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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1919)
10 THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAND, DECEMBER 7, 1919, UHtUU NtiAbU . TO RISE 111 PRICE Standard Oil First to Make Announcement. ADVANCE 1 TO 4 CENTS Sliorta Danger e of Product Ever-Present Portland May Lose Out as Distributing Center. Because the last Oregon legislature raised a. gasoline test law with re quirements far more rigid than those of any other state. Oregon motor car owners now face the certain prospect of having to pay the piper in the fi.rm of a rise in price of from 1 to 4 cents per gallon. The rise is forecast by an editorial announcement in the November issue of the Standard Oil Bulletin, pub - llshed at Standard Oil headquarters in San Francisco, and just received here. ' The Associated, Shell and Union Oil companies have not yet announced any contemplated action. This announcement is confirmed by J. E. Balsley, district sales manager here for the Standard Oil company. He has not as yet been officially ap prised' as to the date the price In crease will become effective, or its exact amount, but said it would be soon and was certain to be "a sub stantial increase." t Orfjon Un Stands Alunr. "The situation is just this," said Mr. Balsey, shortly before he left Portland on a 10-day trip to head quarters of the company in Los An geles. "The Oregon law requires that all Kasoline sold In the state shall conform to a Baume gra-. lty test of 5j. This Is the only such law in the United States. "Other Pacific coast states and the United States government base their gasoline requirements . on boiling points, without reference to specific gravity. Specific gravity is not and never has been a scientific test of gasoline efficiency. In the early days. all gasoline was of high specific grav ity, but with Improved refining meth ods and the necessity of 'cracking up' crude oil . to obtain the greatest possible amount of motor fuel, the specific gravity has Inevitably been lowered. "The boiling points test, with a con tinuous chain of low to high boiling points, is now the one universally ac cepted except in Oregon, and the one finally adopted by the United States government. . Special Process Needed. "But the specific gravity law is on the Oregon statute books and must be obeyed. This means that every drop of gasoline to be sold in this state must be put through a special refining process, must be shipped in special compartments on the steam ers, must be stored here In separate storage tanks. The cost of comply ing with these requirements is very great, and at the same time motorists gain nothing, because gasoline meet ing the boiling points test gives more power. "The Increase In price Is due solely to this law, and will be based entirely on the additional cost of conforming to the law's requirements. The un fortunate thing about It is that the increase must come out of the pock ets of the people. "I don't know yet how much the Increase will be, but It will be sub stantial. The people of Oregon are the only ones In the whole United States who will have to suffer this higher price, which Is due solely to extra cost of manufacture and distri bution imposed by this law." But this price increase is not the whole of the situation, nor Its worst feature. Kven with the added cost. Oregon motorists face a constant dan ger of gasoline shortage. As no other states require the Oregon test, only a limited amount of the special process gasoline for Oregon is man ufactured. Acute- Saortagre Faced. When gasoline supplies here run short between steamer shipments, as happened a couple of htonths ago. when the state was within seven days of an absolute famine, the only pos sible way to avert such a famine Is to suspend the operation of the law. It Is Illegal under the law to sell in Oregon gasoline that passes the Cal--lfornia and Washington tests. When this shortage occurred a couple of months ago, the situation was so serious that Governor Olcott permitted the shipment of several thousand gallons of gasoline Into the state from Washington by the various oil companies here. The governor made plain that this was permitted at the time only because of the emer- - gency and that he had no authority to suspend enforcement of a law on the statute books. As a matter of fact, though no pub licity has been given it, the state has been even closer to an actual famine since that time. A few weeks ago towns In eastern and central Oregon were entirely without gasoline, while reserve stocks in Portland had been used up until the sole supply remain ing was that in the tanks of the various service stations.' A shipment arrived just in time to save the day. Portland Is one of the main north west gasoline distributing points of the Standard Oil company and other companies. But to comply with the Oregon law, officials explain, they have to provide separate storage tanks for gasoline to be sold here, for It cannot come from the same tanks as . that shipped to Vancouver, Wash., and other points in Washing ton. The Shell, Associated and Union Oil companies all have to do the same, the extra cost being heavy. The situation even presents ths added danger of costing Portland Its prestige as a gasoline distributing center.. This Is now the distributing center for Idaho, but it was pointed out yesterday by F. R. Chapman, as sistant district sales manager for the Standard Oil company, that with the Oregon product soon to cost consider ably more than that sold in Califor nia, Washington and other states, Idaho will undoubtedly refuse to con tinue buying Oregon test gasoline and will obtain its gasoline from companies distributing from points to the east. The present price of gasoline In Portland is 23 cents per gallon, which Includes the state tax of 1 cent per gallon. Due to the state tax." this is 1 cent higher than the price of gas oline in Vancouver. Wash. Further Increase Due. But with an increase of 1 to 4 cents per gallon, due to the Oregon law, this and the state tax will make the cost of gasoline In Portland 2 to 5 cents higher than in Vancouver, just across the Columbia' river. Following Is the editorial announce ment of the coming increase in gaso line prices here, as published in the Standard Oil Bulletin: A recent statute of Oregon requires that gasoline shall be 56 gravity Baume to be salable in that state. All gasoline marketed by Standard Oil company (California) outside of Oregon has a Baume gravity of ap proximately 54 degrees. The effect of the Oregon legislation will require the special manufacture of the gaso line sold in that state and a result ing advance in price. The supply for Oregon will be affected by the fact that general stocks of gasoline, with the accompanying equipment, will be unavailable for consumption in Oregon. ' "It might be expected that "legisla tion imposing such burdens and in conveniences on the public has for its object some definite benefit, and is grounded on some sound considera tion of public interest. Such, how ever, is not the case. No greater effi ciency will be obtained by the con sumer from gasoline of 56 degrees gravity than from the gasoline regu larly refined and sold in other states. Other UaNoline Satisfies. "On the1 contrary, the gasoline fur nished in California and Washington and elsewhere gives better results In power and mileage than the gasoline which must be especially made for Oregon. Not only does the public find gasoline of the usual grade satisfac tory, but its quality conforms to the specifications prescribed by the United States government in its purchases. On the other hand, Oregon gasoline will be more expensive to buy, more difficult to make, and will reduce the volume of gasoline extraction from crude oil. "While the legislation is burden some, with no compensating benefit its theory is unsound and ill-conceived. Gravity is a poor measure of the quality of gasoline. The accepted standard for the measurement of gaso line quality is its range of boiling point. This is indicated in the report of the United States fuel administra tion committee, in which it is said: There are no gravity limitations In ths specifications for aviation gasoline, nor in the specifications for motor gasoline, which are given later, for it has been found that gravity is of little or no value in determin ing the quality of gnsoilne. "Perhaps It Is not to be expected that legislators should be familiar with these matters of technical and expert knowledge. But the situation illustrates the unsoundness of gov ernment .interference in the affairs of its people. The least government con sistent with public order and safety is the best government. Trade con ditions, competion and the law of sup ply and demand will better fix the proper standards of commercial prod ucts than the arbitrary edicts of non-expert law-makers. "Leave the manufacturer and con sumer alone. If the manufacturer does not produce what the consumer wants, he will have to make It. If the consumer buys what the manufac turer makes, he probably buys It be cause it is what he wants. "The executive authorities In Ore gon appreciate the difficulty of the situation created by the law in ques tion and are endeavoring to devise some means of relieving the public from the law's burdensome results until the next legislative session. In this they will have the full co-operation of the oil companies. But the whole incident shows the folly of trying to regulate ordinary matters of ordinary commercial concern by legislative fiat." Los Angeles Rejects Test. When the question c imposing a gravity test -on gasoline In the city of Los Angeles was before the city council last winter, a special com mittee of experts appointed to study and report on the question found that to specify gasoline of the pre-war specific gravity would require an ad ditional cost to motorists of 3 cents per gallon. One of .the important findings of the committee, which unanimously opposed the speclflo gravity test, was as follows: "The two items foremost in the minds of the consumers of gasoline are naturally quality and price. They desire a high-grade of gasoline at a minimum sprice. This, obviously, is impossible, as It is with any other commodity. A practical answer to this situation your committee be lieves is In a happy medium a grade of gasoline sufficiently good for oM dtnary purposes at a reasonable price. This, we believe, will be possible under the government specifications (which are the same-as those required by the California and Washington laws, but not legal In Oregon.) . . . "We firmly believe that gasoline required by the United States govern, ment will answer every reasonable other. We also consider it logical to ' believe that the United States govern ment would not specify for its, use throughout the country a grade of gasoline that could not be readily and economically manufactured and marketed." Id f .,,.-.,:rt o ill . 5-.- " fl ll l Kla, II for Christmas A MACK SENNETT COMEDY CURRENT EVENTS ADULTS--J5 CHILDREN--5f NOV Multnomah HoteTH -:- - Where Home Comforts Abouad T I i ' Portland, Oregon . 1 1 3 r ' Elegance and comfort combine I 4 3lp5'?T r ;- - to make enjoyable your stay at M 3 1 S &rtil"'jl' tn Multnomah. 600 cozy rooms, ;i H j tS Tvl 1." Bl V beautiful mezzanine floor and Q 3 ja . 4 VpSl 13 fl lobby, and superior service at g 3 Jt-sA 1 0 vi&l vS A reasonable rates. . . ; j f UjsseS--'' Garage In connection. a J H 3 MSrtfmrr?i- Erlc V' "". President. 1 ii ' ' A B Campbell, Hunger. "I fs y 1 The Falace Beautiful jgj .. Hjj llgjL ' .Iff ,,,3 '" MAYOR BAKER TO SPEAK Oregon City Elks Lodge to Hold Memorial Services Today. OREGON CITT. Or'., Dec. 6. (Spe cial.) Mayor George L. Baker of Portland, will deliver the annual memorial address at the public cere monies to be held Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock in the Elks temple. The ritualistic work will be under the direction of Gilbert L. Hedges, exalted ruler, assisted by other of ficers of the lodge. The Elks committee in charge of the service includes E. E. Brodle, C. H. Dye and J. J. Tobln. The ushers will be Delias Armstrong, Kent L. Moody, Frank Champion and Joseph A. Miller. employes of the local office presented Mr. Hubbard with a handsome Elks' charm. Chief Clerk Gets Xew Position. J. B. Hubbard, chief elerk in the office of the general agency of the American Railway Express company since the consolidation of the various companies last year, has been ap pointed special representative of the financial department, with head quarters at San Francisco. Mr. Hub bard was formerly commercial agent of the American Express company here, and in his new position will be associated with G. P. Vlets. in charge of the financial department of the company. As a token of their esteem Seattle to Gel $1,500,000 Theater. SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. . A new motion picture theater to cost $1,500. 000 will be erected in Seattle at once and costly new theaters will be erected in Spokane, Betlingham. Everett and Bremerton, according to an announce ment made here tonight by Jensen & Von Herberg, who own a number of motion-picture houses in the north western cities. Hepplewhite Period Model You will admire the craftsmanship exemplified in Cheney cabinets. Each of period design. The model illustrated below is 43 in. high, 20Vz in. wide and 21 in. deep. All metal parts are beauti fully nickled. Each instrument is equipped with two reproducers for playing all records, and steel and jewel needles. A.uto' matic stop and shelves $7 for records PJ.J-J Mifif I . :::::fw:::Ji::::::::::::j t wpnp Ml ggggwi A Gift of Ever Increasing Worth, for "The Longer You Play It, The Sweeter It Grows" A PRACTICAL gift, yet breathing refinement and elegance. A gift that all the family can enjoy, and a gift that will become of increasing worth. For it is true of the Cheney alone that 'The Longer You Play-It, the Sweeter" it Grows." Within each Cheney cabinet are enshrined acoustic principles never before applied to tone reproduction improvements upon old methods which give to the Cheney tones unrivalled in sweetness, beauty and richness. Forest Cheney, musician, inventor and scientist, adapted the fundamental principles to tone reproduction which give the violin its sweetness and purity of tone and the pipe organ its rich fullness. He has achieved new heights he has set his instrument in a class apart. The Cheney gives piano records the very timbre of piano tones, keeps all of the parts of an orchestra record in per feet balance, maintains the purity and fullness of vocal rec ords which characterized the original production. Needle scratch and mechanical noise are virtually eliminated. The Cheney plays all records it is a masterpiece. To really appreciate it, you must hear it. Regular Models, priced from $85 to $365. Console Art Models, $325 to $600. Cheney Talking machine Company represented by , Distributors Louis Levin ger, Baker, Or. V. H. Bohnenkamp Co., La Grande G" jFl Tohnson Jiano (Jo. 149 Sixth Street, Portland 'oDPJlJ JJnJ)23u t3"-5 Ladies see M. SlcheVs ad. page 5. -Ad v. Send in your order now or write for free catalogues. A musical gift is best of all. Oregon Eilers Music House Eilers Music Bldg. See Xmas gift announcement, Page 22, Sec. 2, this issue. Doing your laundry work TheNewWay means no unfinished work. Give our Family Finish Work a trial. 12c per pound ready to wear. U. S. Laundry Co. AUTOMOBILE TRACTOR School operated on practical laboratory and shop method. New Vulcanizing Course Opens January 1st Big building ;' full "up-to-date equipment ; high-grade instructors ; personal attention. Good opportunities for graduates. RADIO TELEGRAPHY course, short and thorough. We have trained hundreds of young men into radio positions. Interesting travel and good pay. Shortage of operators has forced up the salary scale, and made the demand keen. These schools co-operate with "the state in providing financial aid to returned service men. . For catalogue and detailed information address, DIV. C, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PORTLAND V. M. C. A. NgJ I irfT pprTTr 7?m p??rwr few, p Cjt hi ! (F ! hi ' - --'.vXVr ' - - WW Theultimate aim of this establishfi, J& is to treat everyone with equal Courtesy and at-' ' tention and to refuse no worthy person the very elisS best possible service at any time. FUNERAL DIRECTORS MONGOf1E:RY AT FIFTrJjg .A Message to Thoughtful Gift Buyers Buy Jewelry for Christmas Gifts There is no other gift which will continue to charm after years of delightful possession with the same appeal as a nice DIAMOND, a WATCH or Jewelry. We have just such gifts to select from for either sex, at any price that you wish 3 Quality "If the gift be a diamond should it not be one b,e yond reproach?" The vast majority of the jewels we sell are those that by a specialist's comparison cannot be surpassed for beauty. , Dependability A reputation cannot be achieved by vain words. It is the verdict of time the sum of past perform ances on a person or an organization. It is the dia mond merchant's principal asset and his customer's chief bond. . ' Value To possess absolute integrity the merchant must justify his sales by offering unsurpassed value. By accuracy and uniformity of valuation ; by skill and scope of pur chasing power; by a minimum of justifiable profit we believe that the prices on our diamonds, watches and jewels are a true and accurate index of their actual com petitive value. - Credit Accommodations R M7 Special $50 and $100 Dia- R W l! m Without Extra Charge ) mond Rings Have No Equal. Largest Diamond Dealer in Oregon 334 WASHINGTON ST. Opp. Owl Drug Co. my