Evening star., 1948-01-28
Navy will Lend
District Fuel Oil
ToAvertCriisis
700, 900 Gallons to Go
For Critical Needs as
Stocks Here DwindIe
SHORTAGE OF GAS lays off thou
sands In six States. Page A

SHORTAGE OF GAS lays off thou
sands In six States. Page "A
The Navy Department has
agreed to lend the District 700,-
900 gallons of fuel oil to help
tide it over the emergency short
age period, Commissioner Guy
Mason announced today.
The announcement followed warn
ings by Petrol Corp, a major sup
plier of District area homes, and the
Washington Gas Light Co., that the
fuel shortage was reaching the criti-
cal stage.
Agreement with the Navy was
worked out in morning meeting
attended by Secretary of the Navy
Sullivan, William H. Press, execu-
tive secretary of the Board of
Trade; Fuel Oil Co-ordinator J.
Thomas Kennedy and M. Mason.
Mr.. Mason said the plan called for
the Navy to lend the District the oil,
which will be handled by L. P.
Steuart & Sons and picked up by
tanker from the Nays Norfolk
depot.
Loan is Until June 30.
Under terms of the transaction,
the Steuart company agreed to re-
turn the Oil to the Navy by June 30
It placed $4,000 in escrow which
the District government was to pay
the Navy in, event it did not do So
The oil will be allotted to hospitals
and home users critically needing it.
Government officials worked to
divert enough fuel oil into the Dis
trict to offset warning by Petrol
Corp, serving 20 per cent of the
Washington area homes, that its
supply will be completely smut off by
February l.
Further pointing up the fuel
shortage was a statement from the
Washington Gas Light Co. that "a
critical condition could develop at
any time under present weather
conditions"
Telegram Sent to Wherry.
Due to demands on natural gas,
20 per cent of the customers have
been served in recent weeks by gas
manufactured from OIL Uncertainty
of replenishing low oil stocks
brought a warning from the utility
that customers must save gas.
Petrol Corps warning of the i'm
pending depletion of stocks came
in telegram to Chairman Wherry
of the Senate Small Business Com
nittee, which has been allocating
oil to emergency areas.
Inability to obtain oil will force
Petrol to stop deliveries after Feo-
ruary / to distributors serving Co.
900 families in Washington, Balti-
more and Philadelphia, said E. M.
Calls, Petrol president. /
Petrol expects several deliveries" "
from the Gulf Coast between Feb
ruary / and February II, but these
have been committed to Sinclair
and Standard Oil Cos. in repay
ment for previous loans, Mr.. Calls
said.
Wherry Asked to Help.
To relieve the situation, Mr. Calls
asked Senator Wherry, majority
whip of the Senate, in wire today
to intercede with one of these two
recommendations:
To ask the two oil companies to
defer taking repayment of oil from
Petrol until mid-February or later,
or
To urge the 10 major oil COM
panies operating along the East
Coast to sell or lend emergency
supplies to Petrol until the company
receives supplies of its own around
February IT,"
Mr.. Calls said fuel oil co-ordina-
tors here are providing much aid
during the current shortage, but the
amount needed by Petrol-more
than 100000 gallons between
February l and Isis too great for
such officials to handle; thus the
appeal to higher levels"
10000, ,00O- Gallon Need Seen.
A. J. Wolken, special investigator
for the Small Business Committee,
contacted Sinclair. Standard and
Gulf Oil Cos. today. asking them to
sell or lend Petrol sufficient supplies
to weather the emergency. He ex-
pected definite word from the COM
panies later today.
Mr.. Wolken estimated that Petrol
(See FUEL OIL, Page A-4D
A. TLlf Cl.:I