Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-30
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
WHY WORRY ABOUT OIL?

Oui Iuluie OH supply IL d question
which is troubling captains of in
dustry and scientists, yet the reasons
for this concern are not generally
understood by the average citizen.
George Otis Smith. director of the
United States Geological Survey ,ex-
plains in a communication to the
National Geographic Society:
In the purse of the centuries
the raw material issue changes. In
the long-bow epoch of England's
military strength the conservationist
! feared a depletion of h yew wood
which might give the Teuton, back
ed up by his larger forests, an OBJ
vious advantage in light ordnance.
Later, hen Great Britain's naval
power depended upon her wooden
ships of war. the anxious nava
chiefs foresaw a possible shortage Of
the oak which made the walls that
stood between England and her enc
| mics.
To-day those who plan for the fu-
ture prosperity of their nation real
lie the extent to which other raw
materials are essential to the gen.
eral well-being, and for some Of
these we can see no adequate sub
stitutes.
Foremost among these most use
full n least abundant, If not in
deed, irreplaceable, commodities
stands mineral oil, or petroleum.
and not only the conservative Bit
on. but the most optimistic Ameri-
car, may well ask himself, Where
will my children and Children's
children get the oil that they may
need in ever-increasing amounts?
But while the United States has
contributed far more than half (61
per cent? of the oil that the world
has used for nearly sixty years, we
have already reached the point
where we are consuming more oil
than we produce. Is this position
Of the worlds greatest user Of petro-
leum as safe as 1t Is spectacular?
1--WE are the worlds greatest con-
sumers of petroleum; but, impress
sive as are the 1918 figures of con
mind can easily grasp the idea Of
that quantity. Truly 1t is q food Of
oil; for. if spread over the sixty
square miles of1the District OF Co.
lumbia. these 413 million barrels
would cover the area to a depth OF
nearly a foot and a half.
beginning with four miles of iron
pipe laid down in western Pennsyl-
vania at the close Of the Civil War,
this system now embraces a huge
network of buried pipes from four
to eight inches diameter, trunk lines
and laterals, aggregating nearly So
900 miles.
when most of us were in school.
oil meant kerosene, and gasoline
or benzine was something to be
bought in a bottle at the drug store
or the paint shop.
To-day oil has become the pre-
mier motive power, not only on land
and sea, but even in the heavens
above and the depths below-truly
the best servant of Mars and Mer-
curry.
Marshal Foch is quoted as say
ing that "a drop of gasoline was
worth in war a drop of blood
THE number and variety of uses
of petroleum and its products are
continually increasing. but ven
more striking is our Increased de-
pendence upon a few of the pro-
ducts of the oil refinery notably
OF l~ubricating oils. and fuel oil.
There are said to be 800 or more
products of petroleum. each with it's
own use. Some Of these products
serve merely our convenience, such
as the artificial vanilla 1avoring or
the cover Of parafine on the jar of
jelly or marmalade; others were
found during the war period to be
absolutely essential to industry on a |
large scaIe-for example. the heavy |
oil used In tempering steel plates.
ut is when we think Of the
velous growth of the automotive
industry that we realize a future de-
mand for fabrication that staggers
nrA~ kho -~1~l@f~ -xlo- yTyfkI /
more than six million pleasure au-
tomobiles operated in the United
States alone. we have an annual
consumption estimated. by the off,
Gals of the foremost company man
u%facturing high-grade lubricants. at
120 million gallons Of lubricating
OIL, where twenty years ago the de- 1
mand for this purpose was practical |
lv nothing"