New-York tribune., 1920-02-17
Experts Fear
Famine i'm Oil
Threatens u. S.
Only Four Months Supply
in Storage, While For
eign Markets Are Ex.
Guiding American Buyers
Thrift Campaign Urged
Mining Engineers Are
Told of the Serious Sit
uafiOn in Petroleum

With only four months supply Of
oil in storage and Latin America. Great
Britain. France and the Netherlands
already excluding American pur-
chasers, the position of the United
States with respect to future petroleum
supply is declared TO be precarious by
George Otis Smith. director of the
United States Geological Survey, and
Van II. Manning, director of the Bu-
reau of Mines. The seriousness of the
situation industrially was presented by
these two officials yesterday at the
convention of the American Institute
Of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers,
which opened in the Engineering So
cieties Building. at 90 West Thirty
ninth Street. for four days session.
Some six hundred of the country's
leading mine and metal experts. includ-
ing a number of state and national Of
fclals, arrived for the opening meeting
of the convention. The attendance is
expected to be largely augmented to-
day, when discussion of means of
settling on some basis of mine taxa
ton will be taken up.
Hoover to Present Program
Herbert Hoover. who will be inaugu-
rated as president of the institute at
this mornings session. will present a.
the afternoon meeting definite pro-
gram OF study and work for the A. |.
NJ. +. and constructive plan for the
better working of the bituminous coal
industry Horace V. Winchel is the
retiring president of the institute.
Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Manning pointed
out that we are using up our limited
supply of petroleum from underground
pools and storage and that production
is not keeping pace with demands. 1t
is necessary, they declare, that we be-
Gin using oil from foreign sources, and
yet, as Director Manning says, there is
now tendency on their part to ex-
clude the United States from purchas-
ing oil from their fields
wide open oil policy for all the
world is absolutely necessary if this
country is to retain anything like its
former leadership in the product they
agreed.
Foreign Supply Needed
He urged that American concerns
enter foreign fields, not only with
American methods, but also with the
'">s' ~ SDSoAiiAi6 iCS ilNuuCldl
and operating control.
Mr. Smith urged a nationwide thrift
campaign in the conservation Of fuel
oil, gasoline and lubricating oil all
along the line of production and con-
sumption by better methods in locating,
drilling, recovery, transportation, re-
fning and use.
Among the names on the register at
the convention are David White, !
United States Geological Survey; j. B.
Warriner, president Of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company; Lawrence
Addicks, mem mber of the Naval Consulting |
Board Carl Scholz. Burlington Rail |
road; j. V. n. Dorr, inventor of mining
machinery; Henry S. Drinker, president
of Lehigh University; L. c. Gra-
ton; Philip n. Moore. st. Louis; Edwin
ludlow, New York; George D. Barron,
New York; Bradley Stoughton, New
Norl,; Percy Z. Barbour, New York; A.
r. Ledoux. New York; Robert NJ Ray
mond. New York; Il. NJ Catlin, Frank
i'm. \. j.; G. II. Clevenger New York;
Frederick G.. Cottrell, San Francisco;
Arthur S. Dwight, New York Charles
+. Rand New York; J. " W. Reynders,
New York; George c. Stone, New York;
samuel A. Taylor, Pittsburgh, and
Arthur Thacher, st. Louis.