Evening star., 1943-07-16
481 in District
Get Vacation
Auto Permits
Applications Of 98%
Granted in Nearby
Virginia, Maryland

automobile travel permits, after
having granted 481 authorizations
yesterday.
I'VE do not expect to be swampe6
with applications, for the simple
reason that the travel permit does
not increase a car owners gas ra-
tioning," an OPA official explained
He added that preliminary check
shows the average vacation travel
request made yesterday contem-
plates trips of about 100 miles, tc
Virginia and Maryland beaches and
mountain resorts.
Meanwhile, nearby Virginia and
Maryland boards granted 98 pei
cent of travel permit applications
Ofncials in these communities ap-
peared to be having little difficulty
with the Interpretation of adequate
alternative transportation"
New Hampshire Trip Projected.
Ration Board so here had under
consideration request for author
ization of a motor trip to New
Hampshire, a distance which would
exhaust the applicants gas ration
for months.
Board 81 set the pace by granting
80 permits. Other boards acted as
follows: Board 10, 1S permits; Board
IL, Is; Board II, IL; Board 20, 73;
Board 80, 70; Board 81, 76; Board
30. IS; Board 80, 13, with 80 pend
ing: Board 40, 40; Board Al, /, with
so pending; Board AZ, 2; Board So
7, with S pending; Board 60, ~;
Board 81, q, with 20 pending.
Board 80, spokesman said, re-
tected several applicants who want
ed to drive to Illinois and Kansas.
This spokesman said about 80 per
cent of the applications were
granted.
Group Riding Benefits.
An official of another board limited
that permit applications contem-
plating a car full of people would
be granted, provided the applicant
meets other requirements. 1t was
explained that group driving would
hold down highway traffic and also
relieve train and bus congestion.
A spokesman for Board so eX-
pressed the fear that some drivers
might attempt to use B ration books
when out of Washington and then
try to obtain more gasoline allow
ences when they returned home.
An official said Board 3 granted
about 10 per cent of the applications
filed yesterday, rejected 10 per cent
and withheld action on 20 per cent
pending additional information
Most of the requests made at this
board, it was said, were for trans
portation to beach or country houses.
Many applicants said they wanted
to carry materials for repairing
summer homes.
AS District boards wrestled with
the problem brought about by this
specific relaxation of the pleasure
driving ban, Maryland OPA Direc-
tor Leo H. Mccormick urged ration
boards to tighten up in the issu-
ance of permits, adding it may be-
come necessary later to review some
of these certiflcations and call in
some which have been issued in er-
ror" In many cases, he said, mo-
torists were given permits covering
travel mileage in excess of their "A"
ration.
Apply to Any Board.
1t was emphasized here that ap-
plication could be made to any ra-
tioning board and not necessarily
to a board from which motorist
received his ration allowance.
New York ration boards, it was
reported, were granting trip permits
quickly to applicants who could show
their mileage records were clear and
that they had sufficient coupons to
make short journeys. One Manhat-
tan board denied 10 permit requests
because mileage readings were i'm
proper. A Staten Island board
granted 1873 out of l40 requests.
Rochester, N. Y, turned down only
10 applicants out of 1000. In Troy,
NY, every one of 162 applicants got
a permit.
Warns of B Coupons Use.
A New York business executive
who had no more No. S coupons in
his A book was warned not to use B
coupons for vacation trip. A
woman sought to make a 1900 mile
round trip to New Orleans with valid
A coupons representing $50 miles of
travel, but her permit request was
refused.
Board officials in nearby counties
reported that of a total of 243 re-
quests received yesterday, only three
were turned down
Those three were submitted to the
Bethesda Rationing Board, which
refused approval because the appli-
cants did not have sufficient A
coupons. The Bethesda board ap-
proved SO requests and 18 others
were held for future action.
Other Maryland boards, which ap-
proved all applications acted on, in
clude Silver Spring, eight approved
and So held for action today; Hyatts-
willie. 73 applications approved, and
Rockville, 81 applications approved
James Douglas, executive secretary
of the Alexandria Rationing Board
reported that 35 requests for vaca.
tion gasoline were approved yester.
day. In addition, he said, Is mo.
torists took application forms to be
returned to the board later.
All of 81 Applications Approved.
Arlington board officials said 81
applications were approved yester-
day by a siX-man vacation gasoline
panel. officials said all applications
presented to the panel were ap-
proved.
Fairfax County board officials re.
ported that application forms have
been received by the board today
after more than 100 motorists whe
applied yesterday were turned away
because of the lack of forms.
Oficials of nearby boards said the
rush of vacationists has handi.
capped workers in conducting regu.
lar rationing business. They said 6
new rush for vacation gasoline al.
lowances is anticipated after July
% when the No 6 period A coupOns