Page 8
University Daily Kansan
Thursday. Oct. 11. 1962
Gasoline War Poses Survival Problem
By Terry Murphy
The more business he does, the more money he loses.
That is the problem facing the service station operator who must compete for business in Lawrence during the gasoline price war. This was the story told by a station operator in a recent interview. He leases a station from a major oil company.
"There are times when I feel like tossing it in." he said. "Every time I sell a gallon of gas, I lose half-a cent.
"It works like this — I sell gaso-line for 21.9 (cents) a gallon, and I buy it for 21.4."
He then explained that he pays the oil company a cent a gallon for rent of the station and equipment. Thus for every gallon of gasoline he sells, he loses a half-cent.
Why does a man stay in a business where the more he sells, the more he loses? Why doesn't he quit?
"SOME of the cut-rate distributors will stand behind their station operators — they tell their boys to meet the competition and they guarantee them a profit."
"I've thought about it plenty of times, but how do you get out? I've got a couple a thousand bucks tied up in stock." He pointed toward the racks of tires, auto accessories and car polishes.
"The only way I can keep the doors open is to sell lube jobs, oil changes and wash jobs. And occasionally I get a wax job — there's some money in that.
"AND THERE USED to be a time when you could count on making some profit selling sales, but everybody and his dog are selling them
now. If you can't make more than a dollar of a $20 sale about all you're doing is swapping dollars.
"Why don't you get out of the business then?" was the next question.
"Well, young stud, I'll ask you somethin' . . . do you want to buy it? Half the operators in town would gladly sell out if they could find someone to buy the stock."
How long will the gas price war last?
"I don't know . . . about as long as the little guy will put up with it, I guess."
Women to Register For Rush Tuesday
Women who will participate in spring rush may register from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Dean of Women's office. A fee of $5 is to be paid at that time.
To participate in rush, women must have a 1. grade average.
The 13 sororities will hold their rush between the fall and spring semesters. The sororites are Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Sigma Kappa.
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FORMERLY GUSTAFSON'S
Howard F. Stettler, KU professor of business, has been elected to the Association of Certified Public Accountant Examiners' board of directors.
Stettler Is Elected To CPA Assn. Board
Prof. Stettler recently returned from New York City where he terminated his office as president of the association and assumed a position on the board.
Prof. Stettler is also secretary of the Kansas Board of Accountancy and vice-president of the American Accounting Association.
He obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees in business at the University of Illinois. He is the author of "Accounting Principles."
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