The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1942-10-09
OIL TAKES TO UNDERGROUND
ROUTE

ROUTE
If oil is the lifeblood of our COM
mercial activity and our military
might, as some say, then those long,
pulsing underground pipelines lead
ing from the producing fields to
the consuming centers might be
called our national arteries. Their
pumps, like multiple hearts, are
pushing along, day and night, the
vital fluid necessary to maintain the
life and energy of our factories and
utility plants; our highway, railroad
and ship enginesEour airplanes
above and ship engines-our air.
planes above and our submarines
below. Oil sends our armored trucks,
tanks, jeeps, motorcycles, bombers
and Flying Dragons" with blazing
guns toward the enemy-and it
keeps us warm in our factories and
homes as we do our best to back up
the leathernecks, the doughboys and
the gobs.
The figure of the arteries does not
quite fit, because the pipelines only
supplement the circulation of the
vital oil. Before the war most of our
100000 barrels of daily produc-
ton was moved by ocean tankers.
Now it is moved principally by
$4,000 railroad tank cars. But the
cars, at best, can move only 8OO,-
900 barrels a day to the swarming
East, where 100000 barrels a day
are needed for all purposes.
Convert your oil-burners to coal
furnaces; "Insulate your homes;
"Weatherstrip your doors and win
dows''; use storm windows and
doors to hold in the heat, and ''Set
your thermostats at IS degrees or
lower"-such is the advice to oil
rationed Fasteners from the Office
of petroleum Coordinator, Harold L.
Ickes. If the winter is very mild the
supply may fall short by only some
100000 barrels day. If it is very
severe, an increase of from 10 to
40 per cent over normal consump-
ton will be needed, and all the avail
able tank cars on all the sc routes
of SO railroads mapped out of Texas
and neighboring oil states to east
ern points will not be able to bring
in enough heat. Fasteners will have
to ration and SILVER.
But rescue is on the way. Oil
pipelines are being rushed. Eastern
the pictures made in the South and
Middle West showing the worlds
greatest pipeline-the 2-foot, $50
mile emergency line from Longview,
Texas, to Norris City, Illinois
going into the ground with a rush.
Views of long stretches of the big
pipe resting on supports across the
top of an endless trench, ready to
be dropped home, looked to them
like THE Campbells are coming"
That $35, O,00O-line is designed to
bring 100000 gallons day to the
Atlantic coast, and it is to be fin
ished in December-in time to
make a warmer Christmas.
At the same time smaller rescue
parties are on the way. Down Flor
ida way an 8-inch line Of old pipe
dug up in Texas is being laid from
Carrabelle on the Gulf to Jackson
Vile on the Atlantic to pump over
some $4,000 barrels of gasoline and
light oil day. 1t will then go into
barges (and many new ones are
being built or converted) and start
north on the inland waterway. This
line will cost about 100000, and
will be ready for use in November
Another line is projected from near
Yazoo, Miss, to the Charleston
Savannah region, to cost some $751;
100000. Pipelines will also connect
the Texas fields with the Mississippi
river, whence the oil will proceed on
barges as far as Pittsburgh. A plan
was also approved for extending
a line from Greensboro, N. c., to
Richmond, Va, making available
some 10000 barrels a day at that
place, to be partly trans-shipped by
barge to Washington, Baltimore
and other points. Another line under
construction stretches 100 miles
across Ohio, from Fostoria to Akron,
which Will connect western systems
with one having a terminus at
Newark, N. ]. This latter line was
built to carry oil to the West, but
the direction will be reversed and it
will deliver $1,000 barrels a day to
the East.
Petroleum Coordinator Ickes an
nounced that the present pipeline
program will cost about $50, 00O,0 900
that it should be completed in six
months, and that a majority of the
projects should be in operation
within three months.
There are said to be about 150,-
900 miles of oil pipelines in this
country. At a recent tabulation the
famished East was getting 7S8,550
barrels of oil day by tank car;
10000 barrels by existing pipe
lines, and $4,000 barrels by barg-