RUSIAN PETROL

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3212, 4 August 1932, Page 6

RUSIAN PETROL

A REPLY TO CRITICS. Writing to the Christchurch Sun, Mr F. W. Johnston gives some very interesting information bearing on the Russian petrol question. We quote:— I have perused the letters of your several correspondents, and to save space I beg leave to reply to most of them in one letter. I pass by aIJ literary flourishes and all dissertations on the value or propriety of anonymity. After all, if critics do not care to come out of their " Shell," what is more exquisitely appropriate that they shoud write under a nom de "Plume"? I have also to thank " 8.T.0." for his kindly reminder that I have reached the age of discretion. I forget sometimes that the years are passing. As to my having always stood as a champion of the motorists, am I not doing so now with others who have stepped into the breach? If we had not taken the action we had, I should have felt that we were deserting the cause of motorists in this their greatest time of need.

" B.I.O." asks. " Why gentlemen holding official positions in the motoring world hold all the ordinary shares and power? " The answer is that they don't; he is wrong in his assumption. These gentlemen hold very few ordinary shares in the com-' pany, but they have virtual control oy reason of the voting power attached to their own small holdings, and the fact that the voting power in regard to a large parcel of the oilier ordinary shares (without any beneficial interest or profit) is vested in myself and Mr O'Callaghan, the present pre. sident of the N.I.M.U. This vesting of the power without beneficial interest, and the provision that the preference shareholders can nominate any two directors,, was done advisedly to prevent large opposing interests gaining control by buying either oi--dinary or preference shares. If the door had been left open in this regard it does not need a prophet to foretell what would have been the ultimate fate of the company. lam sorry "B.I.O." put'the words "Business In Oil" under his nom de plume, otherwise I might have been tempted to ask him who are the real shareholders and controllers of 8.1.0., and in What proportion do the various nationals—British, American, German 1 and Dutch —hold share capital and control.

" Another Motorist" ought to know that in the petrol world to-day the most progressive thought and action is moving toward Russia. The "Petroleum News," of July, 1931, says that:—

"A striking success has been achieved during the past year by R.O.P. 'n adding to the list of its customers several very important municipalities and local bodies. Among them are the Portsmouth and Plymouth Corporations, Cardiff Corporation, Burton-on-Trent and Kilmarnock, in addition to many other municipalities which have now been supplied by R.O.P. for several years. The best municipal customer at present is the Birmingham which is taking from R.O.P. over 3,000,000 gallons yearly of motor spirit, supplying the entire requirements of this great corporation. "World Petroleum" (published in New York and London and not by the Soviet) in a recent issue said:—"The City of Derby, England, contracted with R.O.P. for Soviet petrol for half of the supplies needed by the Midland Association of Manicipal Tramways. In answer to criticism, Alderman Salisbury said, ' Where am I going to buy British petrol? ' One alderman said ' Power petrol is British? ' " The article then goes on to say that Power petrol is cracked in England from Russian kerosene by Meedway Oil and Storage Co., which is controlled by the Anglo-American Oil Co., and the Royal Dutch-Shell and Anglo-Per. sian Groups. The intimation of the fact that not only is British Power petrol cracked in England from Russian kerosene, but that this is done by Anglo-American, Royal DutchShell, and Anglo-Persian interests must be doubly disconcerting (and I hope educative) to my critics. The chairman of Soyouzneft (the Russian Export Bureau) recently state:— "The continued increase of unemployment in all lines of trade and industry in capitalistic countres is in no way connected wth the Soviet oils export but,.to the contrary. Soviet purchases abroad, the limits of which depend upon the .volume of our exports, largely contribute to the decrease of unemployment in quite a number of countries. Soviet oil exports never before have refused, and do not now refuse, to discuss means of regulating the worM's oil market and to work out joint measures to be taken." - •■ ■ Again, in an editorial on page 668. of the Petroleum " (the New York and Lori- j don publication) states:— | - " . . . One of the best-informed au- j thorities on Russian' trade in petrol- ' eum has just completed a personal in-

vestigation of market conditions in Europe. The conclusions drawn from this study are set forth in the accompanying article. They are, in brief, that the abandoning of the gold stand, ard by Great Britain and certain other countries has greatly strengthened the competitive position of the Soviet Union, whose willingness to accept manufactured articles in exchange for petroleum products is held to be an inducement of exceptional weight under existing financial conditions. The expert's views as presented hold also that Russia should be included in any programme of world stabilisation."

"World Petroleum" also states: " In Great Britain the Soviet organisation has carried out the terms of its agreements with the big British and American oil companies in every respect." This again shows not only that the big British and American oil companies have contracted with the agreements. In another portion of the same article the writer says that: "The only practicable plan is to make the best possible agreement recognising Russia's position. Purchasing contracts between the Soviets and the Standard Oil Company of New York have worked successfully for the past several years,, at least to date. A careful study of oil importing during the past few years shows that in no instance have the Russians dumped substantial quantities of oil in any European countries except Scandinavia. Nevertheless there is not one country in Europe today where oil companies other than the Russians are making money. The reasons for these poor conditions are' cut-throat prices, oceasional_dumping by countries other than Russia, and a general campaign followed by some of the leaders of the major oil companies who have preferred for reasons best known to themselves to refrain from buying the very distressed cargoes that have forced them to cut their own prices." The agreement between the other world producers, in their futile endeavour to control the world's supplies, came to an end in March last, so that if they do not make their peace with Russia now she has forced them to recognise her power in oil they will have only themselves to blame.

The British are a phlegmatic race, slow to wake up to their own interests. For some years they permitted Russia to export largely to England and create credits there, which credits the Soviet used to finance purchases of machinery from America. Now Britain has awakened, seen her mistake, and moved with the times. A recent issue of the Economist (London) shows that whereas Soviet orders in the United Kingdom in 1929 were only £9,912,443, in 1931 there were £14,973,118. In machinery and equipment alone in 1930 the Soviet orders were £3,618,947; but in 1931 they jumped to £8,905,813. Moreover, for the month of December, 1931 (evidently a quiet month), the Russian orders for machinery in the United Kingdom were £296,372, out of total , orders amounting to £339,160. Thus the Russian orders for December last accounted for 87 per cent of the whole of the machinery orders in the United Kingdom.

I Returning to "Motorist," there is another side to the so-called " confis- ! icationy but it is too large a subject even to approach in this letter. However, I wish to make an explanation in regard to his statement and a traveller's contradiction as to the sign on English garages " No Soviet Petrol sold here." It would seem that "Motorist" and myself were both right, he in stating that the signs had existed, and I in stating that if they did they had probably been removed, their effect being to drive business away from the petrol station's which displayed these slogans. I have been searching through several volumes of "U.S.S.R. in Construction." . I find in the 12th issue of 1931 a photograph of one of these signs,, with the following note (which no doubt is true) at the foot of the photograph: " Yes, it is true that London buses use Soviet petrol. However, one may still see pasted on a brick wall an old weather-beaten poster which reads 'No Soviet petrol sold here." This poster, is the echo of a past struggle. What changes time brings! "