New Britain herald., 1917-07-23
STOP JOY RIDING
 AND CONSERVE OIL
Standard Oil Head Issues Warn.
 ing to American Public

Washington, July 23.-In an effort to bring about the greatest possible conservation of gasoline stocks now on hand. and stimulate producers of oil to increase their output of petro- leum. A. c. Bedford, president of the Standard Oil company, has issued an authorized statement of warning to the nation.
 Pointing out that while more new wells are being drilled, there has been no Increase in production over the year before and that the nation is using 35,000.oo0 more barrels of oil than 1t Is producing, MT. Bedford as- serts that if the United States govern ment is to obtain the oil that is nec- essary to successful prosecution of the war 1t will be necessary for users of automobiles to eliminate pleasure riding and for the public to econonaize in every possible way in the use of gasoline.
 MT. Bedford's statement was issued in his capacity as chairman of the committee on petroleum of the ad- vfsory commission of the Council of National Defense, on behalf of the members of the petroleum committed and was as follows:
 Tn view of the abnormal condi- tions confronting the nation l,v reason of the war, it Is peculiarly important that the country should understand the serious situation now prevailing in the petroleum industry
 This country is producing crude oil at the rate of about 300, 900. 900 barrels a year. but 1t is using 1t at the rate of 335,0o0,00o barrels a year The amount of crude oil in storage, all grades. May 1. 1917, was 1G5, ,6Ss,- 797 barrels. The country Is absorb ing the entire current production and drawing very rapidly upon it's reserve supplies.
 The rapid development of the automobile is largely responsible for present conditions. In 1910 thera were 100000 automobiles in use in the United States; in 1916 the num- Der was 2,350,0O0. Today there are more than 100000 cars, demaneing over 4O,0O0,0O0 barrels of gasoline q year. Other uses of gasoline and oil are expanding upon an enormous scale.
 Demand Outstr1ps Supply.
 'The demand for oil products is greater than the supply of crude oil. Because of the demand the price of crude oil has risen thus stimulating more and more producers to drill new wells. Though this drilling has been going on with great aggressiveness- because the cost of drilling is much greater than in the past and the total successes fewer than ever-the re- tuuhs from such efforts are not as satisfactory as they were year ago. In the first three months of this year 4,701 wells were completed, yielding an initial production per day of 344,- 876 barrels. In 1915, 1,711 new wells yielded 349,010 barrels.
 "1n other words, though there have been almost three times as many new wells drilled in 1917 as in 1915, the initial production is considerably wells is still going on, but thus far duction over last year of the year be- fore. a.,
 'The meaning of the foregoing is this: If our government is to have the petroleum it will need to prose- cute the war successfully and supply all necessities growing out of the war, two steps will have to be taken, namely:
 T. The public will have to econo- nize in the use of gasoline. Suf11- cient gasoline should be available to provide for all the normal uses of automobiles. But pleasure riding should be curtailed. People should look upon their automobiles as neces- sities to be used only when needed. Not a gallon of gasoline should be used in the present emergency except for some useful end.
 "2. Every oil producer in the coun- try should be encouraged as a patri- otic effort to secure the utmost possi- ble output of crude oil. The present expense of drilling new wells is very great and increasing, and the results are often discouraging. But there is oil to be had if producers in the oil business will redouble their efforts to get 1t out of the ground.
 II 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- vestigated by the Federal Trcde com mission. With proper economy on the part of the public, and with suf- f1cient cooperation and effort on the part of oil producers, there should be ample oil to supply the needs of our government, of our allies, of in- dustry in this country and for do- mestic use"