As Humpty Dumpty told Alice, it was simply a question of who was master. After weeks of secret palaver in London, the Compagnie FranÇaise des Petroles withdrew its objections to the $200 million deal for Standard Oil Co. (NJ.) and Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc. to go into Saudi Arabia (TIME, March 24). But Standard's announcement of settlement was tinged with annoyance: before the deal could be closed, it had to be approved by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. And last week, Gulbenkian wasn't having any.
It might seem temerarious for an individual to buck the world's greatest oil companies, but not when the individual...
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