Evening star., 1933-05-07
In the Motor World
BY G. ADAMS HOWARD.

by cOmpetltlOn. Proponents Oh ulotOi-
fuel blend claim for it a superiority.
If alcohol blended fuel Is superior it
will require no act of Congress to force
its use by the motoring public" Mr..
Keefe declared.
It is estimated that use of alcohol
blended fuels will increase motor fuel
cost from $100, ,000, 900 to $500, ZOO, ,000
annually. Whatever the alcohol in
dustry makes out OF such legislation
must come from the motorists pocket
it is pointed out by the A. M. A.
Petroleum Institute Hits Idea.
According to the director of publicity
it looks as If current proposals con-
template Transforming that old tax goat,
gasoline, into a draft animal supposedly
to haul away the farm crop surplus.
Under the guise of farm relief" legis-
lation has been introduced in five
States and in Congress designed to
require gasoline to be blended with
ethyl alcohol derived from surplus agri-
cultural products. We figure this would
cost the motorist, who currently is pay
ing a tax bill of upward of $1,000
100000, appro Ximately $500,000, 900
more in the form of increased motor
fuel costs, increased taxes, etc.
While this proposal ADMITTEDLY looks
like farm relief, even superficial IN
vestigation will show that it is really
an attempt to create a larger market
for industrial alcohol; to hand the
farmer another gold brick, this time
at the expense Of the motorist. The
first effect would be to increase the
cost Of motor fuel, regardless whether
2 per cent Of alcohol or 10 per cent
is blended, for alcohol currently retails
at six to nine times the price Of gaso-
line. Economic studies indicate that
while farm prices of corn. for instance.
might be increased per cent, or about
cents per bushel, the cost of fuef
25-cent corn would raise the retail
price l cent to cents a gallon!
Would Buy Own Corn.
Only an infinitesimal part of surplus
crops could be eliminated in this way.
Farmers, who consume IS per cent OF
our gasoline output, would be put in the
position OF paying more for motor fuel
in order to sell themselves their own
corn. Blending alcohol with gasoline,
liquids Of strikingly dissinilar char
acteristics, would increase the diff
culties and expense of motor fuel dis
IIlOUllOIl even 10 Tie exIeHG Oh 1eNamp-
ing the petroleum industrys entire
system. And blending alcohol with
gasoline would mean blending the liquor
and gasoline bootlegging operations into
one sweet racket boding i'll to tax
revenues.
The general public. asked to pay
large share of the costs in order possibly
to benefit few. probably would have
to finance, through taxation. the con-
struction of additional alcohol distilling
facilities. The alcohol interests esti-
mate the cost at S350,000,0 900, and sug-
gest that the Government build the
plants and turn them over to distillers
after the cost is amortized! OF course,
facilities are sufficient now to produce
enough alcohol to meet the demands
for 2 per cent blend. recommended
by the distillers. But they are woe
fully inadequate for 10 per cent
blend. the smallest that would ma
teriaQy improve farm crop prices.
The scheme apparently was adopted
from practices abroad, where govern
ments subsidiZe alcohol manufacture
and promote its blending with high
priced imported gasoline to reduce
motor fuel costs. None make blending
compulsory. Few even enforce such
blending laws as they have, and sew
eral have abandoned the scheme.