The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-16
No. Continued From
Page One.

SO "a million barrels; the annual gas
oline production from 540,000,000 gal
Ions in 1909 to $500, 0o0, 900 gallons in
L1918. The reference to- the record OF
the past may be taken not only as
justifying the earlier appeal for federal
action, t.but as warrantfng deliberate
! attention to the oil problem of today
Fuel oil, gas and lubricating oil, for
these three essentials are there no
practical substitutes or other ade-
quate sources? The obvious answer
is in terms of cost; the real answer is
in terms OF man power. Whether on
land or sea-, fuel oil is preferred to coal
because it requires fewer firemen, and
back Of that, in the man power re-
quired in it's mining, preparation, and
transportation the advantage on the
side of the OH is even greater So, too,
the substitute for gasoline in inter
nal combu stion engines, whether alco-
hol or benzol means higher cost and
larger expenditure Of labor in its pro-
duction.
The large bodies. OF public land now
withdrawn will in all likelihood make
a further rich contribution to the
American supply.
And beyond these in the point of
time lie the vast deposits of oil shaIe
which by conlparatively cheap re-
filming process can be made to yield
vastly more oil than has yet been
found in pools or sands. The value of
this oil shale will depend upon the
cheapness of it's reduction and this
must be greatly lessened by the value
of by-products before it can compete
with coal or the Oil from wells. There
is every reason to believe, however,
that some day the production of oil
from shale will be a great and per-
manent industry. And the country
could make no better immediate in
vestment than to give a large appro-
priation for the development of an
economical shale reducing plant.
Yet with all the optimism that can
be justified I would urge a policy OF
saving as to petroleum that should be
rigid in the extreme. If we are to long
enjoy the benefits of a petroleum age,
which we must frankly admit fits into
the comfort loving and the speed
loving side of the American nature, we
must save this oil.
We must save it before it leaves the
well; keep it from being lost; keep
it from being flooded out, driven away
by water. Through the cementing of
wells in the Gushing field, Oklahoma,
the daily Volume of water lifted from
the wells was decreased from 1920
barrels to 62S barrels, while the daily
volume of oil produced was increased
from 412 barrels to 4716. This shows
what can and should be done in all
the oil fields of the United States.
We must save the oil after it leaves
the well. save it from draining off and
sinking into the soil, save it from leak
ing away at pipe joints, save it from
the wastes of Imperfect storage.
Then we come to the refining of the
oil. How welcome now would be the
knowledge that we could recover what
was thrown away when kerosene was
petroleum. one great fraction. (The
loss in refineries is still startling, some
1856, 900 barrels last year; 1-2 per
cent of the crude run in the re-
fineries. -
The situation calls for a policy
prompt, determined, and looking many
years ahead. For the. American navy
and the American merchant marine
and American trade abroad must de-
pend TO some extent upon our being
able to secure, not merely for today,
but for tomorrow as well an equal OPP
portunity with other nations to gain
petroleum from the fields OF the
world.
I have given much thought to this
problem of adding to our petroleum
supply and it has seemed to me but
fair that we should first make every
effort to increase the domestic supply
through the methods that have been
indicated: % the saving of that
which is now wasted, below ground
and above ground; CD the more inten-
sive use, through new machinery and
devices of the supply which we have;
(3) the development Of oil fields on
our withdrawn territory and in new
areas such as the Philippines.
In addition, we must look abroad for
a supplemental supply and this may
be secured through American enter
prise if we do these things:
(1) Assure American capital that
it goes into foreign country ana
secures the right to drill for Oil on a
legal and fair basis Call of which must
be shown to the state Department.
that it will be protected against con-
fiscation or discrimination. This should
be a known published policy.
CD Require every American cor
poration producing oil in a foreign
country to take out a federal charter
for such enterprise under which what
ever oil it produces should be subject
to a preferential right on the part of
this government to take all of its sup
ply or a per centage thereof at any
time on payment of the market price.
CD Sell no oil to a vessel carrying
a charter from any foreign government
either at an American port or at any