Show I AHEAD BY s sG G GEO GEORGES ORGE RGE S. S BENSON tHI i l College t 9 r t Cure for Shortage Oil is said to calm troubled wa wa- Oil is indeed the key to a good many problems international and national Right now there is not enough oil for all who want to consume consume consume con con- sume oil in this country and some domestic waters are not calmed Some of you have come smack up against this shortage of petroleum products I hope you are not among those who have had the poor judgment judgment judgment judg judg- ment to call for government rationing rationing rationing ration ration- ing and control I have said in an earlier column that it was government bungling along with the wastage of war that laid the ground work for our current trouble in the petroleum industry The result result our our shortage of fuel oil and gasoline gasoline is is here Now there are those folks who get frightened not having the long view of things every time a slight economic dislocation dislocation dislocation dislo dislo- cation rears its head These folks usually holler for the government to todo todo todo do something Who's To Blame Or they blame an industry In this I instance the oil industry is no more to blame than you are In fact you are probably more to blame especially especially especially espe espe- if you are one of nearly a million n householders who have installed in installed installed in- in stalled oil heating since 1941 Or if you have anything to do with the almost 2 23 million increase in motor vehicle registration since 1941 There are 35 more trucks on the road than before the war They haul food to you that is grown in farms almost more mechanized thanin than thanin thanin in 1941 All these things take oil Railroads Railroads Railroads Rail Rail- roads used 42 more diesel fuel in 1947 than in the year before Our greatly up stepped-up industrial growth has been powered by oil and lubricated lubricated lubricated by petroleum products Oil and gas have emerged as the main source of industrial energy In 1920 coal accounted for 78 of the total energy produced in this country oil and gas 19 In 1946 it was coal 47 oil and gas 47 The miners' miners Mr Lewis please note Full Speed Ahead The oil industry is therefore producing producing pro pro- at top speed Present output of the industry is more than the whole world required ten years ago This demand is estimated by some oil men to be growing at a rate of about 8 a year yearl This is the kind of situation that government interference ence and price control can never cure Demand is a fine thing for the whole industry But there are lems Oil men tell me it costs three times as much to put up a modern refinery as it did in 1936 They say total exploration costs are about four times those of ten years ago and wildcat wells cost per barrel discovered five or six times what they used to Then of course theres there's the problem of whether they can get the steel or materials at all What You Can Do If you are an oil consumer you youcan youcan youcan can help get the country through this crisis You can do it by practicing practicing ing goodness Scotch economy economy economy econ econ- omy this winter This voluntary way will prevent government intervention intervention intervention tion and rationing which would only make matters worse Rationing would bring hoarding and ruin present present present pres pres- ent fair distribution channels The industry through enterprise will continue to put out the goods Solving Solving Solving ing problems this way America will continue to be a great and strong na nation tion |