Petrol Diplomat

Europe's best known oil tycoon is potent, mysterious Sir Henri Deterding, Director General of Royal Dutch-Shell. As far as the British Government is concerned, Europe's most useful oil tycoon is brisk, smooth-faced Sir John Cadman, chairman of Anglo-Persian Oil Co., Ltd., and an associate of Sir Henri's in distributing oil in the Orient.

To the British Press Sir John Cadman has still another name: the Petrol Diplomat. He cinched his title once again last week by ending amicably Britain's five-month squabble with the Persian Government over Anglo-Persian's oil leases (TIME, Dec. 12 et seq.).

Persia's wild-riding, self-made "King of Kings," Reza Shah Pahlevi never denied that the original Anglo-Persian concession was not factually binding. One of his predecessors, paunchy Shah Muzzafar-uddin, in 1901 signed away Persian oil rights to 500,000 sq. mi. of territory for $20,000. Canceling the concession last November Reza Shah announced as his excuse that a modern Persian Government must not be held to acts committed "prior to the establishment of a constitutional regime," i. e., the Government of Reza Shah.

Britain's Parliament boiled then with talk of gunboats. Anglo-Persian's Sir John Cadman was in California at the time. Discounting inflammatory British talk, he started home with the mild remark:

"I am the Shah's personal friend. I have often met him and discussed business with him. ... I may go to Teheran."

In 1914 Sir John was plain Professor Cadman of Birmingham University, a hardworking, little-known expert on coal and oil. Coal was in his blood. His people were Staffordshire coal miners for generations and giving him a scientific education was their idea of lifting him above his ancestral trade without removing him from it. Professor Cadman's first connection with oil was while doing research for the Scotch shale industry. The British Colonial office sent him to Rumania and Burma on oil expeditions. The War made him Chairman of the Inter-Allied Petroleum Council and technical adviser in the development of a counter terror to poison gas. The War too gave him his knighthood and his first personal contact with U. S. oilmen.

Sir John first won the title of Petrol Diplomat as government oil adviser in the famed San Remo conference which divided between Britain and France the output from the rich Mesopotamian oil fields, earned the anger of U. S. oilmen by shutting U. S. companies out.

Breaking official relations with the Government after the San Remo Agreement, Sir John joined Anglo-Persian as a director. He remained on intimate terms with Downing Street. The British Government still owns the majority of Anglo-Persian stock.

Sir John was quick to realize that U. S. antagonism could be expensive business.

He promptly lubricated raw nerves by offering U. S. tycoons a half interest in Anglo-Persian's share of the War spoils of the old Turkish Petroleum Co. Oil men recognized this as the end of Britain's closed door oil policy in the Near East.

Month ago the Petrol Diplomat reached Teheran and immediately began a series of secret conferences with the Shah. Be fore his arrival the League of Nations, through Dr. Eduard Benes, "Europe's Smartest Little Statesman," had laid the groundwork for a new agreement (TIME, Feb. 13). Last week came the announcement of a preliminary agreement between Sir John and Persia's Shah: Anglo-Persian will in future pay the Persian Government 21% royalties instead of 16% and will turn over 2 1/2% of the profits of its subsidiaries. Persia on its part will grant the com pany a 60-year concession for the exclusive exploitation of untouched North Per sian oilfields and extension of the present concession for the same length of time.

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