Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-05
.UNDERT0NE BETTER
IN OIL INDUSTRY
More Gasoline Used Over
Fourth Than on Any Sim
liar Occasion.


NEW YORK, July 5.--More gasoline
was consumed in motor vehicles in the
last SO hours than in any similar period
in history. according to transportation
experts today They are unable, OF
course, to obtain accurate figures, but
they place the amount in excess OF
100000 gallons.
Police officials in the East declare
motor traffic on the highways has never
been so heavy. and the return wash OF
the vacation wave was still ripping
today.
One measure is the Delaware River
Bridge. leading from Philadelphia to
the New Jersey shore resorts. 1t is
figured nearly 10000 vehicles passed
over the bridge in the period from noon
Tuesday to noon today.
The scenic highways throughout the
country were crowded, but the long
distance vacationist was less numerous
than in previous years, because the
holiday came In midweek and was re-
stricted to a one-day period. The short
distance motor and bus business, how
ever, was phenomenal.
More Gasoline Used
The consumption of gasoline for
weeks now has been at record levels.
This has been due to the increased
number of motor cars registered one
for each six persons in the country
to the improved condition of the high
ways made and repaired this Spring.
to general prosperity and TO favorable
weather. The petroleum industry is
slowly responding to these favorable in
fiuences. Pipe line runs are growing
larger, refinery operations are improv-
ing and drilling operations arc more
active. The leading authority reports
today that oil we'll compilations in the
territory east of the Rocky Mountains
in the last month has totaled l.840
wells. an increase of IA as compared
with the number completed the pre-
vious month
Not only has gasoline consumption
gone up. but prices are now more than
a cent a gallon higher at sefineries
than they were year ago. The gaso-
line stocks never rose in the same pro-
portions as the stocks of crude oil
which have proved so burdcnSome TO
the industry for 18 months. Despite
the heavy crude stocks, however, there
have been advances in The prices of
PENNSYLVANIA crude and many sound
Judges anticipate better trend IN mid
continent prices If the Improvement
keeps up.
The retail prices of gasoline are gov
erned IN part by local conditions, out
stocks are far from burdensome and
quotations In general now are yielding
profits to refinerS and distributors. the
railroads were fully prepared for the
volume of traffic and handled 1t more
eficiently than in the past. with a min
imum of delay and discomfort.
Roadside Sales Rise.
Provision men maintained today that
a greater volume of mixed meals such
as "hot dogs" other sausages and ham,
burgers was consumed over the 4th
than In any previous "a hours. The
same applies to the vendors of Ice cream
and soft drinks The sale OF ice cream
was especially heavy, according to New
York manufacturers and distributors,
owing to the high temperatures.
The public service corporations. es-
pecially those which supply electric
current, met the peak of the movement
In a most efficient way despite some
local electrical storms which in the past
might easily have disorganized trafiic
and left millions at the resorts mulling
around In the dark The demands on
the electric companies perhaps were no
larger than on business days. but they
had to adjust themselves to having the
peak OF the demand once at unaccus-
toned hours.
The toll of accidents durin- the day
was fairly heavy on the highways, but
the ratio In proportion to the volume
OF traffic was not any higher than on
ordinary Sundays.