The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-08-18
Twice As Much
. Gasoline For
Your Dollar

Inc American motoring puDnc
saved three billion dollars last year
because of the efficiency Of the
American petroleum industry.
TO the average motorist this is a
saving of SOB in the operation of his
automobile during 1887, if he ran it
as much as did the average car owner.
And this saving, calculated on the
basis of the reduction in cost of gas
oline in 1887 as compared with Jan
uary, 1921, represents only one meas
ure of the industry's contribution to
the nations well-being.
Gasoline today, exclusive of tax, in
representative cities throughout the
country is only 14.3 cents gallon or
less than one-half of the 31.4 cent price
in January, 1921.
Efficiency of the industry also has
meant:
l. A great improvement in gasoline
quality.
Proof of this is to be found in the
fact that, with nigh quality gaso-
line available, automobile manufac-
turers have been able to build light
er and more powerful motor engines
and at the same time increase the
gasoline mileage.
2. Better lubricants without an in
crease in price.
Proof of this is the contrast be-
tween car operation now and in form
er days when automobile buyers were
instructed to "have the carbon scraped
every 5000 miles, buy a quart of lu-
bricating oil every time you buy five
gallons of gasoline and change the oil
every 500 miles,"
3. Development Of some 800 addi.
tional products from petroleum such
as asphalt, paraffn, and solvents fol
use in paints and varnishes.
The story of how the petroleum
industry has achieved these improve
ments in quality and number of prod
ucts and at the same time cut the
cost Of motor fuel in half is a char
acteristic story of American business
efficiency.
One of the early threats to the in.
dustry was the danger of exhaustine
the supply of petroleum.
To meet this problem the industry
devised new ways of locating OF
wells. By scientific methods, which
are likely to appear miraculous tt
the average man, it is possible to de-
termine conditions many miles below
the earth's surface and thus avoit
much wasteful drilling for oil.
Another problem of the early day:
was the inadequacy of drilling equip
ment.
This was remedied by invention O.
machinery which can drill two mile
into the ground.
Successive improvements in tn
methods of extracting gasoline from
crude oil were made until today it il
possible to get twice as much gaso
line from crude oil as was obtained il
1921.
And so the industry achieved on
more saving, not only reducing tn
immediate cost of gasoline to Mr.
John Smith, motorist, but at the same
time conserving the supply Of petro
leum.
Another achievement of the indus
try has been in it's reduction of trans
portation costs.
To do this great network of pipe
lines has been laid throughout tn
country and fleet of tanker ships ha
been built.
And the striving after greater eff
cheney continues.
Each year $12,0O0,00O is spent b,
petroleum companies to improve tn
quality Of their products and the mum
Der of their services. Thus the lead
ers of the industry point toward NOR
progress, perhaps even to bettermen
of the record Of recent years, whel
changes have come so fast that grea
plants, costing millions of dollars
have been built with the full knowl
ledge that new improvements woul,
make the machinery partly, if no
wholly obsolete, in five orsat most tel
years.