The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1944-03-24

The answer is very simple and cal
be given in a few words. The majo
oil companies do not want an in
crease in price because they are max
ing ample profit through refining, dis
tributing and marketing oil product
and it is giving them an opportunit.
to force the Independents out of bust
ness and to buy them out for as little
as zoe on the dollar. 1t might BIZ
cited at this point that the major:
have laid down 35 million dollars OF
the line in Montana and Wyoming IL
the last three years, taking indepen
dent operators out of business. Dur
ing the last three years the majors
have increased their ownership Of
1870 of the known production in the
United States to 1870, and refining
capacity from $50 to 800, and are
creating the greatest monopoly of ou1
most essential natural resource.
Gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, alum
mum, magnesium, chromium and all
other essential minerals have been
subsidized or given price increases,
together with lumber, transportation
and all food products including grains,
cereals, livestock and their by-prod-
ucts. The excuse for this increase
is an incentive to produce more and
win the war, which is of vital import
ance to all of us, but if all prices had
been frozen on December 7, 1941 at
their then present levels, or given a
flat increase of all commodities of
say 10 or Is percent, which would
have included labor materials and all
other commodities, we would have
kept on an even keel and the war
economy would have hurt no one seri-
ously, but under the present arrange
ment, the white collar class, morgan
lied labor and some Independent bust
nesses are standing the brunt of the
whole show. We are spending 100
billion dollars year. Ninety-five per
cent of it is left in these United
States. The money has simply
changed hands, and the debt has piled
up against the average taxpayer who
will eventually have to pay his pro-
portionate share without receiving his
share of the benefits of these opera
lions.
We sell bonds to widows, orphans,
counterjumpers and stenographers
and raise immense sums to be thrown
out the window, so to speak, by in
competent inefficient army engineers,
who know nothing of economics or
the value of the American dollar.
ing 1874 million dollars for pipe line
to Fort Norman with no chance to
recover any part of the principal. This
is to be given to the Imperial Oil
company, subsidiary of the Standard
of New Jersey, which is the Wall
Street gang, and these same widows
and orphans will eventually have to
pay the balance. Spending 1874 mil J
lion dollars to produce 5000 barrels
Of oil day is a crime If a small |
part of this money had been spent |
IN some of our western oil fields, for |
example Wyoming or Montana, ten
lines more oil could have been pro-
luced and the government reimbursed
or its expenditure by taking an OBJ
igation from the producer.
The country is being told that we
ire reducing our oil reserves to a
dangerous minimum. Personally, |
lave heard this old story for the last
3 years. 1t is propaganda put out by
he major companies to get support
0 go into other oil fields outside of
hier own jurisdiction to supply oil to
i'll their needs. At this point l would
ike to quote Wallace E. Pratt, vice
resident of the Standard Oil Com
amy of New Jersey at dinner served
o the Petroleum division of the Amer
can Institute of Mining Engineers,
yho said: 1--WE will still not have used
p our petroleum reserves when we
egin to utilize the energy of the sun
irectly to replace coal and OIL" This
ppeared in an article in the Oil
Weekly.
If the price of crude oil had been (
lcreased three years ago in proper s
on to toher commodities, we would
ave had adequate reserves developed
Y this time, and with a backlog OF {
ynthetic fuel from oil shales and
)al, there is little doubt but what
lie United States can be supplied for
1 indefinite period 3
The government now plans to build 4
pipe line in the middle east on a 4
isis of the most uneconomic set-up g
at an oil man could devise. In other 3
ords, the government will be repaid 3
t and when" and maybe never. At 5