[Sidenote: MANUFACTURING OPPORTUNITY.]
The first half century of Western development was accomplished without
the aid of cheap fuel. This lack was really a blessing in disguise,
for it applied the needed spur that finally forced the utilization of
its protean water powers. But with the development of its latent oil
resources there became available a fuel whose cheapness and convenience
should enable the West to compete in the manufacturing field.
There has been no factor of greater use and with less recognition, in
this attainment, than the aid given by the engineer. The first and most
pressing problem was the taming of the furious force of newly tapped
gushers, so as to regulate and control their flow with reference to
reservoir capacity. But so irresistible were some that they could no
more be restrained than can the waves of the ocean. Millions of barrels
flowed to wanton waste. Earthen barricades were hastily built around open
pools, and considerable oil was thus preserved, only to be flooded into
an unready market, whose demand was not sufficient to absorb the sudden
oil supply. Nor were the existing means of transportation suitable.
Here, indeed, was work to be done. How quickly a market was created is
indicated by the fact that in 1906 the local consumption was greater than
the production. This was due to an accumulation caused by low prices, the
average being less than twenty-five cents, and the minimum ten cents. A
fleet of tank steamers and a pipe line across the Isthmus of Panama soon
gave access to the Atlantic, and Pacific possibilities were vigorously
developed, so that the demand has already doubled this price.
With regard to the crude oil, boilers and furnaces have been
reconstructed so as to efficiently use the new fuel. Radical changes
were necessary in order to provide increased air capacity and new means
of air distribution. The very best of our engineering talent have been
so successfully concerned with this problem that fuel oil is now used
in nearly every steam plant on land and sea, for both stationary and
locomotive use. Petroleum-enriched water gas is much superior in cost and
quality to the illuminant it is displacing, and now requires considerable
oil. Smelting with oil will soon be an accomplished fact in spite of many
difficulties, and oil engines such as the Diesel also utilize the crude.
Following its utilization as fuel, there came its varied applications as
a refined product. Gasoline and engine oils were separated for use in the
various types of explosive engines, lubricating oils were distilled to
make the running easier, and from the residue, asphalt was taken to meet
the good roads movement. Many other varied uses have been developed for
this product, including its application to roofing and weatherproofing.
Chemists have found that most of the California oil, as well as that from
the Texas fields, contains an asphaltum rather than a paraffine base,
which thus distinguishes them from most of the Eastern oils.
Coincident with this increasing use of oil during the past decade have
been the improvements in the method of carrying it. The great expense of
reaching this engineer-made market demanded that cheap transportation be
provided. Long pipe lines have been built, which pour the oil directly
into the refinery or into ships that take it to a foreign market. One
nearly three hundred miles long was constructed, but proved inoperative
on account of the great viscosity of the oil. But even this difficulty
has been met and overcome by an entirely new principle that promises to
solve the problem, and forms one of the interesting stories the “Journal”
has yet to tell.
Not less important than the engineering problems already outlined is that
detailed in this issue by our friend, Mr. Clem. A. Copeland. Disastrous
fires have consumed millions of gallons, and any means that lessens this
needless waste is welcomed. Incidentally it illustrates the importance
of studying other jobs in relation to their possible application to new
problems. The adoption of long-span work required courage, which has been
justified by the results. It is not our province to discuss the ethics
of competitive struggles which have characterized the history of oil
wherever developed in large quantities in this country. But, as long as
competition endures, stagnation is prevented, and it is undoubtedly due
to this stress that so much engineering ingenuity has resulted.