Evening star., 1943-09-01
New Style Gas Coupon
Planned by 0PA 10
Fiqht Black Market

The Office of Price Administration
Is drafting plans to tighten controls
over gasoline rations which include
the issuance of numbered strips of
tickets to replace the current coupon
system. The move, however, is ex-
pected to have little immediate
effect in conserving the Easts lin
tied fuel supply.
An OPA spokesman said the ticket
idea probably would not be placed
in effect before March of next year.
The gasoline tickets will be num-
bered serially, thus enabling en-
forcement officers to make more
accurate check on their use. The
plan, it is hoped, will have the effect
of curbing black market operations.
Representative Hartley, Repub-
lican, of New Jersey, described the
new plan yesterday as he charged
that gasoline saved by the reduction
of Midwestern rations was going
into the black market instead of
being shipped to the East.
Via coupons ARE lnNdHQ.
Local rationing boards are COM
pleting the issuance of new coupons
to B and c bookholders, and officials
believe this will be of considerable
help in icurbing illicit use OF motor
fuel. Old-style supplementary rations
became invalid today.
Another idea which may be used
by OPA in Tightening ration con-
trols is the establishment of special
gasoline panels in metropolitan
areas. This plan already is is use
in the District and may be extended
to other sections Under it the mo-
torist makes application for sup
Elemental rations to mis- local board.
The application then is forwarded
to central clearance point for ap-
proval and final issuance.
officials said the review of sup
Elementary rations would be con-
tinued in the effort to squeeze all
the water" possible from the ra-
tioning system. Regional Office Off
cials are being sent to local boards
to assist in this review work.
Tailoring" to Be Eliminated.
The ticket idea which will require
| months to be placed in effect, Off
cials believe, will make it more
difficult for black market operators
| to counterfeit ration slips. It also
will eliminate the necessity for
tailoring" ration books. which has
afforded another means of loose
| coupons getting into circulation.
Serially numbered tickets can be
traced much easier, it was said,
than the current coupons which
are all alike.
Mr.. Hartley said he agreed with
the OPA that it might be weeks,
even months, before Eastern motor
lists could hope for an increase in
the value of their coupons, but
charged this is because the equal
ization of rationing was not put into
effect at least two months ago, and
for that matter, Is still not on an
equitable basis.
He called "poppycock" the con-
tention that has been made that
more gasoline is needed in the Mid
west and Southwest because of
greater distances of travel.
Midwest Consumption Mounts.
THE fact is" he said, that In
1941 when We all had as much gas
as we wanted and could use, the
| distances travelled by the average
motorist on the Eastern Seaboard
was greater than that travelled by
the average motorist in the Midwest.
Under rationing, however, it is
to note that while our
daily consumption on the Eastern
Seaboard from January of this year
until the present time has remained
at approximately the same figure.
consumption in the Midwest during
the same period has increased by
over 100000 barrels a day.
''Tt is also interesting to note that
the Eastern A coupon holder, who
has been the goat during this entire
travesty, is using less than 10 per
cent of the gasoline shipped to the
East under present quotas"
Declaring that "all we in the East
want is our fair share that can be
transported to us without undue
sacrifice on the part of the rest of
the country" Mr.. Hartley said the
Eastern problem no longer is one of
lack of transportation but of avail
able supply, possible only, he said,
by building up stocks in the Mid