ustxtxb_obs_1957_11_29_50_00007-00000_000.pdf

INDEPENDENTS VS. MAJORS ON IMPORTS AUSTIN Independent oilmen in Texas are now prepared to go further than is generally realized to break the major companies of their lusting after the bubbling profits they enjoy from marketing much cheaper to produce foreign oil on the $3-a-barrel U. S. market. Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Assn. vice president and chief spokesman W. Earl Turner says TIPRO is going to fight for a substantial protective tariff against foreign oil \(“an equalization tariff,” he realize this would lead to open conflict with the majors in Congress? “Yes. We agreed the other day,” he replied. TIPRO’s executive board met in Houston Nov. 5 and urged “a permanent policy, including support of congressional action, which will assure limitation of oil imports” by cuts of about 400,000 barrels a day. It was agreed, says Turner, that “our main effort would be aimed at the protective tariff. The resolution does not refer to it, but all the discussion gives first emphasis to the tariff.” Independents are, beyond any doubt, losing some profits because of the imports. Gov . Daniel says the Texas economy loses $1.5 million a day because of excessive imports. \(Texas Employment Commission figures do not uphold contentions imports a r e hurting oil industry employment a point made by the independents, Daniel, and Sen. Ralph Yarborough. For October Texas petroleum and natural gas mining employment is up 900 over 1956, and the number of workers hi refining petroleum products is up Spokesmen for _ independents maintain the President’s volun / in the Corpus Christi Caller: “Daniel Voices High Praise for His Legislative Record.” / The AP, reporting the filibus-‘ v ter against the troop bill, remarked: “The Senate did not recess but members staggered out for lunch.” Texas dailies are somewhat put out by the Eisenhower Administration’s suit against Texas for the tidelands. It’s “difficult to understand” Eisenhower’s position, says the Houston Chronicle. The Dallas News wonders who is running the administration. The Fort Worth StarTelegram ignores Eisenhower’s personal support of Texas tidelands and lets go a haymaker at “j u di c i a 1 lawmaking.” Ernest Joiner of the Ralls Banner isn’t confused: Daniel and Shivers now know what happens when one gets abed with Republicans: “a neat doublecross from some past masters of the art.” / Preston Weatherred, Dallas v lawyer, sometime lobbyist, and pundit without portfolio, has sent out a letter to “interested parties” on Texas politics. “States rights and racial integrity” are the issues, he says; DOT brings together “the elements who are devoted to the causes of the NAACP, of the COPE, and of … the Heirarchy of Northern Democracy.” Yarborough is “the idol of this group,” he says. On the other side, he says, are Daniel, Johnson, Rayburn, and Shivers. Nixing a third party for the tary imports control program isn’t working satisfactorily. Gov . Daniel has clearly indicated he wants the voluntary program to become in effect mandatory. Sen. Yarborough, the junior Texas senator, an ardent defender of the independents, has called the major importing companies too “greedy” to let the voluntary plan work. Sen. Lyndon Johnson says imports are hurting the independents, but he is more optimistic about the voluntary controls. Recently the legislature backstopped the independents’ new play with resolutions sizzling alleged monopoly, restraint o f trade, and excessive importing by the majors. Cartel’s Noose Rep. George Truett Wilson, a farmer from New Castle, sponsored a simple resolution saying imports are causing production cuts, abandonment of stripper wells, waste of oil, sale of oil below operating costs, loss of income for royalty owners, growth of unemployment, drops in state revenue that “will probably” lead to new taxes, and bankruptcy for the independent “unless the noose placed around his neck by the world oil cartel is loosened.” His resolution, passed 80-12, asks Sen. Johnson “to have introduced and sponsor legislation to impose a substantial protective tariff on foreign oil importations,” except Canadian imports. It was pointed out that revenue bills originate in the lower house. Turner said TIPRO favors 50 to 85 cents a barrel tariff. “Without a tariff the extra profit goes to the company. We think it ought to go to the government to equalize the competition,” he said. A House concurrent resolution adopted by both Houses directed the Board of Control not to buy time being, even for “white men who know they are white,” Weatherred advises conservatives to unite behind Blakley for senator. 7 Bascom Timmons, predicting v Meyner of New Jersey will get the Democrats’ 1960 nomination, said Lyndon Johnson is out. “I don’t believe the South will have much influence …. Both parties will be out to get the minority vote,” he said. Political Intelligence Conclusive reports here are that Northern liberals in the Democratic Party have decided to ignore the South, as Truman did in 1948; a third party is con sidered with indifference. But Texas is not considered a part of the South: liberal Democrats count on Texas in the party’s election columns in ’60. Thus Texas again will be a presidential battleground of first importance. Sen. Hubert Humphrey spoke at a bonds for Israel rally in Houston, but without much press attention. As is customary, he paid tribute to Rayburn, Johnson and Yarborough. Only the Yar borough reference was applauded. Tickets to the Johnson din ner in Houston Dec. 4 are now being hawked in Austin. J. S. Abercrombie, Houston oilman, says attendance will be limited to 1,000. Few members of Harris County Democrats plan to go, but some Houston AFL leaders have oil, gasoline, or lubricants \(total value of the state’s contracts, panies not complying with the voluntary import control program. Gulf, Magnolia, and Sinclair have most of these contracts. A House-passed concurrent resolution by Rep. Bill Elliott, Pasadenahandled in a routine way in. his absence by Rep. Tony Korioth, Sherman condemns “the refusal of major importers to accept full allowables set by the Texas Railroad Commission.” It charges: “Some major importing companies have refused to accept the full allowable of oil produced by wells connected to their pipelines, instituting pipeline proration, establishing their own system of market demand, thus overruling t h e Railroad Commission of Texas … “Some major importing companies have refused to accept trucked oil or have sold gathering systems and refused to accept oil from such gathering , systems after their sale …” This results in monopoly and restraint of trade, it’s said. The TIPRO -approved resolution directs the Texas Attorney General to study possible action under state conservation and an-. titrust laws. \(Will Wilson said he would direct such an inquiry if the resolution passed finally. It died on the Senate calendar the last day of the first special session; Turner said he thinks it will pass both houses this session, but As early as last September, TIPRO and four regional hidependent producer associations charged, to the Railroad Commission, that the pipeline subsidiaries of nine major oil firms had “subtly and skillfully” restricted been encouraging attendance. Another dinner is set for Johnson Dec. 10 in Dallas, Mayor R. L. Thornton announced. I Elton Miller, in the White Rocker in Dallas, says he bleeds with pity for Shivers and Blakley, “who are afraid America is losing her freedom. Mostly they’re afraid they’ll lose that 27 and a half percent depletion allowance.” Yarborough’s “a cinch” against multimillionaire Blakley, he says. IShivers, in Houston, has pre dicted a third party. “I hope that it comes soon,” the Houston Post quoted him. The close Blakley Shivers tie, coupled with Shivers’s present advocacy of a third party, will hardly endear Blakley to Democrats, or Republicans, either. 7 Dr. Hector Garcia, founder of v the American GI Forum, a group of Latin-American veterans, said in Corpus Christi that the Japanese workers importation program is “to lay ourselves open to infiltration into our trades and professions and perhaps into another Pearl Harbor … These workers plan to learn the American way of life and then replace our white collar and trades workers …” ISen. Charles Herring, consid ering a race for governor ox lieutenant governor, sent out a newsletter to constituents noting the “greatest weakness” in the lobby act is that it requires re porting of expenditures only when the legislature is actually West Texas production to make way for imported oil. They also asked the commission to order pipelines to connect about 8,400 unconnected wells. As of Sept. 1, the Justice Department said purchaser prorationing had been announced by two principal purchasers, Esso Standard and Gulf, with a third, Cities Service, indicating it might do the same. Magnolia was prorating but discontinued it in Texas in October and in three other states this month. Gulf has been taking eleven days’ production from non-exempt wells, but Nov. 15, as the Railroad Commission set twelve days’ production for December, Gulf was recommending twelve, indicating it is ready to buy that much oil now. John Davenport of TIPRO says in Texas a number of pipelines have sold their gathering systems ties, then reduced their purchases from the gathering systems. A gathering system, not being a common purchaser under the law, does not have to take oil ratably, as does a pipeline. While TIPRO backs the first three resolutions, it disclaims a fourth, sponsored by Sen. Frank Owen, El Paso, and Rep. Louis Anderson, Midland, and finally passed. It proposes the government study injecting imported oil into depleted or partly depleted oil formations, “thus allowing the oil producers of the United States to furnish a larger proportion of the demand.” Turner thinks this is a wildcat resolution. `Turned Backs’ Daniel said last month, “the profit is being removed from many oil wells and new exploration is being jeopardized.” He said the President’s power “to mandatorily reduce oil imports” meeting. “During the entire session, I received only half a dozen letters or cards from my district on the legislation which was submitted,” he said. Highly skeptically, he reviewed the troops bill. IThe Austin Statesman editor ialized that the troop bill will victimize “the pupils,” means “intellectual starvation” for students of closed schools. After the oratory in the Capitol, “we will have to live with what we do.” 7 The Star-Telegram said a v troop bill should be mandatory or should make school closing a joint school board-Governor’s decision at the request of the board. The Dallas News said the law should give the Governor, at the board’s request, the power “to order the school closed.” 7 Corpus Christi Caller says v under the lobby bill, the greatest weakness is reporting during session only. “If a lobbyist sent a legislator ten cases of whisky, but didn’t talk to him about legislation, he would not be required to report,” says the Caller. “Ignored is the public right to know what legislators are being paid regular fees that represent a conflict of interest.” I Ed Burris of TMA lists his favorites in Washington in this month’s TM A magazine: “What has happened to the Tafts and the Byrneses who once dignified the Congress? … Who will replace the Byrds, the Jenners, the Russells … ? Knowland is retiring …” “should be used … whenever importers violate the restrictions_ which they have been asked to apply.” Yarborough says: “Not only are our independent oil men facing bankruptcy, but the bankers who loaned them money to drill the wells are facing ruin, too.” “The big importing companies have turned their backs on the President of the United States and on, our domestic economy.” T h e President should invoke “compulsory controls on oil imports when necessary. Nothing else will work simply because the big importers are too greedy.” Johnson says excessive imports, mainly from the Middle East, “have done great harm to Texas’s independent producers.” If the voluntary plan does not work, he says, the President has no choice but “the effective use” of “the authority to limit imports of oil when, as is now the case, they threaten the national security.” It all adds up to an altercation, gentlemanly or snarling, between the independents and the majors. Farmer Wilson told the House members that he isn’t prejudiced against the majors, “but if they’re gonna turn into a Frankenstein, it’s not so good …. We’re gonna hit them right in the breadbasket where it’s gonna hurt ’em.” As the high tariff resolution passed, Rep. Harold _Kennedy, Marble Falls, laughed and said, “Boy, that’s the funniest bunch of Democrats I ever saw, voting for a protective tariff.” Whether Democrat Johnson will decide likewise, or risk the wrath of major cornpanies and free traders, and -whether Yarborough will chime in for a tariff at the risk of making yet more suspicious those among his supporters who don’t like his nuzzling-up to the independent oilmen anyway, are two of the most intriguing teasers of the forthcoming Congress. LEGALS CITATION BY PUBLICATION THE STATE OF TEXAS TO Effie Marie Ahart, Defendant, in the hereinafter styled and numbered cause: You are hereby commanded to appear before the 126th District Court of Travis County, Texas, to be held at the ‘courthouse of said county in the City of Austin, Travis County, Texas, at or before 10 o’clock A.M. of the first Monday after the expiration of 42 days from the date of issuance, hereof; that is to say, at or before, 10 o’clock A. M. of Monday the 23rd day of December, 1957, and answer the First Amend. Orig. petition of plaintiff in Cause Number 107,306, in which Henry Ahart is Plaintiff and Effie Marie Ahart is defendant, filed in said Court on the 1st day of Novem ber, 1957, and the nature of which said suit is as follows: Being an action and prayer for judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant for decree of divorce dissolving the bonds of matrimony heretbfore and now existing between said parties; Plaintiff alleges cruel treatment on the part of Defendant towards him of such a nature as to render their further living together as husband and wife altogether insupportable; Plaintiff further alleges that no children were born of said union and no community property was acquired; Plaintiff further prays for relief, general and special;