The Washington herald., 1919-01-14
SEES SHORTAGE
OF petroleum
Holland Says America S
Supply Will Be Exhausted
In 10 Years.

AT the suggestion of Theodore
Roosevelt when he was President OF
the United States, convention whose
members consisted for the most part ,
Of the governors Of the States of
the Union. was held at Washington.
The purpose which lay behind the in
vitation to the governors to assemble
at Washington was the conservation
of our natural resources, and espe-
cially the utilization OF our mex
haustible resources SO that in this
way the natural but exhaustible re-
sources, such as coal, iron and oil.
could be conserved and the life OF
them extended for many years.
Among the speakers who were IN
vited to address this convention was
DR.. z. c. Acheson, at that time pres
ident Of the American Electro Chem-
ical Society. His name and achieve
ments were familiar and he was tnen
recognized as one Of the foremost
men of American science, combining
research work which resulted in i'm
portsnt discoveries. with. invention,
whereby he made these discoveries
available for extensive Industrial ac-
tivity furnishing the world with new
products which have proved to be OF
great avail.
Father of Carborundum.
DR.. Acheson is also uniquely distin-
-yuished because one Of his discoV-
cries was so utilized as to provide the
world with the best abrasive mate
rial. namely. carborundum, while an
other of his discoveries, artihcial
graphite, was so developed by Dr.
Acheson as to furnish what many be-
lieve to be the best lubricating COM
modify as well as other industrial
factors. now in worldwide use. With
out abrasion, or grinding, civilization
and Industrial progress would have
been, to any extent. impossible. So
also fabrication, which from one point
of view is the reverse of abrasion,
plays fully as important a part in
the advance of civilization and OF in
dustrial progress as does carborun-
NJ
I"d u was this man. who has es-
.-3lished the unique reputation In the
world of science of having been the
discOverer and developer first Of the
worlds greatest abrasive product
and second of the worlds most i'm
portant lubricating commodity, who
spoke 10 lhe governors
Urge Immediate Action
DR.. Acheson spoke briefly. empha-
sizing by a single example the need
of the United States Immediately to
begin aggressive and long-sustained
activities which would have for their
purpose the conservation of our
natural but inexhaustible resources,
such for instance as water power and
the atmosphere from which nitrogen
in vast amounts can be obtained.
That address took place some ten
years ago. Now in view of new con-
iitiOns, especially those occasioned
y the war which could not have
ieen dreamt of when DR.. Acheson
spoke to the governors. he has pre-
Jared a brief article emphasizing
nd supplementing all that he
bought and said ten years ago
Ipon this subject.
This communication has been
tidely published and has occasioned
luch interest. 1t is confined to the
hestiOn OF utilizing a natural re-
0urce which has reached stupend-
Is proportions in the world OF in
lstry and trade but which DR..
1heson fears is likely to be ex-
tusted within a few years unless
measures are adopted Immediately
to conserve this resource and great
ly to extend its life.
Backed Up by OIL Men.
1t is OF petroleum that DR.. Ache
son writes. Much that he has brief
ly compacted into this article is con-
firmed. although from a different
- -.
ly made by the leaders in the oil in
dustry Of the United~States. They
speak from the point Of view Of the
industry itself. DR.. Acheson writes
from the point of view Of civilization
itself DR.. Acheson states that the
best authorities are of the opinion
hat the worlds petroleum supply,
- prevailing conditions continue,
will not last more than twenty
years, and that of the United States
sixteen years.
Some of those who have read DR..
Acheson's article have wondered
whether he did not err when he
stated that the opinion OF the ex-
perts is that the life OF the Pc
troleum resources in the United
States, If present conditions con-
tinue, will not be longer than six
teen years. But one of the four men
who are recognized as the worlds
ablest experts on the question of
petroleum production agrees fully
with all that DR.. Acheson has
written.
Use 10000 Barrels Daily.
Some OF the leaders in the pc
troleum industry have frankly con-
fessed that we are rapidly exhaust
ing our surplus stock of petroleum.
For instance. one OF the ablest ex-
perts, W. A. williams, who has
Epen an assistant to l. NJ. Redua,
who during the war was national oil
administrator, stated recently that
the American oil stocks. exclusive
of California, are being drawn upon
at the rate of 10000 barrels a day,
or 25,00O.O00 barrels a year, as
against 100000 barrels in 1917.
The present stock. that is to say the
stock Of petroleum above the
ground, is approximately rs .00O, 900
barrels, and of this aggregate sO,-
100000 are in California There Is
therefore a bare three months sup
ply. and il Is the lowest that crude
stocks have been since 1907