| Show axis powers starve f for or oil no I 1 war making mahig ammunition mx 4 A Z 1 aj V tanks like these eat gasoline fifty years aio ago arm armies tes moved by horsepower or foot worrying only about food and and gunpowder washington wm ASHINGTON that bromide ide about armies marching on their stomachs hold water any more armies and also navies and air forces march on their gasoline supply this mechanized militarism becomes especially significant riffi ant cant in light of statistics showing that three members of the peace bloc the united states great britain and france and one potential member soviet russia control more than 90 per cent of the worlds oil supply and despite the frantic efforts of japan germany and italy to corner additional supplies new oil lands are being leased to democracies A few weeks ago the king of boudi arabia turned down oil offers from japan and germany to accept a smaller figure from an american firm he feared totalitarian economic exploitation would lead to political exploitation every branch uses oil streamlining of military and naval forces has placed almost all activity on a mechanized basis airplanes tanks and motorized cavalry have arisen in the past 30 years while naval vessels are replacing coal with fuel oil uncle sams new I 1 experimental division at fort sam houston requires r nearly gallos gallons of gasoline g aso line for a days march enough to drive an auto around the world six times A chart of the worlds ol oil 01 supplies shows the united states in no 1 position with a 1938 production of barrels this was per cent of the world output by contrast japan has only her lin island concessions from russia producing barrels a year as compared with her naval requirements quire ments of barrels a year she now buys some barrels annually from amer america ica germanys germanas Germ anys wells produce barrels a month but by conquering Ru manias rich oil property she could get an additional a year italy produces little more than barrels a year U S has lions share shar e americas vast oil empire extends far beyond the national borders bo aders including rich pools in peru venezuela colombia parts of rumania and poland and interests in sumatra java and iraq if the united states were prodigal it could easily supply the rest of the world with oil for many years to come for military purposes petroleum is now held just as important as gunpowder for without gasoline to move equipment to the front guns are useless |
