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Show Remedy For Gasoline Shortage Lies in Hands of Auto Drivers, I Says Standard Oil Co. President ' - I B) FLOYD M VCGRIFF, lnlrniitlon ovv- Service Siaff otto pondeni NEW FORK, Sept 11 The people of the 1 nitcd states can remedy the I gasoline shortage almost over niKh' and prevent a future famine. If they ' so wish,' W. C. Teagle. president of 1 the Standard Oil company of New Jersey Jer-sey and world authority on oil, declared de-clared today In an exclusive interview with the International News Service. I "The remedy,' he said, lies in the American people Insisting on being supplied with automobiles which will gel a high mileage per gallon of gaso-I gaso-I line. As long as they continue to buy onl) high-powered, heavy automobiles which can do only from eight to fifteen fif-teen ml lea per gallon the situation , will remain difficult and steadily grow worse. 'For several months dating from August Au-gust 1. 1919. the American oil Industry Indus-try was trying to supply a current dally demand of 1.159.016 barrels to refineries from a dally crude oil output out-put of 1,101.088 barrels. "in recent weeks we have seen a change for the better; in July there was a gain in stocks on hand We mu.U get more miles per gallon, gal-lon, the maximum mileage, to avert acute hardship in the future. With the most optimistic views toward domestic production and Imports Im-ports from Mexico it is only a question of time until there will not be enough gasoline to po around, unless we adopt common sense methods of conservation." conserva-tion." Mr. Teas! ', who b.OJ climbed into his present high position by sheer ability from the Job of a tank-wagon driver, said the oil industry was bending bend-ing i-er effort to Increase crude oil production anil that substantial gains are beine shown over corresponding months of 191 9 MI'l loN FIX! D "But consumption It not s fixed quantity," said Mr. Teagle. Automobile Automo-bile and tractor manufacturers, striving striv-ing to meet the almost insatiable demand de-mand for motor vehicles, are keeping ahead of the refineries." Mr. Teagle was nsked what reply be could make to skeptics who would say the oil companies were exploiting exploit-ing the shortage situation by boosting liiK prii-e; and Withholding supplies , "1 think the l'nited States gov-. gov-. ernmenls geologkal reports on production pro-duction and consumption are sufficient answer to that. The oil companies have to report what stocks they have in hand." Asked If placing an embargo on : gasoline exports would remedy the situation. Mr. Teagle said. "It Is a waato of time to talk about that. Gasoline and other liquid petroleum petro-leum products require a tegular outlet out-let If refineries are to be kept In op-' eratlon. It would be difficult to construct con-struct storage facilities holding more than a few weeks' supply. Remember that the countrv Is producing about' i SO. 000.000 barrels of gasoline a year. The foreign market was created to provide an outlet for this country's' surplus and it must villi be depended 00 to absorb excess production in win-' o 1 time." "How about a gasoline substitute'' f Do you think a remedy lies there? ' "Scientists who work on the principle prin-ciple of developing a substitute may accomplish something." said Mr. Tea-I Tea-I gle. "Gasoline is hydro-carbon and; you can't reproduce it by dropping a' j handful of white powder Into a pall of, water." MA IHOL? "What about alcohol .' " "We have not yet been able to pro-; j dure cheaply enough I understand' that It costs about 60 cents a gallon to manufacturer commercial alcohol There may be some value In ben- i zol as a gasoline substitute. It is being used In England with a fair de-grsc de-grsc of satisfaction, and to some ex- 1 tent in the United States." "How about changing the design of automobile engines so they can use lieavlel pelroliinn 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 a t e p 1 " "That might be of value If we were producing? a large surplus of kerosene kero-sene and gas oil, explained Mr. Teagle. Tea-gle. "Hut demand tr those products j has increased even more rapidly than I for gasoline. Ninety per cent of our farmers depend upon kerosene for Illumination. Il-lumination. The tractor and Irrigation pump must be fueled If we are not to suffer a crop shortage. The automoblllst cannot be made a preferred ustOmcr 10 that a higher high-er percentage of gasoline win he re- I fined from petroleum. We have oil -burning merchant ships to take care of and other needs, national in scope, to satisfy. I "We really ore In the position of a tailor who. with only so much cloth j available, would ask his customers to ; try to get along on two suits a year Instead of four." POSITION OF I Ml OB I Mr. Teagle recalled that when the automobile first came into use he was selling gasoline, then a by-product, from the tall end of a tank wagon at 6 cents a gallon. "There was plenty of gasoline then and Its cosr did not bother either the automobile designer or user," he said. Heavy engines, heavy cars, wasteful larbuie'ion and compression have be. n i he rule. "Of eight million automobiles oper-ntJng oper-ntJng there is s pitifully small number num-ber getting the gasoline mileage that Should be their portion." Would you suggest thc.se cars be ,...,.(,.,.,.a ...u i . nun uvwiTs i" increase gns-I gns-I ollne mileage ?" "NO," he replied. "My suggestion is that the public stop buying . . r.s which have a high fuel consumption For all practical purposes an automobile that makes -.' to 35 miles per hour would ever; need Such cur prob-ablv prob-ablv would average thirty miles per gallon. Automobile manufacturers are ready to produce such cars the moment the public demands It. In England, where gasoline sells for nearly a dollar a gallon, cars have a higher gasoline mileage. In addition, addi-tion, the iirltish government his de-' de-' ide.j to impoM a t.iA .if s;, ,,ci iiors. -1 power on all motor vehicles. America is the only countrv In the world that insists on high-powered heavy motorcars. It Is time we stopped it. Urn- highways today are good enough to permit operation of lighter cars. The man who gets from six to eight miles a gallon of gasoline in order or-der to have a reserve engine power that will enable him to go fifty to Seventy-five miles an hour is tin offender of-fender against public Rood. Aside from i Hie appallng diath bs( from a it,, mobile mo-bile speeding. It is wrong to waste u. I and tire; in ihal manner." Mr. Teagl,. pointed out thut if the t)-hcrsepovver engine were replaced1 by S I 5-horsepo wcr automobile it will be necessary lo use Q higher gear ratio and to make more frequent use of the gear shift as is done In Europe He nlso salt! that there might well b a rourth Keared up speed added. The new type of car would be more economical econo-mical and efficient, he staled. "If the final automobile transformation transform-ation could be made within the life or the newest car of the old tvpe In commission toda we would have lit-tie lit-tie cau.'e for concern over our abllltv to supply gasoline for years to come." I said Mr. Teagle |