Show 0 ALDERSON ON OIL SHALE at one of the public meetings of the independent oil mens association at which dr victor C alderson delivered his addre address ss on the british oil shale industry he took advantage of the occasion to make some impromptu remarks which are quite apropos in connection with the eagerness displayed by some writers to criticize shale developments which are now under way in this country says the denver shale review in reference to the profits which the scottish operators have been able to derive from their operations dr alderson said so to sum it up so far as scotland is concerned it is a commercial enterprise successful to the last degree very little technical advance has been made in recent years they do not feel that they need it the scotch design of retort may suit our purpose in some individual places where it is desirable to have a maximum amount of ammonium sulphate and they care little about the oil but in our fields where there is a large amount of oil to be obtained and a small amount of ammonium sulphate the scotch retort will not do it wont be fit because it is adapted for entirely different purposes that should be impressed upon the minds of all our friends the present scotch retort is adapted to making ammonium sulphate primarily and second airily the oil if we are determined to have a scotch retort get the henderson retort in concluding his address dr alderson took a rather clean cut rap at those who look upon the industry with skepticism he said 1 I cannot help but remark in passing that we should all remember that this industry is young it is new it is not the time for critics to be walking up and down the land finding fault with what you and 1 I are trying to do possibly failing to do but are trying to do and doing our best it is easy enough to criticize any fool can do that but an industry like this takes vision and courage I 1 know a great number of men working in this industry and there is no more loyal energetic and determined set of men in the world I 1 remember in the early days before we had any electric cars and how the critics pooh the idea of using electricity for any such purpose I 1 remember listening to a professor who was lecturing on a dynamo of this character and he said it is very interesting but it is folly to think you can put it into use within twelve months he was riding to his school on one of these cars 1 I went through the wireless telegraphy proposition when it had no friends and I 1 know what it looked like I 1 saw the beginning of the telegraph and the telephone and I 1 know what they looked like in the beginning and I 1 realize that the last man I 1 need to pay any attention to today in working out these problems is the critic who says tell me this why dont you know that and in what you wrote you dont say this I 1 get letters in my mail every day from froin men who are willing to be extravagant enough to spend two cents for a postage stamp and write me letters asking questions that it would take to answer and they get sore because I 1 dont tell them some of us are doing the work and doing the best we can if we do not satisfy every moss backed critic they get after us the last place in the world for critics critics to show themselves is where this work is being done this preliminary work in the oil shale industry the men who are working on it doing their best deserve encouragement more than anything else they are putting in their time money energy and sometimes their reputations but speaking for r them in answer to the critics of the country who are saying you cannot do this or that I 1 say we are just at the beginning of this industry give us time |