7 JULY 1950, Page 22

Pity the Petroleum Officer

SIR,—The high indignation of your R.P.O. champion seems to be built on air, on thin air. The Spectator, in its wisdom, disapproved of its readers' vindictiveness by awarding me the prize. My letter displayed no animus towards R.P.Os. Indeed it offered them pleasant pastures in some service backwoods, far from the savage motorist. One anxiously wonders if, from this sudden peep at the official mind, there is no humour there after all.—Yours faithfully, G. E. ASSINDEK. 27 Repton Av., Gidea Park. Essex.