Evening star., 1943-05-20
Additional Cuts
In Use Of Gas
Seen by |ckes
Pleasure e-Drivine Bon
May Be Extended to
Midwest, He Says

supplement the new ban on
pleasure driving, Secretary of the
Interior Ickes revealed today.
Mr.. Ickes, in his capacity as
petroleum administrator, also said
he believed it may be necessary to
extend the restrictions on driving
from the District and II Eastern
States to areas in the Middle West
which have never been affected by
pleasure driving bans.
In connection with the extreme
shortage of gasoline in the East, Mr..
Ickes said. Il think this proves to
the hilt what I've been saying for
many months about nonessential
driving2
The Secretary never hid his dis
pleasure over the action of OPA in
calling off the original ban on non-
essential driving.
Pipe Line Break Serious.
Mr. Ickes said the break in the
24-inch pipe line carrying petroleum
from the Texas fields to Norris City.
ILL.,. caused by flood waters, would
seriously hamper delivery of Oil to
the East Coast He estimated that
200 900 barrels day were being lost
pending repairs to the big inch"
pipe line.
He explained that he did not know
yet how extensive the break is or
how long it will take to repair it.
But he said he believed that it would
be several weeks, at least. before oil
began to move through the line once
more. At the same time, he added,
rail lines along the flood areas also
had been washed out, thereby max
ing it necessary to reroute railroad
tank cars
Deliveries Of oil by rail last
week, Mr. Ickes reported reached
the highest point in history-980 652
barrels-bringing stocks up to 277
per cent of those normally available
for civilian use, as compared to 255
per cent. the low mark, reported
last week
The break in the pipeline" he
said, came at a very bad time.
We were getting along fine, and
then that river raised hell"
River Bed Shifted.
The Petroleum Administrator said
the pipeline had been built to re-
sist floods but =. that the river
caught us off guard and pulled a
long pass around end He ex-
planned that the river bed had
shifted and smashed the pipe at a
point where floods were not ex-
| pected.
fThere is a possibility that the
| underwater break in the big
inch Texas-to- Illinois pipe line
is merely crack which can be re-
| paired with clamps. War Emer-
gency Pipe Lines, Inc, reported
today from Little Rock, Ark, ac-
cordlng to the Associated Press.
A WEP spokesman said brush
and trash had prevented divers
from ascertaining the exact type
of break.
III 1t is complete break,
WEEP Is considering stringing an
Army pontoon bridge across the
| river and laying an emergency
line across it. Another possibil-
lty is to lay loop" circuit into
| Little Rock and across a bridge.)
The report that petroleum supplies
IN the East were somewhat better
at the end of last week confirmed
an earlier statement by the Ameri-
can Petroleum Institute. According
to f1gures furnished by the institute,
supplies stood at 27.1 per cent. coms
pared with 25.5 per cent last week
and 58.3 last November. The index
covers all petroleum products, in
Guiding fuel oil and heavy Industrial
oils.
Gasoline stocks throughout the
Nation. the institute reported, last
week stood at 86,95O,oO0 barrels. a
drop OF 1.2l6,000 from the total re-
ported week earlier. A year ago
they totaled 100, 78O 900 barrels.
Local Situation Bad.
Meanwhile, an alarming shortage
of fuel for farm equipment was re-
ported in Maryland, where thou
sands OF acres of war crops went
implanted for lack of gasoline.
Critical shortages were developing in
Delaware and Southern Virginia,
Maryland conditions were so bad the
War Food Administration appealed
to the Petroleum Administration to
take steps to enable farmers to carry
on their work.
From its Baltimore headquarters,
meanwhile, the OPA announced it
would give motorists of the State
time to adjust themselves to the re-
sumption of the ban before Begin
ming enforcement. Cornelius P.
Mundy. OPA enforcement attorney,
said it obviously would be unfair to
start enforcement precisely at noon,
| for many still are unaware of the
ban"
| Federal officials moved to ease the
shortage by authorizing movement
of motor fuel into the State by tank
car, relaxing recently imposed ban
on such shipments.
Virginia OPA headquarters at
Richmond moved to begin immedi--
ate and strict enforcement of the
ruling. Chief Attorney Herbert T.
Williams, jr., and Enforcement At
torney Robert w. Keyser conferred
this morning on plans for reviving
the measure.
OPA Administrator Brown wired
Governors of the 13 States affected,
asking that police stop and question
all drivers when violations were in,
dicated, check for violations in all
traffic cases, and haunt pleasure
spots for motorists whose presence
is prima facie evidence of a viola
| tion."
Through its order, the OPA moved
to set up strict enforcement of the
ban in the District, Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, Delaware, Penn
sylvania. Maryland, Virginia and
eight eastern counties of West
Virginia.
Mr.. Brown, who had sought to
1