Attorney-General Manning has invited representatives of the Standard, Indian and Texas oil companies to meet with him soon and explain to him why there is such a variation in prices of gasoline. The attorney-general is not saying at this time what he thinks about it, but it is pretty generally understood that he has in mind a certain law known at the Justice anti-trust bill, and while he is not making threats, he can make it uncomfortable for any concern or group of concerns that may juggle prices for their own benefit to the hurt of the public.
The thing that has raised a question in the mind of the attorney-general is the difference in prices in various communities and even in the same community. In Raleigh, for instance, the price is 26 cents, the same as in Durham, but in the suburban filling stations the price ranges from 23 to 24 cents. At Sanford, which is not so very many miles from here, the price is 21 cents. At Apex it is said that gasoline is two to three cents cheaper than in Raleigh and Durham. That difference has naturally caused the attorney general, along with a lot of other folks, to wonder why.
The wholesale cost of gasoline in carlots is reported to vary from 17 to 19 cents a gallon, which includes the state tax of three cents. Delivery by trucks to filling stations is reported to be at the price of around 20 cents a gallon.
Now, the representatives of the big oil companies will be asked to explain, if they can, why prices are so unstable. The attorney-general is not at this time interested in the retailer, his first attempt to find the reason why is to be directed at the producing and distributing companies such as the three mentioned. That may produce information which will later lead to some action for the benefit of the customer.
It is estimated that North Carolina consumes more than 10,000,000 gallons of gasoline each month, and it can be readily seen what would be the effect of a price change of only a few cents on the gallon. If the attorney-general can stabilize the price at say two cents lower than the 26 now being paid in Durham and Raleigh it will mean the saving of many thousands of dollars to car owners. Gasoline either is too high in some places or too low in others, and in either event it is probably the result of something not exactly fair to the public. Manning is in line to render a great public service if he succeeds in getting at the bottom of the condition and straightening it out in a manner that will be fair to both the oil dealers and the consumers.
From the editorial page of The Durham Morning Herald, Sunday, Aug. 12, 1923. Twenty-five cents in 1923 is the equivalent of $4.46 per gallon today.
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