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Show PRICE OF GASOLINE IS 001 HIGHER i This Is Prediction Made by Those Who Claim to Know. CRUDE OIL IS SHORT ! Surplus at Refineries Is Exhausted Ex-hausted and No Relief Is in Sight. The price of gasoline is an all-important question to the man who drives a motor ear. The raise of 'A cents j gallon in the past three weeks has j; caused the ear owner to wonder why f and the reasons therefore. The Tribune j has interviewed a number of gasoline : dealers, and it seems that one and all agree it is a shortage of gasoline at j I the refineries that is eausiog all the trouole. What is more, it is said 'hat ' gasoline will continue to advance, and j that before another month pastes away gasoline will be belling in Salt Lake for at least 20 cents a gallon. Conditions this rear are exactly re-versed re-versed from what t"hey usually are. Gen- i erally gasoline prices go down in the fall when th demand is not as great, and rise in the soring. This year gasoline gaso-line sold wholesale at 14 cents and now wholesalers get 17 cents for their product, prod-uct, a rise or 3 cents in the past month. Cause of Advance. It is claimed by wholesaler? that the j ei.arcity of crude oil all over the country coun-try is responsible for the shortage of gasoline. The Texas and Oklahoma oil fields, so it is said regulate the price of crude oil in this section of the country. -Crude oil hag jumped more j than -"JO per cent in these fields in the past month, and as a result the refin- I eries have raised the price of gasoline. This shortage of crude oil continues, so j it is claimed, and the natural result will be a still further increase in the price of gasoliue. The retailer sets his own price on ; (Continued on Following Page.) PRICE OF GASOLINE IS 601 Hffl (Continued From Preceding Page.) gasoline, and while different filling stations in Sa'lt Lake have different prices, the prevailing figure at present is 18 cents, 1 cent above what the retailer re-tailer pays the wholesaler. This is a small margin, and it id alleged there is no prof it retailing gas at this figure. fig-ure. The retailers have tried time and time again to get together and make a larger margin of profit, but all efforts in this line have failed. Now the generally gen-erally accepted price of 1 cent above wholesale rules in Salt Lake. It is said there are no large stocks i of gasoline held in reserve at any place in the country. Last spring the re-.m re-.m fineries started the season with plenty Hi of surplus gas on hand, but this has all been used up. Whether they will be able to refine another surplus before next spring rolls around is a question I which local oil men cannot answer. In w, the meantime there is a shortage which has caused the price of gas to go up aod which, it is claimed, will go still higher. |