The Washington times., 1916-03-11
VITAL FUEL PROBLEM
FACED BY AUTOISTS
Soaring Prices Make 1t Necessary
to Find Answer.

An analysis OF the gaSolene sltua-
ton and a review OF the efforts made made
stituted for this product OF petroleum
,; In the operation OF motor vehicles has
been prepared by the Horseless Age.
That the question of obtaining an
price Is n matter which is receiving the
serious attention Of the motorist-the
; man who pays the piper. but, in this
case. does not call the tune-is un-
questioned" says this automobile trade
magazine.
at should be added that some OF the
best brains in the country are busily
engaged in trying to solve the problem
presented by this rapidly increasing
number of automobiles In the United
States. and the growing difficulty. as
D.. evidenced by the doubling OF gasolene
prices. of furnishing fuel to run them.
Before considering the possibilities OF
producing fuels other than the gasolene
actual present position of gasolene
and allied Industries is of interest. for
the reason that the car owner is-for
the time being at any rate-absolutely
dependent on this fuel.
although there are no exact figures
showing actual gasolene consumption,
an indication OF the quantity available
for domestic use may De obtained by
taking the total production and deduct
ing the exports, and on this basis tine
following calculations, which are based
on official figures, will nelp the gaso-
lene user to realize just where he stands.
The quantities are given In barrels OF
forty-two gallons.
at is estimated that by. the end of
the present year there will be over g..
100000 cars in operation, and at the end
OF 1917 IL would seem reasonable to eN-
pect the addition OF another million. bas-
ing the figures on the estimated automo-
bile factory production. less exports.
THE first thought is, can the produc-.
ton of gosalene be materially increased
either by the development OF new oil
fields or by the use of improved meth
DDS OF distillation?
''It seems that the production in the
known fields west of Texas, Oklahoma.
and Kansas is limited because OF defi-
ciencies in the public land laws, and the
Secretary of the Interior estimates that
approximately 65O.0O0,OO0 barrels of oil
are under lands now in public owner
ship and barred from the active pros
pector. In addition there are developed
fields in several districts, notably I'M
der Government lands in Alaska.
"Benzol. a by-product, in the manu-
facture of coke, Is in geenral use In
Europe. particularly In those countries
which are unable at the present time to
import gasolene from America or other
producing centers. and all reports tend
to show that 1t Is satisfactory fuel,
needing only minor adjustments to in
sure practically perfect operation. II
Is estimated that America Will produce
over 100000 gallons OF benzol In 1916
hut this has already been tagged for
use in making carbolic acid, dyes and
explosives.
Taking the yield of benzol as being
about two gallons to the ton of Goa
and assuming that its manufacture was
developed to the limit. we should be
able TO produce about 125. 900 galloni
per year. This would prove of materia
help. and IL Is hoped that further in
Vestigations will serve to show that Il
may be made available on a basis re-
munerative to the producer and sold a.
a figure which will tempt the motoris
to try II out.
alcohol Is another fuel which hal
been tested with varying results. anC
we have practically unlimited raw ma
terial from which to produce II. Hith
erto, however, conditions have not beer
desperate enough to tempt its ,exp,oita
ton as a commercial proposition. blu
now the time seems to have come I,
develop its production on a basil
sufficiently great to afford substantial
relief to the uel-staTVed motorist
ITO sum the situation up 1t would ar
pear that the man who runs an auto
mobile must within the next year or tw
curtall his annual mileage or increas
his mileage per gallon of fuel, the case
lene producer must employ intensihe
methods OF distiliation, or new .fu'
10 In a better position than the rest {
the world In regard to the fuel propC
sition generally. and although the priv
ate motorist may be paying % cents
20 cents a gallon today, gasolene Is MOI
than 81 a gallon In Paris, and Is frol
s. cents 60 ~ cents at seaport town
~ England