Evening star., 1916-10-16
Thirty Years Of Gasoline,
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

The discovery not long ago that i'm
pure or adulterated gasoline was being
placed upon the market caused a great
deal of Indignation among American
automobilists. Samples from several
hundred garages were bought and test
ed. 1t was found in most instances
that the gasoline was of poorer quail
ity than that purchased at half the
price a year ago. and some of it was
so poor that 1t failed to operate the
engines of a number Of cars. The au-
tomobilists started a national cam
paign against such adulteration. and
several large cities drew up speciflca-
tions of a certain standard, to which
the gasoline sold at the garages must
comply. So far. however. this standard
has not been enforced. for a new light
has been shed on the gasoline situa-
tion.
In a speech made before the Wash
ington committee Investigating the
gasoline problem. Director Van H.
Manning OF the bureau of mines made
supply Of crude oil in the United States
will be exhausted. The end of our Pc
troleum resources are in sight. After
that We will be dependent either on
the production Of other nations or
upon q substitute derived from other
sources. In the meantime he urges
the automobilists of the country not to
be too hard on the gasoline reflners.
who are trying to make the best of bad
conditions.
IL cents a gallon. and was almost a
drug on the
Price Kept Down market. This
by Big Oil Yield. cusbinS nS nus ae,s. snt
in Oklahoma. was yielding a tremen-
dous production of crude oil. and it
looked as If there were an unlimited
supply. Every gallon of this oil con-
tanned from 25 to 80 per cent pure gas
oline. About this time American re-
finers started exporting large quanti-
ties of gasoline to Europe. and the
sale Of automobiles in this country was
progressing by leaps and bounds. Then
suddenly the production Of the Gushing
wells began to decline. Where for
merly over three hundred thousand
barrels of crude oil were obtained a
day. now less than sixty thousand are
put on the market. The richness OF
,
ed. the other wells throughout the
country yielding only from Is to II per
cont gasoline.
The demand for gasoline has in no
way abated with the declining supply.
Large shipments are still required by
Europe. and the number Of automobiles
in use In this country Is increasing
every month. At the beginning of 1915
two and a quarter million automobiles
were in operation in the United States;
by January. 1917. 1t is estimated. there
will be more than three and quarter
million. and by January. 1918, more
than four and half million In use. In
addition to this, there are thousands
of motor trucks. farm tractors, sta
ttonary gasoline engines. motor boats. |
etc. in operation throughout the coun- |
try-ail demanding gasoline.
Thus the situation is indeed critical. |
and not to be combatted by a national |
campaign for pur-
Situation Ia ity in gasoline. |
Rated Critical. are n' at lne0mep.es the mercy Of
the automobile engineers and the re-
finers. The rehners are trying to econ
omize on the oil supply by distilling |
more gasoline-even If impure-from |
every gallon of oil. while the automo-
bile engineers are attempting to i'm
prove the automobile engine so that It |
will run on the cruder product. In
many of the newer cars this improve
ment has been made, and the owners
are having no difficulty with the gaso- /
line sold at the city garages. On the
contrary. the owners of models a cou-
pie of years old are having a great |
deal Of trouble and are therefore in
sisting upon universal gasoline
standard. Such a standard, according
to the bureau Of mines, would only
stop the scientific experiments of the
and automobile engineers and
send the price of gasoline Soaring be-
yond the reach of all but the opulent.
In the past little economy has been
Dur unlimited oil supply was taken
for granted. Only within the last few
years have few far-seeing Americans
begun to consider the possibility Of
enlist. for example, developed the .
famous cracking process by which a L
arger proportion Of crude oil is con- '
vsrted into gasoline than under the
Did process, ReAneriss In all parts Of
he country are now employing this /
method, and II 10 estimated that more 1,