The Washington herald., 1920-07-04
Men and Business
BY RICHARD SPILLANE.

the Shiieu otdtes In which gas is
wasted shamefully. Philadelphia is
one of them. New York is another.
II this waste is not stopped--and
stopped soon-there is likely. to be
a gas famine next winter. MANY
houses may be without gas light.
Some streets may be dark and
thousands of Industrial establish
ments that depend on gas may be
in difficulties.
In nearly one-half of the gas
plants of the country gas is manu-
factured from oil. There is, as you
know, a shortage of oil. This coun-
try Is consuming more oil than II
produces. Not only that, but in the
process OF cracking oil the re-
finers are going further and further
to obtain gasoline. That reduces
the amount that remains and out OF
which gas is made. Also, it in
creases the price.
There is a very simple way in
which gas can be saved.
Here 1t is:
Long ago. when gas was used
solely for Illuminating purposes
the standard of quality was fixed at
twenty-five candlepower. Since
then gas has entered so largely into
industrial uses of various kinds
that the amount employed for illu.
minating Is very small compared
with that for cooking, heating and
the many lines OF industry.
For cooking. heating and manu-
featuring it has been demonstrated
that the heating value is the cor
rect measure of quality, and 45(
iB. r. US British thermal unitsl
| is the standard. A gas that is rict
for Illuminating purposes Is vari'
able and less susceptible to regu'
ilation and. therefore, less efficient
when employed for cooking, heat
ling or in industrial lines than IL
gas of the $50 B. T. L. standard
In other words, 22-candlepower gas
+, is too rich for the vast majority OF
employments into which gas en-
tiers and the 45O 3. T. U. gas i:
about right.
There are between 24.000,000 and
| 26. 900. 900 barrels of oil consumed
annually in the United States II
making gas. A very considerable
amount Of this could be saved II
the B. T. L. standard were adopted
generally instead of the candle
nf n a eli = a M af
No one would be affected ad
versely unless it should be the per
sons who have open-flame gas burn
ers. There is gross waste to thai
style of burner. Just as gooc
illumination could be obtained BY
them IL they put incandescent hood:
on their gas jets and were sup
piled with gas of the B. T. L
standard.
Less than 10 per cent of the ga:
consumed in Philadelphia is sold tC
persons who use it with the open
flame burner. The question for yoC
and for the city to decide is whether
the waste of gas through keepinl
to the 22-candlepower standard fol
all gas users is going to be con-
tinued and the oil for gas purpose:
reduced to where there will be lit
tie of it next winter for anybody
or whether stocks are going to bt
conserved through the adoption oi
the L. r. L. standard.
The 3. T. u. standard Is the
proper one. The candlepower meas,
urement is not. Upon this subject
government authorities, scientist.
There are S0.000,000 persons in
this country served with gas man
ufactured by processes in which
oil is used. A gas shortage. there.
fore, is a thing of great conse'
!quence.
When, in defiance of the orders oi
the heads of the railroad labor un.
ions, the outlaws" struck before
they said they wore not on strike
They had quit" When they saw
they had no chance of winning. mos,
of them decided to return to work
The majority of them got their jobs
lack,
Now there Is another strike" by
! the same element because the gov
ernment wage adjustment board ha:
not decided the subject before it fol-
consideration within the promised
time.
That there has been exasperatinG
delay in handing down a decision il
! not to be denied, but the railroad
heads might have Jared better II
they had shown less Willingness tc
take back the outlaws" when the
outlaws" were ready to return. The
mere fact that the strikers got rein
statement when thye were ready tc
return probably led many of them
to consider the railroads could not
do without them.
1t might cause the railroad man
ayers embarrassment to refuse tC
re-employ these strikers, but. in the
long run. they would profit. II mer
from the Pennsylvania or the Read
ing had to move to some other rail-
road center to find employment they
would not be so ready to quit when
ever they had some slight or fancied
wrong and when they were i'm.
patient with the action of the heads
of the railroad unions.
To hold the doors wide open to the
outlaw" striker when he tires OF
striking Is to put premium on
strikes by the ''outlaw" crowd.
The wonders of the automobile
grow steadily. From the best in
formation obtainabie at present II
appears that Industry will use
100000 bales OF cotton this year.
Cotton enters into many other uses
in an automobile aside from the
amount that goes into tires.
Now the plate glass people come
forward with the statement that
IS percent of the plate glass made
In America today II taken by maxi
ers Of the nbiauitose car.