New-York tribune., 1912-02-01
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AUTO NEWS OF THE DAY
Standard OH Company Advances
Price of GaSOIene.
CENT A GALLON INCREASE
E. A. Moross Goes to Havana to
Arrange for Race Meeting
Late in February.

The ultimate consumer, in this case the
man who owns an automobile, is due for
another unpleasant sensation. II may come
to-day or next week, but at any rate the
Standard Oil Company has notified various
garage proprietors of an advance Of a cent
gallon in the price o. gasolene. There
fore the high cost Of motoring will go up a
notch. The expectation is that the other
companies will follow suit in a short time.
This is the second increase Of a cent a
gallon inside OF year. Last summer the
price was advanced from nine to 10 cents;
and the present move brings the price TO II
cents. Consolation lies in the fact that
about two years ago gasolene was selling
at u cents a gallon.
THE increase becomes necessary through
the greater cost OF crude oil,' said rep
resentative OF the Standard OIL Company
yesterday. THE trend has been upward
for some time. Even now gasolene is
cheaper than II was two years ago. when
the wholesale price was u cents gallon"
In connection with the advance in price
Of the fluid that is almost indispensable to
the operation of automobiles, the opinion os
men who have studied the situation is in
teresting Not a few are Of the belief that
the cost Of gasolene is destined 10 become
prohibitive in a few years. There is. they
assert, too much residue, or by-product, or
whatever It may be called, after distilla-
| tion crude oil yielding only u or Is per
| cent OF gasolene.
| Before the internal explosion engine came
| into general use gasolene had little or no
commercial value. and much of it was
thrown away. Now that II is used for
power production in many ways, especially
! for the propulsion Of automobiles, the de-
mand increases by millions Of gallons every
year.
In many parts OF the world efforts are
being made by chemists to discover way
Of effecting a chemical change in crude oil
by which II may be used in internal ex-
plosion engines, and by inventors TO con-
struct carburetors that will vaporize crude
oil or Kerosene so that It can ne exploded
In a cold cylinder In many cases when
an engine is hot through running kerosene
can be used with fairly satisfactory results.
The drawback is in starting motor. Ker-
osene is not Of course so ceanly as gas
olene, its use in engine having a ten
dency TO carbonize cylinders and to cause
excessive smut TO collect In the exhaust
pipe
| Ernest Augustus Moross will leave for
Havana to-day for the purpose of arrang-
ing race meet to take place about the
end Of the month. II will follow the Mardi
Gras meet on the Fair Grounds track at
New Orleans set for February II and IS.
! The Cubans have a mile track and are
fond OF motor speed events. They have as
sured Mr. Moross that drivers Of the class
Of Bob Burman and Joe Matson will draw
we'll there. Both these drivers will COM
pete.
The Jumbo" Benz, Of 500 horsepower.
with which Burman hopes to make three
miles a minute on the Florida beach next
spring. will reach New York on the steam
ship Finland to-day. 1t is the most pow
erful car in the world. and Burman is GER
tain he can lower his own beach records
with il.
The scarlet and white registration plates
OF 1912 blossomed all over the city yester-
day. Apparently all the owners who have
been supplied took IL for granted that they
would be justified in using the plates day
ahead of the time officially set At the
State Automobile Bureau the rush con-
tinued and at a late hour in the afternoon
It did not appear that all the applicants
could be supplied unless the employees
worked well into the night.