Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-11-22
Goal WaIkout
Boosts Demand
For Oil Heating
Flood of Inquiries
About Equipment
Reported by Dealers

Recurrent coal troubles are help
ling to boom business in the oil heat
ting industry.
This was the report today of dis
ktributors and retailers of fuel oil
fand oil heating equipment and cor
froborated by users and prospective
lusers of oil for heating.
4 A survey revealed that hundreds
of business establishments and an
ESTIMATED 10000 residences in the
metropolitan Area already have in
stalled oil equipment for heating
I Just how many additional pres
cent users of coal would like to con-
Svert to oil was impossible to deter
mime, but dealers in oil and heat
fling equipment said they have been
flooded with inquiries since first
threats of the present soft coal
gstrike.
= Not Enough Equipment.
I However, the demand for equip
kment far exceeds the supply. There
are not enough oil heating units
favailable to be of much help in
{ easing the problems of those who
fnow depend on coal for fuel.
4 Dealers believe the conversions
\ from coal to oil will increase after
4 the strike, both in Washington and
in the Nation as a whole The
ssame thing happened after the coal
1 strike in May, they said, and the
Expectation is that it will happen
on an even larger scale as result
tof the present trouble.
( While numerous reasons were
fcited as encouraging a trend from
fcoal, to oil, most important among
them was the uncertainty of getting
coal because of strikes.
- Typical was the comment of D. A.
tStalker, manager of the Willard
4 Hotel, which converted to oil during
I the summer.
I 1--WE could not feel sure of the
Asupply or the price of COAL" he re-
marked. There is plenty of oil. So
the Willard converted to OIL"
! Other Considerations.
I However, he explained, there were
sother considerations leading to the
change over-including cleanliness
sand convenience in handling.
I The Willard is one among many
Washington hotels using oil. Others
sinclude the Mayfiower, Shoreham,
SStatler, Harrington and Washing
fton among the larger hotels, and
many of the smaller ones.
J Some, as in the case of the Shore
ham, have been equipped for oil
from the outset. e Manager L. Gard
ner Moore said the building was de-
signed for oil heating.
Others, like the Mayf1ower, were
forced to make total or partial con-
versions from oil to coal during the
war. At the Mayflower, the CONVEX
sion was SO per cent.
But we went back TO ell 100 per
cent as soon as restrictions were re-
moved" said an official of the May
flower. Convenieuce and cleanliness
were given as chief reasons for the
preference for oil there.
Many Apartments Use Oil.
Hundreds of apartment houses,
large and small, were listed as users
of oil. Included among them are
the Pail Mall, Bay State, Maury,
Westchester, Fairfax Village, Buck
,ingham Community, Inc; Arlington
Village and Piney Branch.
{ Many Government facilities are
heated with oil, including National
tAirport' and about go buildings in
tthe District. Government usage was
ESTIMATED at about 100000 gallons
Aannually in the District.
Many Office and public buildings,
tsuch as the International and Ma
Etional Press Buildings and the Scot
4 fish Rite Temple, $500 Sixteenth
tstreet NV, use oil. The same thing
4 is true of large numbers of industrial
eplants, warehouses and retail estab-
SliShrnentS.