Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-30

onlN thing to do is buy a new
automobile after visiting the
Il annual automobile show prob
ably will not give thought to
the often heard rumor that gasoline
supplies are getting low. II is wise
that they do not for the best scientific
opinion is decidedly contrary to the
rumor
Gasoline supplies will be sufficient
to meet the needs OF the vastly in
creasing motoring public for many
years, says d. Fl. Killeffer. secretary
of the New York Section, American
Chemical Society. At the same time
he points out that there is clear
need for conservation of the available
motor fuels.
On the subject of fuel resources he
saws:
Most statements on the subject of
petroleum reserves are little more than
opinions. Biologists have been able to
determine with some degree of accu-
racy the area of oil deposits by drill
ing wells, but even the most careful
estimates of the amount of oil to pc
obtained from any deposit are subject
to unavoidable errors, which make
make them merely careful gueSses.
With this in mind, one must take any
prophecy that is made with several
grains of salt. Certainly there is Sc
riouS disagreement as to the life OF
known oil deposits, and there Is ground
to believe that they are not ineXhaust-
ible. The time has come when the
motorist must give consideration to
the Use he is making of his fuel and
must urge upon the maker of his ear
the necessity for praCticing economy
of operation in design
Solution for Consumer.
While the problem is ultimately
one for the consumer to solve, he is
bowerlesS without the assistance of
the engine designer and the car build
en- The driver must realize that the
pleasure and profit he derives from
his car would be seriously jeopardized
by a failure of the petroleum supply
or a considerable increase in the cost
of fuel if substitutes must be en-
nloyed. Whether or not a stringent
shortage of petroleum is imminent re-
mains to be seen. in view of the dis
agreement of authorities on the sub
iect, but under any circumstances the
interest of the drivers of the ears can
best be served both now and in the
future by a united demand for more
efficiency in car operation.
The famous report of the commit
tee of eleven of the American Petro-
leum Institute, made more than
year ago, offered to autOmObiiStS the
assurance that petroleum supplies are
ample for the present and Will con-
tinue to be until suitable substitutes
are devised. There is much comfort
in a statement of that kind coming
from so well informed group.
Board Urges Conservation.
The report was drawn up primarily
for submission to the Federal Oil Con-
servation Board, and while its assur-
ances are acceptable to the drivers of
automobiles, it must be remembered
that the board urged conservation
even after receiving the repor6 The
committee was interested in showing
that no immediate famine of oil is to
be feared, while the board is interested
in the ultimate fate of our American
oil reserves. The Federal Oil Conser-
Walton Board had particularly in mind
the extreme importance of oil as an
element of national defense. now so
largely based on airplaneS, tanks and
ol-burning naval vessels
With this point of view, it was not
possible nor reasonable for the board
to take any other view than one of
extreme conservation. The committee
Of eleven showed an almost equal in
tereSt in possible foreign sources of oil
which could not appeal to the board
considering the prodigious rate at
which American OIL Is DenS burned.
The motorist has every right to expect
that oil from Russia or Persia or
South America will be supplied to him
if lac is willing to pay for it, but
nation at war has necessarily to rely
upon it's own supplies when others
may be denied it.
"In the hearings before the Federal
OIL Conservation Board, there was no
lack of disagreement as to the advis-
ability of conserving oil, nor of the
methods whereby it might best be &C
complished. Henry L. Doherty, well
q known oil and power magnate, pre-
Il scented the view that conservation of
oil in its natural underground reser
voirs is the most logical method of as
surfing a future supply, and he stated
tqat the present laws governing the
oil business effectively prevent such
intelligent measures from being
adopted.
Would Amend Statutes.
Mr.. Doherty believes that the stat
utes covering the ownership of oil
properties and their exploitation
should be amended to bring them into
harmony with the present knowledge
Of the subject. His contention is that
the original statutes and judicial de-
cisions on the owenrship of oil are
based upon the mistaken idea that oil