The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1917-12-23

burned under steam boiler plants is
around one pound per horsepower per
hour, while gas engines should require
less than one-half that amount"
Tho annual production of crude oils
in the world at present Is something
less than 800 900. 900 barrels, Of which
$40 900 900 come from this country. The
total consumption Of crude oils is ap-
parently $1,000 900 barrels per year
greater than the total production Of
crude oil in fields now III commercial
contact with the civilized world. This
in spite Of the fact that passenger We
hicle use Is prohibited everywhere ex-
cept in North America"
''Oil must be where We can use 1t be-
fore it will help to solve our daily
transportation problems. It will cost
vast sums and will take some years to
produce ships. pipe line. and to make
refinery improvements so that more
than 10 per cent OF the ltexican crudes
can be used for so-called gasoline.
Increased Car Capacity.
IAN cars now average less than
twelve miles per gallon OF gasoline.
This average can be made nearer
eighteen or twenty miles per gallon
by better carburetion means. using
alf-gasoIine, half-kerosene mixtures,
distillates, or low-grade fuels"
Likewise. trucks average from four
to five miles per gallon and can be
made to 60 six and eight miles.
Tractors using three to four gallons
per hour can be made to run on two
to two and one-half gallons per
hour. In England 4 One-plow tractor.
on which great hopes were based re-
Gently, in an hours test in hard
ground required FIVE gallons Of fuel
per acre, which Is a prohibitive con-
sumption"
"All of the English gasolines are
much better from carburet.ng
standpoint than anything now sold
IN large quantities in America. Ore
frequently hears American engineers
boasting of following the latest Eu-
ropesn engine practice without realiz-
ing that the gasoline now sold in Eu-
rope Is something like that used
from 1900 to 1907 in this country"
Need of Greater Production.
Sooner or later, the absolute neces-
sity of producing more gasoline for
American consumption will compel oil
refiners to use here most of the gaso-
lines and napthas now exported to
''sweeten" the low-grade fuels. All
the world must be satisfied in due
time II It gets a supply Of fuel as
good as the average in America"
THE present day high speed. multi
cylinder, low compression, four stroke
cycle engine, throttle controlled. is
used In probably IS per cent of all in
stallations in which the fuel is the
refined mineral oil known as CONNER
cial gasoline"
The suggested remedy-the more
general use Of superheated homogene-
Gus fixed dry gases made in vaporiz-
ing devices independent of engine CYL
inders-is advanced because he re-
Allies that even personal interests are
best served when the entire industry
best serves the public. He does feel,
as a result Of many years of pains
taking work and expenditure of huge
sums Of money In investigating other
methods, that this is the only COM
mercially practicable means that can
now be devised"
Price Of Crude OIL.
Fixing prices Of crude oils be-
low commercially adjusted market
prices will curtail oil-well devel-
opment and defeat desired results
Fixing prices of gasoline without
approaching that most of the oil re-
flners' profits comes from gasoline
sales. will break down ability to i'm
prove refining methods. which are
costly at best. Arbitrarily curtaiI-
ing use of passenger cars or trucks
strikes at the basic fabric of the
American transportation system
these vehicles handling a larger
traffic than steam and electric lines
as, they perform local service i'm
possible otherwise. We must de-
pend on more trucks and vehicles
with better highways to handle the
future increase Of traffic that steam
lines cannot handle. Restricting
rapid expansion of tractors is sui.
cidal as regards the food question
because millions of men and ami.
mails lost in the war must be re.
placed by mechanical power or
farms in all the nations involved