Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-11

opening or pipe through which the
tank is filled shall be perfectly closed,
except when used in filling. A vent
pipe not less than s4-inch shall be
be attached to tank, extending ten
feet higher than adjacent buildings.
'Third-Oil for use as fuel 81 q | by a
suitable pump (automatic recon-
mended) be forced direct from the
storage tank to the furnaces. Suitable
metal drip cans or reservoirs shall be
placed to gather the leakage, if any.
Fourth--All connections shall he
made perfectly tight with we'll fitted
joints, and all pipes, connections and
pumps shall be capable of resisting a
pressure of 300 pounds to the square
inch.
"Fifth-That steam pipe shall be
placed, connecting the boiler with the
storage tank, such steam pipe to be
provided with shut-of cock so ar
ranged that steam can readily be di-
rected into the tank.
''It will be seen," added Mr.. Still
man, "that the two principal con di-
tons set forth are that the oil used
shall be of not less than 900 test, and
rules governing the manner in which
it shall be stored within the building
wherein il is used. II is OF course,
generally known that oil gas is much
heavier than air and therefore natur-
ally falls to the ground, where it can
not be detected by the sense of smell.
This accounts for SO many OF the gas
oline explosions. The floor of room
may be covered with explosive vapor
aud yet 10 one notice it, but let
match fall upon the ground and then
it will speak for ITSELF No, we can
not run the risks incumbent on us
under the present sytem, for though we
would not mind SO much in an
individual case, yet where a whole
town is concerned we must be careful,
for the destruction of place like Los
Angeles would cripple the insurance
companies considerably.
AS regards The storage of petroleum
you will see that we are OF course
greatly in favor of underground tanks. |
This is, on the face of 1t, the
only safe way to handle petroleum as
supply or gravity tank is exposed
to SO many outside influences that
may cause an explosion besides being,
in case OF fire, of treble the danger
both to the building which contains
1T and the adjoining structures. Now
as for underground tanks, the whole
city might burn down and no serious
results from the oil accrue, for at a
depth of four or five feet the tempera-
ture would not be affected two de-
grees. You will notice that where
these underground tanks are used we
will make no additional charges on
the insurance policies but in the case
of supply tanks extra rates will have
to be paid"
WHAT oILMEN SAY.
Thinking that this was a rather
high-handed proceeding on The part
of the insurance people, the reporter
decided to investigate the matter furth-
er, and for this purpose called on Mr..
Sutherland Hutton, President OF the
Los Angeles Oil Burning and Supply
Works. On mention being made by
the scribe OF the stand taken by Mr..
Stillman, Mr.. Hutton said: est is a.
blow at the principal industry OF
Soutern California, and we cannot at
tempt to guarantee to furnish 80 de-
gree oil for fuel at the present prices |
1t is quite unnecessary and this is
evident to all acquainted with the oil |
we are using. AS far as the storage
precautions insisted on are concerned
| perfectly coincide with Mr..
Stillman's views, but he will find that
the test order cannot be enforced in the
long run. We have attempted tol
make no monopoly of this oil busi- |
ness, and at the seasons when Los
Angeles can only obtain coal at |
famine prices we have still supplied
the city with fuel oil at the one
standard charge. Now, | maintain
that the factories here cannot afford |
TO burn coal, and as Southern Cali
fornia is richly supplied with a sub
stitute which for all purposes is far
better, it is natural that this should
in time become the established COM
bustible. To choke this industry in
its very infancy would be blow to
our interests far more serious than
else that can be conceived,
for not only would it stop or cramp
the operations OF the factories at
present in existence, but it would
prevent the establishment Of any
others. Southern California uses
10000 barrels of oil month for fuel
purposes, nine-tenths of which is con-
sumed in Los Angeles; so you can
see what valuable industry it has
become. Look in the East and see
what footing it has obtained there.
The fact that the Standard Oil Com
pany is running pipe from the Lima
fields to Chicago, distance of 200
miles, is indicative of its general
adoption. The manufacture oil burn
ers here will be badly hurt
by the enforcement OF this
order,' concluded Mr.. Hutton,
"but can foresee that the trouble
will only be temporary one, for the
insurance companies will have
eventually to yield"
The Quarter Again.