Evening star., 1925-10-02
DENIES PETROLEUM
PAVING IS INFERIOR
Association Official Cites
D. C. Engineer Hunts
Report on Test.
To the Editor uf The Star:

To the Editor uf The Star:
In a series of very interesting ar
ticles in The Star by Will l.. Kennedy
on street and paving conditions In
Washington, an erroneous impression
was given by the caption over the
article OF September Is entitled Poor
Asphalt Now Being Used in Most
Streets in Capital" When the text
of the article is read in the light OF
this caption it gives a very distinct
impression that the petroleum as
phaltS which have been predominant
ing in Washington City paving for
quite number OF years are inferior
10 the lake asphalt, which constituted
the bulk of paving Il generation ago
AS | was a resident of Washington
for some IS years and read The Star
very regularly as a source of accurate
Information l am now depending upon
The Star TO publish the facts bear
ing upon this question so that your
readers will be accurately informed
and the very great harm already done
10 the petroleum asphalt industry
modified at least to Il reasonable de-
gree.
Report From Washington.
In Il letter to James T.. Frye. coun-
Gilman, Hastings, Nehr., July 80, 1873,
Mr.. c. Il. Hunt. engineer Of high
ways of the District of Columbia, in
dicated quite clearly that the expert
enCe of the District Of Columbia with
petroleum asphalt gave not the slight
est warrant for regarding it as in
fcrior in any respect to lake asphalt
or that its maintenance cost would be
any higher. Mr.. Hunt said:
Prior to 1905 natural lake asphalt
alone was used Since that year both
natural lake and oil asphalts have
been used, the latter predominating.
OF the total pavements now in exist
ence, about 20 per cent is laid with oil
aSphalts.
Natural lake asphalt streets have
shown as average life of % years be
fore they require reSurfacing. There
Is some difference of opinion as to
whether oil asphalt pavementS will
have an equally long life. but there is
nothing in our 4 years experience to
indicate hat the life will be shorter
or that the cost OF maintenance will
differ from the cost of maintaining
natural lake asphalt pavements.
THE practice of the engineering de-
rartment has been to invite bids for
both. In some cases award has been
made for natural lake asphalt even
when the prices were slightly greater
than for oil asphalt, but in recent
years the award has generally been to
the lowest bidder
All i'm Good Condition.
AS two years have elapsed since
Mr.. Hunts letter was written. it fol-
lows that the experience with oil
asphalt. extending from 1903, now
covers "a period of II years.
In Mr.. kennedy's article of Sep
tember 10 he made the significant
Sf a a'a11 Of ctr
that have been laid in the last 30
years are in good condition" Assum-
ing that Mr.. Kennedy is correct in
his statement, 1t must follow that, as
none of the petroleum asphalt streets
are 20 years old or more, they must
all be in good condition. 1t must ap-
pear, therefore, to the sense of fair
ness of your management that Mr..
Hunts letter and Mr.. kennedys
statement are wholly at variance with
the caption over the article of Sep
tember II.
In Mr. kennedy's article of Septem-
Der Is he makes the statement: The
oil asphalt is a by-prodIIct Of the proc
css of refining to get gasoline and
other oils from the crude oil as it
comes from the wellS.' More than
rwo-thirdS of the asphalt supply of
the United States is obtained from
very heavy crude petroleum contain
ing more than so per cent of solid
asphalt, and these petroleums are re-
fined primarily to obtain the asphalt
and for no other purpose. AS a mat
ter of fact, the gasoline recovery from
these petroleuns is less than l per
cent. After the asphalt is obtained
rhe residue Is fuel oil suitable for no
other purpose than fuel and is worth
no more than the original crude oil
before the asphalt was recovered
from 1t.
1t is known fact that asphalt is
derived from petroleum. The only
difference between the lake asphalts
and the petroleum asphaltS is that in
the case of the former the evapora-