El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-08-04

- gtlL AK d l. h. eAs aug A.
u From Port Arthur, on the Gulf
L Of Mexico. al the mouth OF the
oil spfgot Of the petroleum fields Of
our great southwest. send these
warnings
Don't waste your kerosene, Turn
down your lamps when YOU 90 out
Of an evening
Don't use fuel oil where coal will
DO the same work equally well
Be close with your lubricants in all
sorts Of machinery. and economic on
every crop Of oil and on every petr0-
Keep your eyes on the gasoline tank
Of your 'llVver' and save all the
juice" you possibly can
These are among the demands Of
the nation in these trying war times.
and, they come from both the field
and the factory
This is so. Notwithstanding we are
producing more petroleum than ever
before The output last year was al
most three hundred million barrels.
but even at that the prices have risen
and the supply Is all used We now
need ali Of these things as never be-
fore, and every patriot viii aid the
government IN trying TO save them.
Gasoline Important As Powder.
MS is especially true as TO -aeO-
line. which is such a vital necessity
20 the industrial life OF the nation.
The demands for il on account Of the
war have reached enormous proper
riOns. and II is now as important as
zunpoWder and shells. Great supplies
are needed in France for carrying the
troops. Transporting the guns and tax
ing munitions from place TO place It
Is also employed for the airplaues
and submarines, and 10 Is the only mo-
tor power Of the automobiles in the
field
The Germans would have already
been defeated had it not been for their
large supply OF motor car fuel In
some Of their engagements they trans
fsrred large numbers Of troops from
the eastern to the western front Of
motor cars and tracks and even now
the automobiles are aiding the rail-
roads
No Surplus stock Of Gasoline.
I am told here at Port Arthur that
there is practically no gasoline in
storage, and that the United States is
rot making more than enough TO sup
ply its own needs This is So not
W-ithstanding the rapid growth in mo-
Tor trucks and automobiles. Last year
we had in operation just about three
million auto cars. and this was the
growth Of only u years. In 1905 the
number was less than 100000 During
the first nine months Of last year the
cars increased IN number more than
three-Quarters OF a million. and there
viii probably be more than 100000
cars IN use by the time this letter rs
published AT the same rate Of growth
there viii be million more by the
end Of 1918.
Now. at the low average the annual
consumption of every automobile IS
about 500 gallons Of gasoline. and at
that figure 1t Will take 1000 000. 600
gallons to supply the 100000 cars we
have now That is. we shall need
z bout a half million gallons more gas
for this purpose than we were max
ing in the whole country three years
ago. and the demand for export is
constantly growing Some new motor
car fuel VIII have TO be discovered.
and they are now planning TO increase
the gasoline product from natural gas.
and BIZ number OF processes which
have OF late been installed Tn the
meantime II behooyes us all 10 save
wherever we can
Fuel Oil Demand Grows.
The demand for fuel oil is iucreaE-
ing rapidly on account of the war. and
much of this is sold in so near
crude state that many Of the by
products of the petroleum are lost in
the smoke Fuel oil is now used by
our largest battleships. and 20 is EN-
ployed also iu the naVIes OF Great
Britain and France. To is being con-
sumed by many Of our industries at
home. Right near here are sulphur
mines which use I'm the ueighbCrhOod
Of UOO- 600 barrels annually. AZ the
railways Of Texas and Louisiana are
now burning un 1000. 600 barrels Of
such oil every year The consumption
Of the whole country In 1916 was up
ward Of 10000. 600 barrels. The war
for fuel oil IS said TO be great
rr than the war demand for gasoline.
and the exports of such oil were about
q billion gallons last year. The oil is