OIL MONOPOLY PROFITEERING

What's behind gas boost

SAN_ FRANCISCO

Recent increase in oil and
gasoline prices are spurring de-
mands for a searching Con-
gressional investigation into
the oil monopoly, (In Vancou-
ver, gas prices have advanced

one cent in line with increases
in the U.S.)

The American Public Power
Association is calling for a
probe into price-fixing collu-
sion by the major oil com-
panies,

The National Oil Marketing
Association, an organization of
independents, is urging an in-
vestigation into its charge that
“Texas and other oil-producing
states are deliberately holding
back the production of crude
oil” to pave the way for higher
prices.

Several Congressional. cam-
mittees have announced their
intention to investigate. Sen-
ator Estes Kefauver (D.-Tenn.)
has promised that his Senate
anti-monopoly committee will
look into the situation “very
soon.” The U.S, Justice De-
partment’s anti-trust division
has also disclosed that it is
probing the price increases.

Investigators will have little
trouble ascertaining these
facts:

@ Price hikes in the US. fol-

lowed. the usual pattern
denounced for years by Con-
gressional committees as the
specific form of collusive price-
fixing in the industry: Stand-
ard Oil affiliates gave the sig-
nal, and -other companies
quickly followed.

® The claim that rising costs

made the price hike essen-
tial coincided with increased
demands for oil from Western
Europe as a result of the Suez
crisis.

® Oil industry spokesmen

were jubilant about the
shutdown of the Suez Canal,
virtually conceding they were
now in an excellent position to
exploit both West European
and domestic markets.

@ The oil industry is plagued
with over-production and
over-supply. There is not the

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slightest excuse of an oil short-
age caused by the cutoff of
Middle East supplies or the
increased demand from West-
ern Europe.

@ Profits in the industry

are at a record high.
(Standard of New - Jersey
alone increased its profits by
$603 million—5 percent—for
the first nine months of 1956.)

These facts sum up the op-
erations of the international
oil cartel—a closed combine

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of seven great corporations
controlling -virtually all oil
production in the capitalist
world, including the Middlt
East, the U.S. and Canada,
and Latin..America. Five of
these are. American. Three
are -Standard corporations:
Socony, Standard of New

Jersey and Standard of Cali-
fornia.

Big questions like these face
any Congressional investiga-
tion: To what extent have these

City solves’ parking problem profitably
by increasing monthly rates for DPC

Vancouver’s Downtown
Parking Corporation, origin-
ally set up with the blessing
of city council to provide off-
street parking for shoppers in
the downtown area, decided
this week to boost all monthly
parking rates effective March
1. Rates will go. up from $12
and $15 to $15 and $17 a
month.

Last week on two DPC lots,

in the unit block West Cor-.

dova and the 100 block West

Pender, the all-day rate was
increased 100 percent from
$1. to $2.

Managing director Tempest
de Wolf said “We need a big-

ger. turnover of cars in the

lots.— our system is set up
for transient business.”
Vancouver car owners have
long felt that the downtown
parking problem must be dealt
with by city council in a bol-
der, more imaginative fash-
ion. Increases in parking meter

rates- and doubling of fees
for all-day parking on DPC
lots will lead to higher rates
by privately-owned parking
lots, but. will not expand
available parking space.

Questioned as to the profits
of the DPC, which Ald. Earle
Adams praised as _ being
“above and beyond criticism,”
de Wolf replied:

“We will not give the fig-
ures to anybody. We don't
have to.”

mame AP Newsfeatures
corporations manipulated the
Suez crisis for profit? To what
extent have they helped shape
U.S. policy in the Middle East
crisis, including the new Eis-
enhower Doctrine?

But even if the probers pre-
fer to duck hot ones like that,
they can hardly elude the most
striking aspect of the situation:
the huge oil surplus which de-
bunks the that
Western European demand

argument

justifies a price increase.

The New York Times finan-
cial section reported on Jan-
uary 17:

“Gasoline stocks are at a
new peak for this season of
the year.”

Petroleum Processing, an in-
dustry journal, predicted in its
January issue that gasoline in-
ventories would be as high
December 31, 1957 as they
were a year earlier — about
185 million barrels.

FEBRUARY 1, 1957 —

Argument used by
porations, however, is thal
demand on crude oil h
drained by Western E
demand. Britain and
have been importing crue?
rather than gasoline from ]
US. “4

While crude oil invent ,
were not as large as thos
gasoline and while theré %
charges that Texas oil #
ests were restricting pI@
tion, the supply on hand !

president of Standard of ®
Jersey, to state in the Jam

ditional oil (mostly

have already been S#
from the U.S. Gulf and ©
bean in an effort to covel |
European needs. Most a

ventories.
the domestic industry
now can supply about 7)
barrels a day to do this?
without stinting domesti@’®

rationing. a!

Oil - industry expert

—but that there will be ™
at the end of this year.

ity to meet all crude oil #%

In fact, the situation |
anticipated last year W*
glut threatening tight ™
and price controls by thé,
tel and resulting in Oy
hand price wars both in,
wholesale market and at!
filling stations. :

This disturbing prosDely ‘.
dissipated by the Suez
As Petroleum Processi¥
January put it:

sori omeialllta

“The products price pit’
was a much rosier one

"refiner at the turn of they

because of the Middle |
crisis. The internation@ |
ation of a scramble for ©
and products throughowt
nation, and domestic an®
eign sales attributed yr
crisis totalled millions oC”
rels.”

This note was mixed
one of foreboding in @
ment by Jake L. Hamon!)
ident of the American *
leum Institute, the indv®
big trade association:

“The closing of the-
Canal should eventually!
a material reduction in
tic crude and residual *
When the canal is final
opened, our old proble®
be with us again.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PA'