OCR Text |
Show .ip. Wednesday. February lfl, 19 Please, lets set the record straight, During the course of our continued struggle to seal off the oil leak in the Santa Barbara Channel, a statement has been attributed to me by the press, radio and television. A statement which, quite understandably, has generated a certain degree of public outcry. Were this statement true, I should have nothing to do but shoulder the burden in silence, accepting the response as my due. The fact is that at no time, anywhere, did I make that insensitive statement charged to me. Th' vVall Street Journal, acknowledging its error, printed the following letter from me on February 14th: thing a little perspective. , Jn addition, we have assigned marine biologists and other scientists to assess the effects of the oil on marine life and to determine in what fashion we might be able to expedite a return to a normal balance of under-se-a life. And of course we have not overlooked people. With our have three partners in the well Gulf, Mobil and Te.xaco-- we arranged for our insurance carriers to set up special offices to quickly handle damage claims to boats or other property. Jle have provided more than a score of boats, several airplanes , miles of plastic and wooden booms, thousands of bales of straw, dozens of vacuum trucks, dump trucks and Editor, The Wall Street Journal: bulldozers and more than 500 men for cleanup operations on Since the first moment of the very regrettable incident well in the Santa affecting the Union Oil Company-operate- d Barbara Channel, the Union Oil Co. has mustered an ever increasing force of men and material to control the well and to clean the ocean mid beaches. At the same time, the com- pany has taken steps particularly to care for wild fowl and J or marine life adversely affected by the slick. It is particularly galling, therefore, in view of this all-o- ut story on Feb. 7, a statement attributed as testimony by me before a Senate subcommittee on Feb. 5, 1969, in which I was falsely charged with callously effort, to read, in a taking care of. relatively it does seem that we should give this page-on- e land and sea.. It is well nigh impossible to say how deeply we regret .this accident. We have operated at all times with procedures approved by our three partners and the Federal regulatory authorities. Fred L. Ifart ley President Union Oil Company Los Angeles (The Journal regrets its inaccurate quoting of Mr, Hartley, -- Ed.) In view of our attitude and these things we are doing, saying: it is most distressing that because I voluntarily and responsibly I'm amazed at the publicity for the loss of a few birds. 1 said no such thing at any time, anywhere, nor did I say it before the Mttskie Senate subcommittee. My comments relative to our concern about wil life, as reported in the official transcript of the proceedings, follow: Mr. Chairman, I would like to comment further here: I think we have to look at these problems relatively. I am always tremendously impressed at the publicity that death of birds receives versus the loss of people in our country in this day and age. When I think of the folks that gave tip their lives when they came down into the ocean off Los Angeles some three weeks ago and the fact that our society forgets about that within a period . I think relative to that the fact that we have had no loss of life from this incident is important. appeared before a United States Senate Committee to provide information needed for possible legislation, that T or any other private citizen should be maligned by manufactured quotations. For seventy-eigh- t years we have been building with the country. In its economy. And in its conmnuuues. We share a great stake in its future. We are confident that those who have known the com- pany during its long history understand and respect our philosophy and record as a good citizen and a good neighbor. By our actions we hope still to merit that understanding and respect. 24-ho- ur set up, on the third day of the incident, a bird sanctuary, set up with appropriate scientists and cleaning chem- icals to try to do our best to save our feathered friends, but We I do say to you that relative to the number of deaths that have occurred in this fair city due to crime and all the accidents that do occur relative to that problem of our nation, this desecration to the offshore area of Santa Barbara, although important and certainly one which tie are fully devoted to Union Oil Company of California umm A nijjiwicin mumm |