The Washington times., 1920-04-05
Z News of Importance to All
Automobile Owners
Somebody Should Get Busy with a Substitute for
Gasoline.
Gasoline.

There are good many dry dust documents issued by
the departments here but recent report from the onces
of the Geological Survey should to alarm every owner
of automobile and him thinking what is to take the
place of gasoline when that fuel becomes so mgh that
nobody but mllionares afford to use It,
According to the official statement Of the survey the
production of crude oil from which gasoline made mas
passed its peak and is on descending scale
Natures supply of oil in the United States and she long
ago stopped making it, has been than forty per cent
exhausted More and shall have 70 import crude
oil with increasing prices with the necessity al enforced
economy in its
Pennsylvania oil Is to-day selling Tor SOU Darre TIE
Oil in Texas and Oklahoma has recently risen fifty
per cent and is still going up
In 1917 the United States produced ee cent Of all
the oil in the world
In that same year used SO per of the worlds
supply and exported 13 per cent
Since then the first fgure-the production fgure-has
fallen and the consumption figure has rsen and along with
has gone the price, until gasoline is selling for 30
cents gallon, and going higher every day.
For the automobile this Is very serious situa
tion
The man who has using gasoline for his stationary
engine put in a steam plant and use coal.
But for the auto motor entirely fuel must be in
vented discovered.
In 1920 this country will have about 8,500,000 motor
That is sixsevenhs of all the driven vehicles
in the void.
That means that every in the price of gasoline
affects directly indirectly every woman and child in
automobile
When gasoline goes up it affects axcab rates. the cost
Of hauling supplies the cost Of delivering COAL and thou
sand and other services rendered by the gas engine
Somebody-and that somebody should be the Govern
men-shoud make it immediate duty to devise subs
.tute for gasoline.
Henry Ford is said to be spending thousands Of dollars
in the effort produce fuel But this problem is not
individual problem. It is national problem and should
be Government function
The average consumption of gasoline per about
500 gallons year. That total annual in this
icountry for automobiles of 4,2500000OO gallons
An increase Of cent in price $42 That
is than hundred thousand dollars day additional
expense every time gasoline goes up penny
Isn't that enough to interest the Government?
More than that the Government should be interested
for its sake for every decrease in the supply of crude
oil and consequent increase in price either ncrea
ing the cost Of feeding the fires under the boilers of every
uptodae warsp going back to the obsolete of
The problem of finding substitute for gasoline is not
half as hard solved during the war;
We wanted -combustible gas for balloons. There
only gas lighter than air that would not explode
and that was helum, made from radum.
But we solved the problem of making heium and when
the armlstice declared ready to make heum
gas in any quantity needed at nominal price.
One mans brains did that Some mans brains can do
much for the gasoline problem.
Alcohol no longer legal beverage is an ideal fuel
high in power units, markedly free from carbon
1t exists in nearly everything grow in corn stalks
in potatoes in much that practically useless refuse
alcohol is not the best substitute then whatever is
best should be discovered and be made available
And when the investigation is complete and the new
fuel has been perfected the Government should control
its manufacture and regulate its price.