Evening star., 1943-06-10
Gas and Oil Outlook
For Winter GLOOMY,
Ickes Declares
Will Ask Midwest Curb
When Supplies Can Be
Transported to Eost

There is no Immediate prospect
that automobile owners may get
all the gasoline they might like
or any guarantee that occupants
OF homes with oil burners will not
shiver next winter, Secretary of
Interior 1ckes, petroleum admin
istrator for war, indicated today
before an informal joint COM
mittee of Senate and House
members.
I'm going on the theory that the
1ckes family will be as cold next win
ter as during the past winter" he
said. And that's damned cold"
The unpredictable needs of the
armed forces, Mr.. Ickes explained
makes it impossible to forecast just
what may happen with respect to
the supplies of gasoline and fuel oil
for civilian use.
He said. however, he is prepared
to recommend that the Is Midwest
States. in which there is no ban on
so-called pleasure driving and a ra-
tioning coupon calls for four gall
Ions of gasoline, be put On the same
basis as the II East Coast States
and the District of Columbia as soon
as more transportation facilities are
available for diversion of supplies to
the hard-presSed Eastern Seaboard.
Ickes Seeks Rationinx Job.
In other quarters it was learned
that Mr.. Ickes has made a definite
request that he be given the power
to ration gasoline and fuel oil.
Mr.. Ickes has already carried to
the War Production Board his plea
to take gasoline and fuel oil ration
ing away from OPA, it was said.
The same source said that unless
the WPB turns oil rationing over to
him. the Secretary will appeal di-
rectly to War Mobilizatio Director
Byrnes.
Mr.. Ickes attended a confidential
meeting Of the WPB Tuesday when
he placed his cards on the table, it is
understood. The board is now re-
ported to have the request under
consideration.
II OPA were to be stripped of its
food and oil rationing powers, the
agency which has been under fire
more than any since the NRA would
be virtually abolished Several men,
bers OF Congress have already in
troduced measures which would take
away from OPA its power to ration
food and place it in the hands of
War Food Administrator Chester
Davis.
Mr. Ickes does not relish the idea
of handling ratioring of gasoline
and fuel oil, according to the same
source. Both programs have been a
source of constant headaches to the
OPA. But the petroleum admin
istrator believes these rationing re-
sponsibilities should logically come
under the same authority which
now has the task of controlling the
supply.
The Interior Secretary also is said
to believe that he should handle
coal rationing, when and If it be-
comes necessary, in his capacity as
solid fuels administrator. His at
titude on the present arrangement,
it was reported, is that he is trying
to keep the banking account on
gasoline and fuel oil solvent while
some one else has the checkbook.
Mr.. Ickes' dissatisfaction with the
manner in which gasoline and fuel
oil ratiOning has been handled by
OPA has never been a secret. He
has frequently objected to the wide
circulation given rationing coupons
and to the fact that for long time
OPA's drive against black market
operations in gasoline was ineffec-
tive. The Secretary recently told a
pleSs conference that even the
issuing agency" had no idea how
many coupons were out.
It has also been his contention for
the past year and a half that sup
plies should be confined strictly to
essential purposes. When Price Ad-
ministrator Brown abandoned the
pleasure driving restrictions i'm
posed earlier this year by his pre-
decessor, Leon Henderson, Mr.. Ickes
strongly opposed the move. When
gasoline supplies in the East
dwindled almost to the zero point,
Mr.. Brown was compelled to order
the pleasure-driving ban anew sew
eral weeks ago.
In another fight between Mr..
1ckes and Mr.. Brown which has
been brought out into the open, the
Secretary revealed at press con-
ference today that he has written
tsee GASOLINE Page A-ldo