Evening star., 1942-12-27
Fuel Oil
Continued From First Page.)

quickly aILer Cne appointment by
Price Administrator Henderson OF
Renah F. Camalier, former counsel
to the Senate District Committee,
as consultant to Mr.. Leary.
Both Mr.. Camalier and Mr.. Leary
said they were gratified to learn
that the limit on dealers had been
lifted.
Appointment Of Mr.. Camalier, q
native of Washington and a man
who for many years has taken an
active part in District affairs, was
seen by some circles as the biggest
step so far toward solving the con-
fused fuel oil problem here. TIE
attorney, it is understood, will serve
as liaison consultant between the
dealers and the OPA and will have
ready admittance at all times to the
office OF Mr.. Henderson.
Moves Are Planned.
Starting Immediately with his
new responsibilities, Mr.. Camalier
revealed yesterday that his first
move will be to reconcile ODT and
OPA regulations concerning fuel
oil. He also plans to hit at the
manpower problems of dealers and
to investigate the possibility Of
bringing more oil into the city. He
said he would confer early this
week with a representative group
of dealers in an effort to learn
what they would like for him to do
to relieve the situation.
Meanwhile the attorney will &C
company Mr.. Henderson to a con-
ference called by the price ad-
ministrator to be held within the
next day or two. Present also will
be officials from the Office of Price
Administration, ONCE of Defense
Transportation, Office of Petroleum
Co-ordinator and Petroleum Ad-
ministrator for War.
Mr.. Camalier said the oil situation
in Washington is very desperate
This statement from him was the
first acknowledgement by ony one
acting in Government capacity
that the dealers were justified in
their charges that their delivery
system had been broken down by
ration regulations.
Elimination of the limit on dealer
purchases, he explained, will aid in
relieving a circumstance which has
developed in outlying areas. He said
an OPA official had disclosed to him
during the day that his Office had
been besieged with telephone calls
complaining that 900 families within
a short distance of the city were un-
able to get oil delivered to their
homes.
Reasons for Trouble.
The trouble, Mr.. Camalier learned
was due to restrictions placed on
dealers, to the amount of oil fur
nlshed them and to an ODT ruling
that they should reduce their mile
age to IS per cent of what it was
IN l941. When calls came in from
consumers, the supply on hand was
distributed among homes nearest
the dealers, thus reducing the mile
age required to make deliveries.
Mr.. Camalier said he would strive
as quickly as possible to eliminate
the harassing details which have
caused dealers to bog down in their
deliveries. 1t is primarily for this
purpose that he will confer with
the dealer group.
One of the most important of
these details is manpoWer. He said
he knew of one company that had
eight trucks idle yesterday because
it was unable to get drivers for
them and of another company that
had called in its coal statesmen and
put them to work on some of the
clerical procedure connected with
the rationing system.
He reported that he had been told
reluctance on the part of the pub
lie to write the numbers of their
rationing sheets on the back OF each
coupon and to send their coupons
to the dealers from which they buy
oil had slowed deliveries by at least
40 per cent.
Civic Duty Pointed Out.
ut is the civic duty of every
householder to print the number
of his ration sheet on the reverse
side Of every coupon before mailing
them to the Dealers" he said, land
1 urge immediate action in this
regard. Delay is dangerous"
The effect of this cooperation.
ha pointed out, will be to relieve
the manpower problem. Men and
women now engaged in work which
should have been done by the con-
sumer will be released to attend to
other details which would speed de-
liveries.
Mr.. Camalier also revealed that