The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1944-06-30
MATTERS FOR
C0NSIDE
BY CONGRESS
Dear Sir:

Magazine issued a news item unde
Canada at War" entitled "Externa
Affairs-a Matter of Insurance" II
the opinion of the writer, the heading
of this article should have beef
changed to appeasement of publ,
lopinion or a weak attempt to cover III
or pass by rotten deal on the Cano
project in Canada made by Genera
Somervell and the Imperial Oil Com
pany, which is subsidiary of the
Standard Oil of New Jersey or the
Rockefeller interests.
The fact that 134 million dollars was
spent to build 600 miles of 4-inch oil
line, which could not possibly deliver
over 5000 barrels day, is an atrocity
This deal was made under the guise
that it would protect Alaska from an
invasion by the Japs, but it is known
| fact that this work could not have
| been completed in time to accomplish
| this purpose. Gasoline and other re-
| fined products could have been trans
ported to Alaska much quicker and
cheaper by air transport than the ex-
penditure of this huge amount of
United States taxpayers funds. The
deal SINNERS down to the mere fact
that the Imperial Oil Company want
ed to develop these reserves in the
north country at the expense of the
American taxpayer and now the I'm
perial Oil Company would like to COM
promise a bad deal by offering. Uncle
Sam 60 million barrels of crude oil, If
and when produced.
According to information obtained
from a member of a firm of consult
ing engineers, this money was thrown
away without cause or justification.
Most of the work was done on cost
plus contracts and it was stated that
there would be 500 men working on
camp while actually only so men were
out ON the pipe line trying to accom-
plish the thing they wanted done and
the money was all charged against the
venture.
From a layman's viewpoint, the I'M
perial Oil Company should owe the
United States government, which spent
taxpayers money, 1874 million dollars
plus nominal amount of interest I'M
til the debt was paid or the indebted
ness could be liquidated with oil at
a reasonable price, but under this ar
even small interest
charge would increase the debt mate
rally during the time it would take to
deliver this amount of oil through this
small pipe line.
Many other deals have been made
and are in the making along the same
line. Aircraft companies have paid off
their original investment many times
over and are paying their employees
imperial Oil Company put over the
Canol DEAL the Standard of California
and the Texas Company would like to
nave Uncle Sam build them a pipe line |
n the Middle East, where another 165
million dollars of Uncle Sans money /
will be spent and where it will take
IN army of American soldiers to pro- |
.ect this oil line on this long desert |
'un
Why should the American taxpayer
,r even American corporations spend |
unds they have accumulated out of |
he services rendered to them by peo-
lie in the United. States in foreign |
ands in order to raise the standard of |
living in these foreign countries? For /
ign enterprise should be financed by
nd r,f oil fef fhnca
ands and if not available, could be |
borrowed from an international bank,
s one of the prime causes of war
nd disruption of peace is the invest
nent of foreign moneys in other lands,
nd while there is nothing in the Con-
titution to prohibit a man from in
esting his money wherever he wishes,
congress would have the power to
lace tax on every dollar invested
4 foreign enterprise, and this tax I
hight even be raised to 100 per cent,
,hich would virtually prohibit the in
estment of American money abroad. /
Probably the outstanding foreign I
lvestment has been made by the Am {
rican Tel & Tel Co., which controls /
ne International Telephone Company,
'hich in turn owns the telephone sys-
ems in Portugal, Spain and several
Their countries. They have been |
harging the American public for toll
srvices on lines probably five times
he amount necessary to pay a fair
rofit ON their investment for the last
fly years and are now a five billion