Show he Oil Situation Again By By Ira ha C. C Tichenor I ATTENTION again is called to the oil situation by the warning L issued by the United States States' bureau of mines of the probability f an actual shortage of gasoline before th the end of the coming miner as a result of the disproportionate in increase rease in production productions compared with the s Increasing Increasing- consumption Although an increase in stocks of or gasoline at the end of February of tore re than gallons or 20 cent per as compared with a a. year ago ates that the sl situation is not yet acute it is declared i in Ih the statement t he bureau of mines th that tt before the summer is over it win will become tJ tight ht t. t deed it does not become short In spite of th the stead steady increase in lit the production of ot crude oil all in the then n ted d States consumption has made suc such Imm immense me strides during durin the past teg years that tills this count country y now produces only a a small amount of cr crude de' de dever ver the domestic requirements During the seven months DurIng last seven months months' of 1919 the United States imported pp barrels of crude rude and refined oil ind and nd exported a a. little lore than barrels or an an excess of exp exports rth over i Imports por s of about 1 barrels The ability of the United States to export crude and andr refined r fined oil depends almost sol solely ly on n the tho amount of Mexican oil that can be ported and owing to the prevailing revolution in Sn the the neighboring re republic here lere 6 might be a complete cessation o of imports from that coun country ry at any me le e. e The suggestion now is being made that the government adopt a plan f allocation of oil supplies in expectation of a shortage especially of asoline during the coming summer While such such sucha summer a a. plan plan might prove ove of i temporary benefit it it is ce certain tain that the the only remedy is Is' Is Isan an Increase in I P Possibly the government government which for Je years rs held back a k the production o of t oil Because ec use of Its withdrawal of millions of acres of pr prospective oil lands and wh dh h only recently have been thrown open but hedged about with res lon fons s might now v evolve a plan where devel development operations in n new w and promising districts might be hastened |