
board, never has been, even
while the tankers were away.
Mr.. Ickes' own bureau of
mines announced the day he
spoke that eastern gasoline
stocks were larger than a year
ago.
THE conclusion when Mr..
l. Ickes hit the ground shook
the whole organization. Some
public mention has been made
that his decision was a sur
prise.
1t was a shock when the an
nouncement came out that his
OWN assistants were making up
the oil allotments for November.
His marketing division was
not informed until after the
news was in the papers. His
bureau of mines believed at the
time that the restrictions would
continue until about January l.
The oil industry leaders with
whom he had been working had
no word.
ALL who saw the New Deal
"A pachyderm descend have
slightly different guesses as TO
what shook him loose suddenly
from the limb to which he had
been clinging in the face of
overwhelming evidence and sem
timent for many months.
The simple truth is that he
and the big oil men came to a
parting of the ways - and
abruptly. Those on Ickes' side
relate that he became tired of
his roll as champion of the big
fellows, but less partisan sources
say the oil companies lost in
terest first.
w. S. Parish, president of the
Standard Oil of New Jersey, is
known to have tiptoed in to see
Ickes week ago. complaining
that curtailment had become alb
surd because stocks were in
creasing in the Atlantic area.
\ BOUT that time also other
"A oil leaders discovered they
were not going to get the de-
Tense pipe line which both they
and Ickes wanted - the one
which inspired their interest in
the curtailment drive.
Ickes' assistant co-ordinator,
Ralph K. Davies, head of the
Standard Oil of California, was
refused priorities on tubing by
defense officials in SPAB.
The necessary sheeting could
not be spared, he was informed.
Davies went TO work on a
substitute proposal to use seam
less tubes. but a question of
priorities on valves arose and
the pipe line became apparently
hopeless.
HEAT was simultaneously aris-
II ing under the big and thick
fellow.
The American Automobile AS
ISOLATION. first large organiza-
ton OF get out its blow torches
to protect the American motor
lists. was planning an early con-
vention at which the unfairness
and injustice of the program to
consumers would be advertised.
The Maloney committee was
threatening to demand figures
on where the tankers had been
placed Mr.. Ickes tried to wrig-
gle out. by making speech
implying any one who was
against him WAS subpeEsipe-e
a Nazi.
TT MAY be possible that the
L greatest pressure came in
visibly from the White House.
Some administration authorities
suggest that Mr.. Roosevelt had
come 10 the realization that
Ickes had lit a match TO his own
gasoline and was splashing it
over the defense setup.
AS Mr.. Ickes concocted the
program TO keep himself from
ennui, and sold il TO the Presi-
dent. the reasoning seem s
sound that papa decided TO stop
the fire.
Certain il is that no admins
tration policy in all New Deal
history has collapsed in so many
places in one moment. Nc
failure has been more spectacu-
lar than this one.
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