Nick Poncelet of Columbia Falls, Mont., recently sent us some
copies of Gas Review magazine, a publication popular in
the first decades of the 20th century, and of which he has quite an
extensive collection. Among those Nick sent was a copy of the June
1916 issue, which particularly caught my eye because of the cover
photo of an oil derrick. The cover is credited inside the magazine,
where the reader is told: ‘Power Manufacturing Company of Lima
Ohio, very kindly presented us with the photograph from which we
made the cover illustration this month. You can’t see the
engine, but we are told there is a Primm oil engine in the shed
back of the derrick and that it is boring for oil.’
Reading further, I found an interesting article on the subject
of gasoline, and reading the article I was struck by how little has
changed over the last 87 years as regards oil and gasoline.
The article’s subject was the rising price of fuel, and the
article’s writer was lamenting rising gas prices, noting that
the Standard Oil Company reported in March 1916 that the price of
gasoline in San Francisco, Calif., was ’18 cents per gallon,
which is now from 2 to 12 cents lower anywhere in the country.’
This was in light of a story in the San Francisco Star
newspaper that reported, ‘There is to be a government
investigation into the recent frequent advances in the price of
gasoline.’ If they only knew the prices we face today!
Interestingly, the main focus of the article revolved around the
author’s disgust at the quantity of oil the U.S. was exporting.
Now we argue over how much we should import, and from whom. The
author also made reference to war boiling to a head in Europe, war
which ultimately turned into World War I, and its effects on gas
prices.
The author further wrote: ‘Gasoline has come to be a
necessity for our national development. Farming, which stands at
the basis of our national prosperity, is largely dependent upon
cheap power in the form of gasoline engines. Our stocks of
petroleum are not unlimited, and yet we are shipping petroleum and
its products to all parts of the world. We are permitting one of
our most valued possessions – a product needed for our national
development – to slip away from us without a murmur of protest.
‘Isn’t it high time something was done about it? Would
any other people permit a favored few to exploit their natural
resources without some restraint? Hardly. Yet that is what we are
doing and we are paying the penalty in rising prices of gasoline,
They tell us it is the demand caused by the war that is
responsible. If that is so, why don’t we put an export duty on
gasoline that will at least put a damper on its exportation? There
will be enough people killed and mutilated even if they can’t
get gasoline.
‘At any rate, we can’t see where we are benefited any in
wasting our substance because the people across the water have all
gone mad. Of course it is fine for the oil people, but when it
comes to natural resources upon which the nation’s welfare
depends we believe in America first. It is high time export duties
were laid on all raw materials. Let this country sell its resources
only after they have been made valuable by American labor. And when
it comes to gasoline, let us make the duty so high that other
countries will pass it by. We can use all we have and it will not
take so very many years to do it at that.’
Engine Ads
Another page in the magazine had ads for Novo engines, as well
as a Primm engine, which was the power plant for the derrick
featured on the front cover. There is also an ad for Dixie
magnetos, and in the top left corner of the page oil field engine
enthusiasts will recognize a shotgun-style piston pump, which was
used a lot in the oil field to pump water for engine cooling. The
‘shotgun’ reference comes from the pump’s distinctive
long cylinder, or ‘barrel’ for the pump cylinder and
piston, which was normally connected to the cross-slide of the
engine. All told, very interesting reading, and an interesting look
back to another age.
Our thanks to Mr. Poncelet for sharing his magazines with us. I
always enjoy my correspondence with our many engine friends,
especially when they send neat oil field information such as
this!
I hope to see some of you all in May at the Portland, Ind., swap
meet, and as always, anyone interested in an OFES society
membership please call, write, or e-mail at the address below.
Contact the Oil Field Engine Society at: 1231 Banta’s
Creek Rd., Eaton, OH 45320-9701. Visit us on the Web at
www.oilfield-engine.com or e-mail at:
oilengine@voyager.net
