The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-10-07
FORTY MILLION
BARRELS OF FUEL
OIL ARE WASTED
Bureau OF Mines Uncovers Enormous
Preventable Loss on Railroads
and In Factories.
EQUALS COLORADO'S
ENTIRE COAL OUTPUT
in Charge How to Operate Them
In Way 10 Obtain Full Heat Values.

Washington, u. c., oct. 6.--Fuel
sufficient to operate the railroads of
the United States for one month is
being absolutely wasted every year
by the users of fuel Oil.
Five times the fuel necessary for
all the federal government. lnclud-
ing it's navy and army. is being
thrown away by these same users
Iof fuel oil.
The fuel being squandered, and
lrecklessly too. by these same fuel-oil
users Is approximately the entire out
put of coal for the state Of Colorado
lin one years time.
These are the startling conclusions
that have been drawn by experts of
1.-THE bureau of mines. department of
the interior, who have been cooper
ating with the fuel administration ia
IA general survey of the use OF fuel
oil for power purposes IN the United
States. They find that last year 100.
900, 600 barrels of fuel oil were used
land that 10000, 600 barrels. or one
fourth of the entire. amount, was
wasted and might have been saved
by more intelligent operation of plants
and proper firing. This represents "A
useless expenditure OF 100000
year, or enough money TO pay some
/ of the couutry's important war bills,
| the fuel oil selling at about $3.50 a
| barrel. The experts also say that
| this wastaee is doubly criminal at
this time because of the urgent need
of fuel oil for the ships of the navy
land for other essential war purposes.
! Further they declare that the 10000.
{ 600 barrels of fuel oil lost each year
| is the equivalent Of 10 0da. 900 tons
| OF coal.
| With such n situation confronting
the country, both the bureau of mines
and the fuel administration have sent
! into those parts Of the country where
| fuel oil is extensively used a number
of engineers who have been visiting
| the plants and endeavoring 10 dem
onstrate to the men where losses oc-
cur and showing how they may be
stopped. AS one result OF the investi-
cation handbook for boiler plant
and locomotive engineers in the eff
ficient use of oil fuel has been issued
! by the bureau of mines giving in
structions TO all those who have oil
burning plants. Van H. Manning
/ director of the bureau OF mines. has
ordered that u copy of these ,instruc-
tions be forwarded to all known
plants using fuel oil
Il have always been aware that
the United states. probably through
/ her great richness of resources, is
one of the most wasteful of nations
| but IL has taken the emergencies of
! the war to disclose with startling di-
rectness the colossal wastes of war
winning supplies that are still going
ION said Director Manning. ut is
a new chapter in national proligacy
to learn that in its use we are wan
tonly destroying one fourth of our
supply of fuel oil. to the extent Of
100000 barrels q year, while our
oil operators are directing every
available energy and millions Of dol
lars toward inducing the earth to give
Eup more and more of the precious
! petroleum, the most perfect of exist
ing fuels.
1T calls for something more than
lcriticism from a federal official when
we realize that in this greatest of
worlds crises. with the future of the
people in jeopardy, the very fuel
which il greatly needed for our Amer
lean navy to drive 1t on to final vic
tory Is being dissipated here in this
country to such an alarming degree.
1T calls for immediate and drastic
action, and with the cooperation OF
the fuel administration we propose to
81 10 or