Evening star., 1943-11-22
|ckes Demands
Study Of Army's
|Cano| 0i|Dea|
Tells Trumun Group
130-MiIIion Project
Should Be Junked'
By the Associated Press

By the Associated Press.
Petroleum Administrator Har-
old L. Ickes today denounced as
not "in the interest of the Gov
ernment" the $l30, 100000 United
States-financed Canol oil project
in Canada, said it had been un-
dertaken by the War Department
without prior consultation with
his Office and asserted it ought
to be junked now"
Departing from a prepared state.
ment to the Senate's War Investieat.
ing Committee, Mr. Ickes told Chair.
man Truman:
1T never would have been under.
taken if we had had anything to say
about it.
I'VE might as we'll save the $780,.
10000 it is estimated it will cost to
complete it.
"Not Sound Business"
Its not sound business Judgment
to buy something that is worth
nothing and will have no value after
the war in order to benefit the I'M
perial Oil Co. and the Canadian
government"
Emphasizing he was before the
committee "as witness and not
as volunteer" apparently a refer
ence to President Roosevelt's warm
| ing to department heads against
airing their differences in public,
the petroleum administrator and
Interior Secretary told the Senators
that members of his staff first heard
of the project "by chance" in the
spring of 1912.
Our first impulse was to dis
count the report" he testified, "be-
cause we assumed, that, if any prof.
ect of the kind we're being consid.
cred we would have been ohcially
informed of it,"
Asks Restudy of Contract.
When the reports were verified, he
said, he wrote Secretary of War
Stimson on June 3, 1912, expressing
my regret that the Army had not
consulted with my office on a mat
to U.S."
Calling for a re-examination Of
the contract. Mr.. Ickes said:
Il don't think that 1t was in rhs
interest of the Government. If we
had been consulted, We never would
have approved such contract"
He made this statment after SEN
ator Truman told him that postwar
disposition of the project would rest
!, with Canadian and an American
representative, subject to certain
conditions.
The American Government is to
pay S125 barrel for the first l.500.-
600 barrels. Senator Truman said.
with future Withdrawals to be paid
for at so cents less.
> That is the closest any Of US
have come to the contract" Mr..
Ickes declared.
He said the project wouldn't have
ANY value six months after the
war;
Mr. Ickes' sentiments were con-
CURED in by Representative Gavin,
Republican, of Pennsylvania, who
said there are a billion barrels Of
oil in the earth waiting to be coaxed
out in his home district and called
for immediate "scrapping" of the
Canol project.
TITS just bad deal. a headache"
he said. land We ought to pull out"
1 Mr. Ickes said he told Mr.. Stim-
son that President Roosevelt had
given him the responsibility for de-
velopment of such projects. and
while he agreed with the necessity
Of providing fuel for air force op-
erations in the area, he did not
, believe that the solution proposed
by the Army was the most desir-
able one"
Ickes Questioned Desirability.
Mr.. Ickes said he raised the ques.
ton Of the desirability of a pipe
: line from Fort Norman to White
=. Horse over 500 miles of virtually
unknown territory" involving difi-
cut problems of procuring equip
ment for an aviation gas plant.
He suggested, as less costly al
tentative, consideration of a plan
for transporting the needed prod
ucts from California via the inland
passage to Skagway and thence to
protected storage at White Horse
and other strategic points by way
of tank car or pipeline
Subsequently, he stated, Secretary
Stimson. who had expressed regret
that "exigencies of the military sit
uation" did not permit prior con-
sultation with Mr.. Ickes. agreed that
further study had developed desir-
ability of supplementary facilities
by way of Skagway.
Sent Engineer for Investigation.
Finally an agreement was reached,
Mr.. 1ckes said, under which he sent
an engineer to Fort Norman to in.
(see CANOL PROJECT, Page A-2o)
Nurse Dies in HospitaI Fire.