The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-05-20
S PART
IN W0RL D WAR
BY A. c. BEDFORD,
chairman, Board of Directors,
Standard Oil Co., New Jersey.)


crises of war which has been fillet
with critical periods, one realize:
how curiously and how UNIVERSAL,
the fortunes of our armies depended
upon oil. Had it not been for gaso-
line, the battle of the Marne would
have been French defeat, and
Paris would have been besieged
within a few days. But when the
Germans under Won Kluck were
pouring down upon the French cap
ital, General Gallieni rushed hun
dreds of thousands of French SOL
diers to the front in taxicabs, en-
abling General Joffre to turn the
tide.
AS petroleum was one of the prin-
cipal contributions to the vast COM
mercial fabric which was our glory
in times of peace, so it has been
as necessary to warfare as men or
cannon.
Picture oil in wartime. The null
titude of factories turning out mu-
nitions of war must have fuel and
lubrrating oils in unusual quanti-
ties. Transports carrying our sol
| diers and war products over the
seas are relying more and more on
fuel oil. Fuel oil is largely the
fuel for the allied fleets. Trans
port lorries carry the soldiers and
the supplies to the front. The eff
ficiency of the auto trucks trans
porting supplies to Verdun, block
ed the way to Paris. Had it not
been for the gasoline that supplied
the submarine chasers, the subma-
rine war would have taken an ines
timably greater number of our mer-
chant ships. Had it not been for
gasoline, it would not be possible
today to operate the new boats that
are being used to detect the pres
ence Of the U-boats beneath the
waves, and finally, gasoline is vital
to the vast airplane fleet which the
United States will ship to France
lHSlC 1Sliidll0
How the war has called for more
and more Of these supplies is in
dicated by the fact that in 1913 our
exports of gasoline to our present
allies totalled 100000 gallons, and
these exports rapidly increased un-
til in 1917 they totalled 30000000O
gallons. and in like manner the eX-
ports of lubricating oil increased
from l03,000.000 gallons in 1913 to
over 200000,000 gallons in 1917.
During the war the requirements
for naphtha and gasoline have
jumped forward with tremendous
strides, our total exports of naphtha
and gasoline in 1913 being lS8,0O0,
900 against over 40000OOOO gallons
in 1917. Just as our allies before
our entrance into the war called
upon us for vast supplies the CON
sumption OF both lubricating oil
and gasoline in the United States
also mounted at tremendous rate.
The increasing demands OF the
allies. including our own armies
for petroleum. and the conversion OF
tank tonnage for war purposes has
produced many complications in the
export oil trade, and the oil indus
try because of these facts. and be
cause it devoted its united and en-
tire energy to the great task OF
meeting the needs of the armies
overseas, has been forced to cur
tail the supplies which would ordi-
nariy go to other centers OF con
sumption. Many OF these markets
had been developed by American
exporters only after years of effort
and il it were not for the causes |
have mentioned the necessities OF
our allies. the increasing use OF all
available tonnage for war purposes.
and our determination to meet war
needs first, these markets would
have been amply supplied. The
failure to do so was not because
there was a normal scarcity, be
cause American oil producers and
oil refiners had prepared for great
" increased export trade. as Is
shown by the fact that the total
production OF oil increased from
2o5.000.000 barrels in 1914 to 32S.-
100000 barrels in 1917, and also by
the fact that the refinery capacit!s
of America increased from 100000
barrels a day in 1914 TO more than
100000 barrels in 1917. American
reiineries last year consumed 3SO.-
100000 barrels of crude oil.
We had amply provided for the
needs OF our trade abroad, but the
first and unsdrmountable obstacle
has been our limited tank steamer
mercantile marine which has not
been sufficient to transport war re-
quirements. and take care of these
markets. Here lies a problem thai
the war. both before and since
Americas entry into it. has brought
out in sharp relief. In those far
away DAYS when there was no war