Evening star., 1924-12-19
COOLIDGE CREATES
BOARD TOPROMOTE
OIL CONSERVATION
War, Navy, Commerce and
Interior Secretaries to Seek
Aid of Industry.
SECURITY OF COUNTRY
is DECLARED AT STAKE
System of Saving Fuel Is Waste
full to Alarming Degree,
President Says.

An OIL Conservation Board, consist
ing OF the Secretaries of War, Navy,
interior and Commerce, was created
today by President Coolidge
The new board will study the Gov
ernment's responsibilities in oil con-
servation and will seek the full CO.
operation Of the oil industry to that
end
The commission appointed by Mr.
Coolidge last March to study the fu-
ture supply Of fuel oil for the Navy will
work in cooperation with the new
board
Cites Difficulty of Conservation.
The President announced the crea-
ton of the new board in identic let
ters, addressed to the Secretaries of
War, Navy, Interior and Commerce,
in which he said:
TT is evident that the present
methods of capturing our oil deposits
are wasteful to an alarming degree. in
that 1t becomes impossible to con-
serve oil in the ground under our
present leasing and royalty practices
If a neighboring owner or lessee de-
sires to gain possession of his de-
posits.
developing aircrafts indicate that
our national defense must be supple
mented, If not dominated, by avia-
ton. 1t is even probable that the
supremacy may be determined by the
possession of available petroleum and
it's products.
Sees Industrial Depression.
Il am advised that our current oil
supply is kept up only by drilling
many thousands of new wells each
hot faj 70 hrin In
producing wells for a two-year pc
riod would slow down the wheels of
industry and bring about serious indus
trial depression.
The problem of a future shortage in
fuel and lubTicating oil, not to men
tion gasoline, must be avoided, or
our manufacturing productivity will
calculated
we are not today, however, facing
an undersupply of oil. The produc-
tion of our 100000 wells is in excess
of our immediate requirements. That
overproduction in itself encourages
cheapness, which. in turn. leads to
wastefulness and disregard of essen
tial values. Oil. of which our re-
sources are limited. is largely taking
the place of coal. the supply of which
seems to be unlimited. but coal can
not take the place of oil in most of
its higher uses on land or sea or in
the air.
Issue Is Important.
For the purpose of giving this re-
sponsibility in all of its aspects the
consideration ii demands, l have con-
stituted a Federal Oil Conservation
Board, consisting of the Secretaries
of War, Navy, Interior and Commerce,
to study the Governments RESPONSE
bilities and to enlist the full coop
Grafton of representatives of the oil
industry in the investigation. The
Government itself is, at present, one
of the largest leasors of oil lands,
and the public domain still includes
large undeveloped reserves of oil, so
that the administration of oil re-
sources is a practical question with
the Department of the Interior.
II would express the desire that
| these conferences may be open and
exhaustive. The oil industry itself
might be permitted to determine its
own future. That future might be
left to the simple working of the law
| of supply and demand, but for the
patent fact that the oil industry well
fare is so intimately linked with the
| industrial prosperity and safety OF
| the whole people. that Government
and business can we'll join forces
to work out this problem of practical
| conservation.
Safeguard for Security.
Last March 1 appointed a COM
mission to advise me on the special
subject of the best policy to insure
| the future supply of fuel oil for the
! Navy That commission will continue
| to function in its limited field and
might with advantage sit with the
| conservation board in the conferences
| expect will be held between these
! four secretaries directly concerned
and the outstanding producers OF pc
| troleum. Similarly, the members of
| the conservation board will call upon
| their technical advisers in the bu-
reaus to contribute to the full dis
| cussion of ways and means of safe
Gun ardinp the national aacnritY