The sun., 1916-11-27

crisis In the wine trade which viii
come when the war ends. But II, doc,
not contemplate clearly tho need Of "a.
.tablishing throughout France depo,,
where alcohol d~enatured hy henz,ns
and the heavier fractions Of petroleum
may be sold to motorists and tho,s
transportation companies which u.s
this mixture as motor fuel. The,.
depots should take the place, so "a,
as possible, OF the gasolene s%tltions IA
be found everywhere in France a,
present.
The immediate prospect OF a short.
age OF gasolenc is a good spur to in.
v%entiOn; II helps men of science and
business through the trouble Of finding
q cheap fuel ard motive power. So
far very little has been done in ,hi,
direction. except by chemists and
engineers In refining crude petroleum
very little that Is absolutely construc.
tive. that can improve the position in
which the war has placed foreign Gov.
ernments. Just when the serious
business. the critical time comes. they
find themselves unprepared In one o,
wars primary n~ecessaries. In Eng.
land within the part twelve month,
the ost Of oil fuel of moderately good
quality has increased nearly loo Der
cent. Journal of the Society O,
Chemical Industry, January Is, 1916.
Good Texas oil, for example. costs 10;
shillings a ton.
The difficulty thus produced by high
prices is aggravated in still another
u.aNs Tho nvpInrun tlan.I at, ~
lene by the Government includes
motor spirit and the embargo owes
its existence to an insufficient supply
for the needs of the army. The term
motor spirit is a stumbling block. II
II covers deratured alcohol and mix.
lures Of alcohol bf the heavier hydro
carbons, as II seems to do. then the
law has taken the very narrowcs,
ground possible. In fact. recently
3 motor bus proprietor was fined for
using in his bus white rose parifin
oil. On this the newspapers remarked
that II all substitutes for r~asulcne
were to be placed under restrictions
the Government must part company
with the scientific workers Who are
giving their time and their brains 70
"a oH ~ WIN llfNN
the nation independent of Others. In.
fortunately the French and l;ri,isi
Governments have stopped all prog.
ress along these lines and have ere
ated confusion in the conditions ~
production. Cnwisely. according 10
NJ. Duchcmin, they have avoided CIV
ing bounties to producers Of suhsti.
tutes for gasolenc.
The best way Of helping tho pIp-
Queer is to give him a preference IN IL.
British markets. Instead. since August
! OF this year every motorist who buys
motor spirit has been requqrcd 90
have a license from the petrol control
committee Of the Board If Trade. Re.
fore tho license is issued tho amour,
Of the duty must he paid. 1t l.. in the
case of professional men. physical ;.
for instance. thrcepcnce "A gallon, and
the amount of %Gasolenc allowed is based
on "A six months supply. In the ,asa
of commercial vehicles il is for fp!-
months and of private cars for 'hrc.
II nay he necessary e. .yc
the supply Of gasolene, but the prav'I.
cal way IL To manufacture an a'coho,
which can furnish automobiles V'l
power. This is what Government. y
have TO do. and IL may bc accomplished
in two ways. They "a encourage the
use or n cheap dcnaturcd alcohol and
they can find oils less expensive thaa
gasolene To fortify alcohol. Tho Iui.au
OF lin is already engaged IA.
study. II has established az P.,'.Ilr-
a laboratory in which problem. cpf.
nected with the economical uso ?
petroleum are Investigated. Thr re-
may he a saving Of the oil rcso,r.,
OF the United states, which are thrca'.
ehed with exhaustion IN the l.fctim, -
u man The conversion Il the h"t. B..
"lis INTO the NOR" useful lighter coll,
an economic process If the high,,,
and a necessary stop in '.,
Of securing Ia tho mnjur g. :
cheaper fuel,