El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-01-13
MUST GET OUR
OIL FROM SHALE
Visible Supply Is Disap-
.pearing; Must Burn It
From Rock.


| Washington, D. c., Jan. 13.-From a
drawer in a tall oak cabinet the ge>
oIogist took a flat bit Of black rock
and a thin glass tube Placing the
| piece Of rock in a mortar. he crushed
it into fine sand and poured it into
the lower end Of the tube Then he
lit a gas burner, which produced a
thin point OF flame, and held the
lower end Of the tube over it Grad
ualIy the tube filled with a thick.
brown fluid.
"Ol." the geologist commented
briefly.
The piece Of rock from which this
oil was distilled came from Colorado.
where there are huge areas Of IT, and
( the geOlogist was Dean Z. Winches-
ter. Of the United States geological
survey, who has just returned to
Washington after an investigation Of
our oil shale resources
For the past three years. Mr.. Win
chester has travelled with a wagon
outfit through the Rocky mountains
in search Of this particular rock.
which yields oil.
Thirty six square miles is a town
ship in the west" the geologist ex-
planned" and in Colorado alone there
are 40 townships underlain by oil
shales. In Utah there are even more
than that" He estimates that there
is enough shale in Colorado alone TO
produce 2o.000,00e,000 barrels OF oil.
Oil ShaIe Not New
The oil shale. while Just beginning
to attract attention in this country,
is not a new discovery. In Scotland
and France, the extraction OF oil from
rock has long been a profitable in
dustry, but in the United States the
supply Of oil from wells has always
Hit. Il
and It has been produced so cheaply
that no attempt has been made to de-
velop an oil shales industry
In the middle OF the last century
the Mormons were running a soil
tary disdlling plant in Utah, but il
was later discontinued. All that our
huge beds OF oil shale have received
are the curses OF American cattle
men, because the soil over them is al
most barren OF grass.
Recently, however. the oil shale
has begun 20 attract the attention il
deserves We have now reached the
absolute maximum OF our oil pro-
duction from wells. but the demand
for oil and oil products in our indus
tries has Just begun very year. more
Of our ships burn oil Every year
there IS greater number Of automo-
biles OF greater horse power.
Before the war. the government IN
formed the public that unless new oil I
fields were discovered. the nations
supply Of gasoline would be exhaust !
ed in 80 years.
on Scarcity Serious.
This threatened oil scarcity has
particular aspects for the reason |
that oil is now in the first ranks OF /
important world commodities
II the United States II to main
tain Its prestige aS n great power.
II must either purchase oil fields
81
develop Its oil shales. The first
possibility Is frauEht with dan
ger. since II would mean the pro-
lection Of property taxed and
controlled by another nation. The
aeeOnd e1pedient f. far more
practical. hut will require n great
deal Of development.
" nat IS needed at present IS /
'heaper and more efficient method /
= turning the shales into oil. For
his, machinery must be developed.
the methods used by the Scots and
he French might. OF course. be i'm
lorted. but the oil industry believes
nat better method can be developed
.ere in America
The oil shales found IN France and
'cotland are not OF the same variety
s. those found in our Rocky noun
aims, which belong to a younger geo
ogfc period
Decayed Insect Bodies II
The theory OF the existence Of the
u shale IS almost as interesting as /;
he oil shale itself Biologists, in !
tudying various sections OF this {
hale formation, discovered that il /
obtained innumerable fossils OF an 5
lent vegetable and animal life {
The geological survey has spe-
eimens OF rock containing perfect
outlines of leaves, insects. fish
and Worms-many WOrms-Which
Mt one time must have svFarmed
in the Rocky mountain REGIONS.
Their deeayinE bodies. Il Is be-
HeTed- are responsible for the
vast oil content OF the shnles.
Be this as IL may, the shale from ] !
-hich the oil may be distilled is Ger Z
linly there-1S00 or 1900 tons Of II {
an acre Of shales one foot thick. s
Is encouraging to know this. even
1ough the production OF the oil is I
OF likely TO have any marked effect
our fuel supply for several years.
n CONTINUE P0pTNH q