The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-03-03
DISCOVERIES AID TO AMERICA
PROCESS EVOLVED FOR MAKING
CHEAPER GASOLENE.
Dr. Rittman Also has Chemical For
muia for Providing Bases for Dyes
AMI High Explosives.

Washington Feb. 2S.-Two dis
cOveries, each of vast Importance TO
American industries, one of them re-
garded also as a priceless military as
Set were announce dtoday by Secrc-
tary Lane of the interior department.
They are chemical processes. develop
ed after years of research by DR.. Wal
ter r. Rittman, chemical engineer of
the bureau of mines. One is expected
TO enable oil reflners to increase their
output of gasoline by 200 per cent. :
the other makes possible the pro-
auction from crude petroleum Of
high explosives for which the world
has depended almost exclusively on
Germany. DR.. Ritcman has applied
Tor patents on his process to pre-
vent the possibility of any monopoly
in their use and will dedicate them
To the American people.
These processes" said Secretary
Lane today, ARE fraught with the Mt
most importance. The Standard Oil
company has had big advantage
over Independents i'm producing gas
oline. having a patented process Oh
tanning three times the amount of
gasoline from petroleum that the in
dependents now obtain. ...
'NDxy tho faIar,J
through the efforts of DIR. Rittman.
proposes to make free for the use of
all process. expected to increase
their yields of gasoline fully 200 per
cent. and perhaps more. DR.. Ritz
man claims his process is safer, sim
pier and more economical.
1T is but two years ago that tho
automobile industry offered a $780,
600 prize for substitute that would
cost less than gasoline. This new
process adds to the hope that i'm spite
OF the wonderful growth in the use OF
gasoline. there may not be any short
age in the, future. When it is realized,
tho gasoline Industry, each year yields,
$lOo'Oo9,ooo TO sI5eo99,o 600 the, i'm
portancel of this discovery is. seem
The second PROCESS discaYsred hS
pr. Rittman may, prove OF, much more
value than, the first, in that, r it sug-
Kests The aPlishmenb OF an INDUS
Ty ip,WhiSh Germany, heretofore1 has
,hesp preemnentT7rlthe dye INDUSTRY
and qisp promises indirectly meas
RTS ~ national safety OF inealeulapie
dmporLaneO. ,i ,r,5 ss, ,., b,.,.... r.
Among The. necessary ingredients
9suhigh .eNpl0Sircs. vtelp2l and. beuGoi
are an the hrst rank. \ Heretofore,
theseD products haye been mainly OBJ
tainedaint GerTpanX and England from
coal tar~The federal goyernmept nov
proposes ITO, obtain toluol, and beHzol,
from crude petroleum, These prod
Docts san. be modpcsd from virtually
any AMERICAN petroleum. The, supply
can. be made sufficient not only. for
DuC also
for other purposes and at a reason
able cost.
THE real comforting thing, how
ever. is that il the nation ever is call
ed on to defend itself, we can manu-
facture the most efficient and most
powerful explosives known in war
fare. Were it not for this discover,
IL is possible that i'm such an emerg-
ency We might be compelled to rely
largely on greatly inferior explosives
and this would spell national disaster.
"Pr. Rittman concludes from his
experiments that this process may be-
come more economical than German
methods and ii may result in even
tually giving the United States "a SUI
prenacy in the dyestuffs industry that
has belonged to Germany. 1t would
! tend to prevent disturbances OF the
great industries engaged I'm the man
ufacture OF silks. cottons and woolens
in such extraordinary times as VIC are
now experiencing"
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ALL HAVE ACCEPTED.