Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-07-24
OIL CONSERVATION
IS NOW BEFORE US
Retrenchment in Use of Pleas
ure Cars Is Sought by
Petroleum Board.
SHOULD INCREASE OUTPUT
East Is Just Awakening to
the Fact That Oil Is Being
Placed in Storage.
SHOULD INCREASE OUTPUT
World Washington Bureau.
'o4 metropolitan Bank Building.

7O4 Metropolitan Bank Building.
WASHINGTON, July 23.-Chair-
man y. c. Bedford of the petroleum
committee for national defense has
Just issued an appeal for conservation
Oh the country's oil supply by the cur
'"llhent of pleasure riding in motors
ana by eliminating other sources OF
waste while production is increased.
This country" says the statement,
IS producing crude oil at the rate of
about three hundred million barrels
year, but it is using 3S5, ,OOO. 600
barrels year.
The rapid development of the au-
tomoblle is lar Scly responsible for
present conditions. To-Day there are
not more than four million cars, de-
handing over forty million barrels of
gasoline year. Other uses OF gaso-
lire and oil are eXpendlnS upon an
enormous scale
Price Has Increased.
"BeraLse of the demand. the price
of crude oil has risen, ,hus stimulat-
ing more production to drill new
wells. Tho this drilling has been GO
ins on with great aggressiyeness, re-
satisfactory as they were year ago.
"lf our government is to nave the
petroleum it will need 10 prosecute
the war successfully and supply all
necessities directly growing out of the
war two steps will have To be taken,
namely;
1.-The public will have to econo-
mize III the use of gasoline. Sufficient
gasoline should be available to pro
4 fs.,. ,tD ,s.I
mobiles but pleasure riding should be
curtailed. Not a gallon - gasoline
should he used in the present emerg-
ency except for some useful end.
"2-Evcry oil producer should be
encouraged as a patriotic effort to
produce the utmost possible output OF
crude oil. The present expense of
drilling new wells is very great and
increasing and the results are often
discOuraging.
Take IL with Salt.
Il have the utmost confidence in |
the spirit with which the government |
will meet this problem in the matter !
of the price, which is now being in |
vestigatcd by the federal trade com
mission"
There is a peculiar significance at
tached to the above statement by Mr.. |
Bedford, inasmuch as the east has
just been learning that for the first
tine in many years, gasoline is going
into storage by the millions of gallons,
and that there is a larger quantity
Of gasoline in the country at tnr,
time than there ever has been. Gaso-
line has advanced less in price wiehin
the last nine months than any other
commodity in the United States. 1t
has not even kept the pace with the
advanced price of crude oil.
Sounds peculiar to me-" said a
prominent oklahoma oil man to The
World correspondent today"
The ioy-riders and motor tourists
are lacking a true spirit of patriotism,
or at least that they will be If they
continue TO be joy-riders and motor
tourists is the substance Of the mes
sage brought by John II. Markham,
jr., who came home last night after
a two weeks conference at Washing
ton with the other members of the
on petroleum, "a subcom-
mittee of the council of national de
'ence.
A. c. Bedford, president of the
Standard Oil company of New Jersey,
rs chairman of this committee, has
issued an appeal, asking the people of
the United States to consider the eX-
,eedingly serious situation prevailing
N the petroleum industry and to do
heir share in the conservation of the
supply on haNd, and an appeal to the
)il producers of the country to con-
tinue in their efforts to enlarge that
supply.
Mr. Markham said that II was the
consensus Of opinion of all the oil
men he met In Washington that the
government would not ask anything
of them in the matter
# low price-fixing.
Bedford of Standard oil. he said,
was devoting practically the whole of
his time to patriotic work on the pc
roleum commission and as a mem
Ger of the Red Cross national council.
His is the spirit which prevails in
he end" said Mr. Markham