Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-17
FEDERAL OIL BOARD URGES
i. S. TO BURN MORE COAL
Report to President Says Petroleum
Supply Being Wasted in Heating
Homes and by Industry.

thousand years, while oil. if consumed
at the present rate, will not last much
| longer than a decade. Estimates vary
on the latter point, but all are agreed
| something - that vague something,
! which the board will attempt to crys-
talliZe into action-must be done.
| Alaska produces, or can produce,
both oil and coal. Philip S. Smith
of the Geological Survey found large
surface oil pools up near the Arctic
| Circle last Summer. He did not make
an estimate as to the probable yield
under the restricted development pos
sible in such cold regions, but did as
sert that Alaska may become an i'm
portant producer of oil. Coal can be
mined, but not cheaply or economical
| ly, in Alaska.
The boards inquiry has been most
exhaustive. 1t has touched every phase
of the oil industry from producer to
consumer and has reached down into
the very vitals of the industry to ex-
| tract q willing degree of cooperation
| from the men who realize their con-
| tinuation in the industry depends upCS1
some far-sighted Federal policy WHY
regard to oil conservation. For the il
| duStry has come forward willingly asN
| gladly, has met the Government more
than half way in its efforts to find the
facts and has literally opened its books
to the fact finders.
Waste i'm Production.
| OF course, waste in production haa
come in for a large share of the I'M
Quiry. Any board or commission which
has Secretary Hoover on it cannot eS
cape the keen search of Mr.. Hooverh
| fnquiSitorial eye into the possibility OF
avoiding waste.
! President Coolidge now has before
! him a digest of answers to all ths
questions asked of the industry by the
board, concerning production, possible
substitutes, refining, foreign develop
ment, storage facilities and waste OF
utilization and production. prepared
by an advisory committee" of the
board headed by George Otis Smith,
director OF the Geological Survey.
Other members of the board are Brig.
Gen. Edgar Jadwin, War Department;
Rear Admiral Harry II. Rousseau,
Navy Department, and Harry II. Hill
of the Bureau of Mines. This commit
tee took the answers of the industry,
went through them with a fine-tooth
comb and digeSted them for the board.
It's findings were transmitted to the
White House only few days ago and
are secret.
Procedure Outlined.
The procedure to be followed in
drafting the final report of the board,
roughly. will follow these lines: First,
the board will consider past and pres
ent conditions in the industry. Second,
it will take up and make recommend
ton as to the essential petroleum re-
quirements of the Army, Navy, mer-
chant marine and the executive army
Third, II Will consider the legal powers
of Federal and State governments,
statutes governing import and export,
the constitutional rights of individuals
to develop Oil lands and the presen5
status Of Federal control Of the public
domain.
1t will then proceed to consider the
naval commissions report to the Prest
dent on petroleum conditions as affect
ing the Navy and the Federal Trade
Commission reports on a similar sub
: ject.
From that point It will branch of
into the important questions, taking
up first the question of essential and
non-esential use Of petroleum and the
present effect Of so-calfed competitive
conditions in the oil and coal IN
dustries and possible substitutes.
Foreign Development.
The question of foreign develop
ment of oil fields by American ma
tionals then will be considered, and
lastly. and one Of the important con-
siderat tons the board will discuss is
. the effect of final action and publica-
ton Of its report on the Nations eco
nomic condition.
Only recently what IS considered
one of the really constructive pro-
posals for all conservation has been
presented to the board in the form
Of an explanation by Henry L. Doh
erty, mining engineer of New York,
Of a plan worked out under his direc-
ton for preserving fuidity of oil un-
foreground by retaining natural gas
in soluntion and thus preserving both
the full oil production and the gas.
Gas waste has been one of the most
expensive phases of oil development
when considered in connection with
. the possibility of helium production
from it. Mr.. Doherty's engineers
contend their new method will, II ap-
piled to virgin oil fields, yield practi-
cally full production and treble the
. normal output under present condi.
tons.
Experiments have been conducted
J here by the Bureau Of Mines with the
Doherty method and have proved
revolutionary when undertaken on a
small scale.