THE FUEL SITUATION.
Page 2
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Professor. Cadman on Economy Generally.
MR. WALTER LONG, M.P., the Cabinet Minister responsible for all questions affecting petroleum, oils and petroleum products, has asked the Director of the Petroleum Executive to supplement the formal announcement recently made so that the method of dealing.with the shortage of petroleum products may be known to the public generally.
It is to be understood that, whilst there is a, sufficient supply of motor fuel for the Services, there is not sufficient, according to Professor Cadman, to permit of a continuance of the supply for private con.= gumption. Petrol and the heavier fuels cannot, therefore, be used for -purposes other than those of national importance without the situation reacting on-national needs. Those who are in the services of the Crown or who are engaged in performing duties of national n20 importance are being urged to economize to the 'fullest extent, and to ensure active supervision of consumption Mr. Frederick Moresby (until recently managing director of the Car and General Insurance Corporation) has been appointed Investigation Officer to the Petroleum Executive.
The control of the use and distribution of petrel for • civilian purposes remains in the hands of the Petrol Control Department of the Board of Trade.
The relation between the use of petroleum products lathe Services and the civil needs of the country will, be subject to the attention of Mr. E. S. ShrapnellSmith, the section of which he is the head being charged with the function of introducing and stimulating economies, including alternative methods of transport in every possible direction. Care will be taken so far as is possible to enable those Svho are engaged on work of national importance to continue to obtain their bare necessities of motor fuel.• The use of coal-gas as a substitute for Petrol, particularly for motor wagons and commercial vans, is a subject upon which the Petrol Economy Officer will concentrate, and there is no need for us • to remind our readers of his pioneer work in this-direction. In order to co-ordinate and standardize the procedure to be adopted in the extended use of this form of fuel Mr. Long is about to form a committee on gas traction which will include representatives of producers and users.
We are also given to understand that the increases in the price of petroleum products are receiving the attention of the Board of Trade, and the contentions of the importers as to the causes of such increases are being closely examined.
The Relief Afforded by Coal-gas..
Mr. Shrapnell-Smith, speaking at Manchester on Friday prior to Mr. W. M. Ba,rrett's interesting lecture on coal-gas, said that both Mr. Walter Long and • Professor Cadman are much interested to know of the activities of the Gas Committee of the Manchester Corporation in the matter of arrangements to encourage and provide facilities for the. consumption of ordinary town gas as an alternative fuel in relief of the petrol situation. Mr. Long (said the speaker) hopes if will he generally realized throughout the in: dustrial areas of Lancashire and Yorkshire more particnlarly that the saving of even one gallon of petrol has a direct influence -upon the cost. of food. The Petrol Economy Officer said it is hoped that many thousands of commercial motors will be equipped to run on town gas within the next few months.. He said he was asked to point out the error of supposing that gas traction is merely a war expedient. It is, in fact, a development of lasting economic importance, in that when materials and labour become available to permit the general use of gas, under compression, the limitations which are at present imposed by its use on the vehicle from flexible holders at practically atmospheric pressure, namely limitations of space and radius of action, will be overcome. Town-gas can then. be utilized to full advantage, especially having regard to reductions in the accepted weights of cylinders due largely to the employment of high tensile steel instead of mild steel.
Economies effected by the use of coal-gas in place of petrol will enable motor traffic to make a, handsome contribution towards the reconstruction of roads without unduly hitting haulage interests. The speaker drew 'attention to the likely benefits of using 'a homeproduced fuel, and, above all, one which distributes' itself. A pipe line system already exists, and there is no other fuel that can be applied without added expense and ceaseless demands, upon both materials and transport, for its own distribution.
The new petrol restriction order, remarked the Petrol Economy Officer, does not apply to gas.
Cheaper Petrol.
It was, to say pie very least, a strange coincidence that, within a few hours of the publication on Wednesday of ,last week of the statement of the Director of the Petroleum Executive that the Board of Trade intended to examine the question of the price charged for petrol and the contentions of the distributors, the Press were being energetically called together by the officials of the Pool Board to hear an announcement to the effect that the price of petrol will be reduced as from Thursday last by aid. per gallon, which means 3d. per gallon benefit to the users. And it was a. very strange coincidence that the Press were asked to attend at the very hour when they were to be present at Thornycroft's Garage to observe and examine the n of over 46 vehicles converted to run on' coal-gas. From the remarks of the Pressmen, we know which gathering suffered through this clashing of events.
The statement Was made that there has been a 'reduction in the War risk insurance from 9 to 7 per cent., and that this permits of the large reduction. A few weeks ago we were informed that the rate had been increased 18 per cent., which necessitated an increase of 8id. per gallon wholesale or 10d. per gallon retail. It is hard to reconcile, these figures. It was also announced that there would be a reduction of Riper gallon in the price of paraffin lamp oil.
Evidently coal-gas demonstrations can effect double benefits for the motor community.