New-York tribune., 1914-11-22
MOTORISTS AWAIT
CHEAP new FUEL
indianapolis Men Devel-
oping Invention That
Gives Promise.
WILL COST CENT AND
A HALF A GALLON
Others Have Tried to Reach
Goal, but Zoline Seems To
Be Real Possibility.

Water, naphthalene and two kinds OF
powder, the exact nature Of which has
not been disclosed. are the ingredients
necessary for the distillation OF a fluid
that is destined 20 relieve motorists OF
the necessity Of buying gasolene. ac-
cording 20 several prominent Middle
Western automobile men.
The new fluid can be made at cost
Of cen. and a half gallon or less
and will give greater mileage and per-
nit OF greater speed than gasolene.
This is the story brought 70 New YORK
this week by r. H. Moskovcs. CONNER
cial manager of the Msrmon company
In local automobile circles the story
Of the new fuel, which is called zoline,
has been received with considerable
degree OF increduity. IL was recalled
that three or four years ago some OF
the richest men in the Wall Street dis
tr.ct put good money into a gasolene
substitute that tested about 100 per
cent genuine. IL was shown, so it was
claimed by men who had been present,
before experts Of the Patent Office IN
Washington, and had received their un-
qualified approval
In that case the method was 10 mix a
small amount of n secretly prepared
/ fluid with a large amount OF ordinary
water The resultant would make
motor car do everything but talk. But
that was three or four years ago, and
the Standard Oil Company is still cell
ing gasolene and the motorists are still
grumbling about the high cost of mo-
/ toring.
A little more than a year ago some
philanthropists of our own Automobile
| Row were on the point OF placing on
| the market a device that would simply
have driven gasolene into the trenches,
refusing TO even allow IL 20 evaporate.
All that was necessary was to have
pocketful OF coal-hard or soft they
ddn't specify-and Keep dropping it IN.
But gasolene to-day is selling at
about the same old price, and the man
who delivers coal is still unaware that
the few pieces he leaves lying on the
sidewalk would run his limousine fifty
or hundred miles.
The Royal Auto mobile Club Of Great
Britain few months ago decided that
the gesolene substitute could be devel-
oped if sufficient incentive were offered.
Il put up $4,000, and would-be invent
ors all over the world began expert
meLting with potatoes and beets and
coal tar and denatured alcohol and
few other things. After a time the
r. A. {. took down its S25000 Gaso-
lene to-day is selling at 40 cents gal
lon in the British Isles, and brisk
trading is reported.
Zolne, however, may be another
thing. II was invented by a Mckees-
port genius named Andcus, who inter
ested Carl Fisher, an Indianapolis
mogul, in IL. Fisher saw IL tried out at
the home OF the inventor, and then had
lin load up his still and take it to the
Speedway at indianapolis for further
tests. That was back in July of this
year.
Since that time, according TO Mosko-
vics, experiments have proceeded
pretty steadily. an the still used by
the inventor has been replaced by a
better one, built by the Marmon Com
pany. Andrus and Fisher are the only
men who know tn. nature OF the magic
powders. Moskov les doesn't know, but
he suspects that the powders and the
naphthalene com bine TO release a lot
of oxygen or h OF air or some other
powerful agent in the water. Many
automobile fac c',ories, he knows, have
been run on hCA air, so why not auto
mobiles.
The most hopeful feature Of the
zoline experiments lies in the test con-
ducted during the week with a Marmon
al" using the new fuel. The car, II
is reported, covered 500 miles on
Thursday al an average speed OF about
sixty miles fn hour, the test being su-
pervised by A. A. A. officials Appar-
emily the first leg was entirely salts
factory. TIE second finished late on
Friday and met all expectations
Fisher is not trying 20 sell any
zoline stock, it is said. His idea Is 10
sell county rights on the still and the
secret. In time, perhaps, the still will
become part Of the car, as the self
starter iS now.