Monday, Jun. 07, 1943

Tough Times

The 43,000,000 people in twelve eastern states and the District of Columbia felt the hand of war a little heavier on them last week. No one could ride to a restaurant, a theater, a picnic or make any other pleasure excursion without risking his right to buy gas for the duration.

Many thousands had enormous difficulty in getting to work. Bus schedules had been slashed way down. Retail deliveries were cut, from 10 to 100%; laundries, milk and other services were cut to a minimum. The people were ruled by ODT, checked up on by OPA and explained to by OWI. But the main thing was: no gas.

Motorists were hardest hit in Washington, D.C., where filling-station operators hung up "no gas" signs and went home. (Buses to Mt. Vernon were discontinued.) The Richmond Chamber of Commerce persuaded business offices to stagger working hours to ease peak loads on public conveyances. Philadelphia's OPA inspectors, quizzing 1,000 suspected pleasure drivers, found a surprising number of gas users on their way to (or just returning from) their grandmothers' funerals. Manhattan Sunday bus service was slashed deep: Fifth Avenue was empty.

No one, including Washington, knew how long the new rules would apply. But the pinch was on. The East's gasoline and oil was flowing off to the armed forces, perhaps for use on the Second Front.

And, predicted ODT: things will get worse in the next 60 days.

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