Whatever the temporary merits of coal and oil as fuels on land, there is no doubt that petroleum is increasingly favored on the seas. A survey by the Department of Commerce shows that in 1922 there were 3,110 oil-burning steamships of a gross tonnage of 15,004,548 tons, compared with only 501 such vessels with a gross tonnage of 1,721,747 in 1914. The increase has been particularly marked in recent years of expensive coal: in 1920 there were 2,021 oil-burning vessels of 9,039,247 gross tonnage; in 1921, 2,848 vessels of 13,374,652 gross tonnage.
During the...
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