Evening star., 1942-04-27
Costly Production Adjustments Seen
Unless Oil Problem Is Solved


Solved
initiative Of the Government,
but should organize ourselves
In every community. This means
that In every community. every
car In use at all Is In the serv-
ice OF anybody else going In the
same direction, for whom there
Is room. I sincerely hope that
It will not become necessary for
the Government to set up an
other agency to organize this
another agency with thousands
OF employees and hundreds Of Of
ficial motorcars with gas. We
ought to be able to do this all
by ourselves.
II seems to me. also, that there
ought 10 be more method In
rationing. As q resident OF New
York, I don't need any gasoline
ration at all--neither s gallons
D week nor half o gallon. But as
q resident Of Vermont, where
operate q going farm, I must
have gasoline II I am to run
that farm and produce the food
the Government Is clamoring
for. and I must have some means
of reaching the nearest railroad
station, which is Is miles away,
without any communal trans
portation available. It seems to
me that many people ought to
be forced to show reason why
they should not put up their
cars altogether.
Costly Adjustments.
One may ask. also, whether
sound judgment has been used
In rejecting Interior Secretary
Harold Ickes' cry for a pipe line,
which, had 1t been built when he
asked for it last fall, would now
be pouring oil into the East at
the rate Of 500, 900 barrels per
day. The S. p. A. B. and its
successor. the War Production
Board, turned the request down
on the ground that the build
ing Of the pipe line would take
100000 tons Of steel, and should
not be given priority over more
direct defense needs. One must
accept such judgments with dis
cipline. But I wonder how many
thousands Of tons Of steel have
been sent to the bottom Of the
ocean In the sinking of tankers.
1t would seem to a layman like
myself that the circulation Of oil
In this country as Z sine qua non
OF all production, and that If it
fails to circulate other problems
will be created requiring costly
adjustments-costly, I mean, in
materials. Homes and apartment
houses and factories are heated
with oil. They cannot be re-
conditioned for burning coal
without enormous investments Of
new priority materials. And II
there Is q general turnover to
coal, the problem of the trans
portation Of coal would become
as acute Is the present problem
OF the transportation of oil.
It Is no time Of year to bring
up this matter. but II hotels and
apartment houses were all kept
ut an average temperature of IS
to 68 degrees In cold weather,
instead Of between rs and 80
degrees. as most of them are, we
should all be a healthier Nation
The everlasting. Of the average
American living quarters sua-
gests that the origin OF our race
is In the tropics.
Doubtless, the mere ending OF
eeregtous waste would reduce
consumption Of all materials pro-
digiously.
But still, creating an internal
Nationwide oil circulation is q
problem that must be solved
and once solved, it will stay
solved.
1t is a great deal easier to
persuade people to make sacri-
fices when they know there lust
isn't enough Of something, than
to persuade them that American
ingenuity is insufficient to get
something plentiful from this
place to that one.
tReleased By the Bell Syndicate. Incl