Evening star., 1943-06-18
Midwest Rationinq
Seen as Pipeline
Brings Gas East
Military Demands Likely
To Prevent Any Increase
In This Area, However


completion of the big inch" pipe
lines eastward extension around
August /.
The flow of additional motor fuel
into the East, an informed source
said, will not necessarily mean that
drivers here will be allowed bigger
allotments. He pointed out the
needs of the armed forces are stead
lily increasing and any increase in
the supply along the Atlantic sea-
board would be diverted to military
uses.
Meanwhile, Representative D'Ales-
andre, Democrat, of Maryland. pro-
posed to Petroleum Administrator
Ickes that the present rationing sys-
tenn be supplemented with quota
system to apply to dealers as
means Of conquering the black mar
ket. Mr.. D'Alesandro said eastern
motorists had used up 10 per cent
more gasoline than had been allo-
D.. Gated during the past 80 days be-
cause Of the black market, loose
coupons, counterfeit coupons and
over-iSsuance of coupons.
Honest Made to Suffer.
The Maryland Representative
pointed out the honest motoriSt has
been made to suffer immensely to
the extent that he now has no re-
gard for the law and the honest
gasoline dealer just has no chance
at all under present regulations"
Mr.. D'Alesandro pleaded that
maintenance of automobiles is
necessary to assure transportation of
war workers, and unless the ration
ing system is reformed. more and
more service stations will be forced
out of business, thus making 1t
more difficult for car owners to get
repairs.
According to the Government
official who discussed the new pipe
line extension, the 24-inch line now
delivers about 25OOOO barrels of
crude oil daily into Norris City, ILL.,,
from the Texas fields, but only about
half of it can be hauled East by
rail to meet military and civilian
needs on the seaboard.
ooV'VVV DdIItIS d DdN.
The rest goes to MidWestern re-
fneries at present, but it will be
pumped straight through to the
coast after the East leg of the big
inch opens and deliveries are stepped
up to its capacity of 100000 barrels
day
There will be little chance of
offsetting the consequent loss to
the Midwest, already dependent
on the Southwest to help feed crude
Oil to its refineries and further
troubled with declining Midwestern
production, until September l or
later.
The second Texas-to-Ea Coast
pipeline, a 20-inch tube, will be
completed to Norris City and will
pump some 900 barrels of oil
products daily into the area, of
which $4,000 barrels or so will
remain for lack of means to trans
port it all to the East However,
an eastward extension of this line
is due for completion around jan
uary l, and all 1650O0 barrels
daily-even more during the next
three months as the flow is
stepped up to capacity of 235.Oo
barrels daily-will be pumped
eastward, setting the Midwest back
again.
Civilian Surplus Gone.
The huge and increasing mill
tary demand will soak up these
additional deliveries without leav-
ing any surplus for civilian con-
sumption, as attested by recent
official reports that:
l. Our Air Force in Great Britain
has doubled in the last three months.
will be doubled again in the next
three, and we also furnish the Brit
lsh with enormous" quantities of
petroleum.
2. Maj. Gen. James Doolittle's
flyers in the Mediterranean area
alone used an average of 1,1OO.O
gallons of gasoline day over a Is
day period, with fighters burning 100
gallons an hour each and bombers
200.
Adding weight to the prediction
that the Middle West would face
greater motoring restrictions was a
Bureau of Mines report late yester-
Gay which stated that gasoline
stocks were rapidly approa ching
critical levels" everywhere except
along the West Coast.
April and May, it said. recorded
heavy dips into stored supplies.
The bureau added to indications
that tighter restrictions on civilian
motoring may be in prospect for the
midcontinent area before summer
Is out by saying:
Generally April is the month in
which gasoline stock Withdrawals
begin, but this April the withdrawal
reached a peak of about $500 900
barrels. This was followed in May
by another decline ''".
The total military, civilian and
EXPORT demand for motor fuel in
April was about 51,6O0.000 barrels.
which was several million harrs,c