BRITISH MOTORISTS FIGHT FOR PETROL

Chronicle (Levin), 14 January 1948, Page 6

BRITISH MOTORISTS FIGHT FOR PETROL

LONBON, Jan. . 12. ' , Petrol continues to* be one of the most debated subjeets,' in Britain, ahd the "battle of the. basic," as the dispute with the Government over the abolition of -the basic ration is now called, rumbles unceasingly round the..eountry. Recently tliere have , been many rnmoiirs t'li'at tlie ratidn will . be , restored at Bastei'j .and, those wlio believe 'thishav.e taken some . efihduragemeht from refioirjts" that ' the Ministry pf Fuel has had^a fresh ' supply ' of undated faticin : boolcs printed. " . ... . Tlve Chancellor of the Exchequer* is expected to' make' a. statement shortly. So far he has' giveh cold' eomfort to those hopihg ' for Testoration of" the ration., for when questioned on the snbjeef recevntly, he smiled^and said the savihg had been "well worth' while." ' The .deeisibn to end th.e basib was, of course, to' saye dollars. It is expected to save 300,000,000 gallons ' a year) val-ued at £9,000,000. At the same time, it was forecast that it would reduee the flow to "the black market, which last year was estimated at between 60,000,000 and 90,000,000 gallons a year. Scepticism About Savings. Those who favour restoration of euts are seeptieal about the amount of dollars and petrol that will be saved. They point out that at .the end of 1947 there Were more private cars on the London roads than at the end of 1946, and that so many applications for snpplementary rations have been granted that only a small proportion of tlie Government ;s target will be aehieved. Many groups an,d organisations are continualiy stressing to the Government the effects of the abolition. The chairman of the standing -joint committee of the Ro'yal Automobile Club, the Automobile Assoeiation, and the Eoyal Seottish Automobile 'Club, iias declared it is resulting in severe losses to trade and industry, particularly the retail motor trade, and the hotel aird catering busi nesses, in unemplOyment, in" diseouragemont of visitors from abroad, >aiid in an increased load on the alreadv overburdencd public transport. "Tncalculable liarm is ])eing done," he adds. '"Save Our Summer" S.O.S. ITundreds of east eoast hoteliers, hoardiug-house proprietors, caterers, and other -summer holiday operators h'ave sent an S.O.S. to Sir Stafford Cripps and Mr. Hugh Gaitskill, theMinister of Fuel and Power, asking thern to "save our summer." Hundreds of letters have been publislied by the newspapers from people either demandin'g or imploring the restoration of the cut, many also pointing out abnses. One, for instance, was from a man who frankly stated that if he had taken his ear to a football iuatch he would have use.d six gallons, .but that he had hived a -car . which -used 14 galloqs. Others. point to the car parks at race meetings, packed with high-powexed hire cars. Many people declare that the cutting of the basic is the most unpopular thing the Labour Government' lias ever done, and. that a large nu^nbe'i• of its merubers heartily wish nothihg had ever., been heard about it. Sir Stafford Cripps, however, is a man who apparently cares little about nnpopularity. He may eontinue to smile and declare the saving is well worth while.