Evening star., 1942-12-12

areas rationed N - j<
for fuel oil for David Lawrence.
tunately are untouched by the latest
piece of bureaucratic red tape.
The fact is that, although warned
to convert to coal, many people have
been unable to get the necessary
equipment to convert.
The fact also is that, although the
public press carried the intimation
that the amount of curtailment
would be around 25 per cent, some
people have been cut as much as sc
per cent. The reason for this hap
pens to be some curious mathe-
matical formula based on some al
legged method Of measuring what
the heating requirements of homes
should be.
Administration Was Poor.
But even If this formula were ac-
cepted, the administrative side of
the Government fell down in ham
ding the citizens. Instead of noti-
flying the public just how their fuel
ALLEGATION would be handled, word
was Issued that until the ration cards
were available the citizen could con-
tinue to use oil on a sort of credit
basis, that is, he would be obliged,
when the coupons were issued, to
allow the oil company to deduct the
coupons that he had used up to the
time Of receipt Of the rationing
certificates.
But the number OF coupons used
up were based on what the citizen,
after all proper conservation steps,
thought he was going to be per-
mitted to use 1t so happens that
In one case known to this writer,
where there was no way of knowing
that the cut would be 66 per cent,
when the coupons were issued, the
oil company was obliged to conf1s-
cate all of the current coupons.
This left the citizen without any oil
whatsoever for the period between
now and January 3.
To meet this particular situation,
the citizen was told that coupons for
the next period could be exchanged
for those of the current period pro-
vided an application was filed, to-
gether with the testimony Of heat
ing engineer stating that every ef-
fort had been made to secure maxi
mum efficiency with the fuel allotted.
But such a certificate is superf1uous.
There is no way by which 66 per
cent gain in efficiency can be OBJ
tanned, no matter how many doors
or windows are plugged up.
Hit by Committee.
The Senate committee investigat-
Ing national defense, known as the
Truman Committee, in a formal re-
port just issued, says:
THE average cut in the use of
fuel oil for residential heating pur-
poses which will have to be made
In order to save $4,000 barrels of
fuel oil per day during the winter
heating period will be Is per cent.
The necessity for cut of this
amount was determined by the
ONCE of the Petroleum Co-or-
dinator, and the means by which
such cut was to be effected were
determined by the War Production
Board under the direction Of Mr.
Leon Henderson.
"The committee has examined the
instructions of the Office of Price
Administration, the forms of appli-
cations for heating oil prepared by
1t, and the formulas by which they
are resolved. The committee Is OF
the opinion that they were unnec-
essarily complex and that such COM
plexity has not only created con-
fusion In the public mind, but has
resulted In an inequitable and un-
workable determination of fuel oil
needs.
Flat Cut Better.
''In all, except rare instances" the
committee said, "home owners knew
or were able to ascertain how much
fuel oil they used last year. Since
1t must be assumed that they die
not desire to waste their own money
by purchasing fuel oil they did not
need, the Office of Price Admins
tration should have assumed that
they purchased it because they
needed it. Consequently, the COM
mittee is of the opinion that If the
Office of Price Administration hac
concluded that a straight line cut
could be made without rendering the
home uninhabitable, it should have
proceeded in the first instance tt
make fiat percentage cut in each
area with provision for application
by individual homeowners for more
fuel where they could prove 6
necessity by reason of special cir.
cumstances and with provision fol
review by local boards of those stu.
atoms where, by reason of specia
circumstances, less fuel oil would bt
sufficient"
The OPA failed to accomplish
this. and today many citizens are
suffering. But doubtless the New
Deal will say it doesn't matter much
only a few people are cold. aftel
all. Small wonder the people votee
in big number of opposition can.
didates in the last election. Under
. parliamentary system an election
held today would doubtless wipe ou
all vestiges of the New Deal and it.
incompetent administrators.
(Reproductfon Rights Reserved)