Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1918 — Illuminating Gas Is Being Used in England as Motive Power for the Motor Cars [ARTICLE]

Illuminating Gas Is Being Used in England as Motive Power for the Motor Cars

The war has at least served a useful purpose in teaching practical economy. Today we are facing a serious gasoline shortage. In England, according to the Science et la Vie, Illuminating gas is nOw being used extensively as the motive power for motorcars, omnibuses and motorcycles. It is much cheaper than gasoline, and Its use conserves the limited supply of fuel for the motors at the front. Another war Industry has been given birth and already a large number of companies have been organized to manufacture tanks for supplying vehicles with gas. The system is very simple and may be applied to almost any type of motor vehicle. All that Is necessary is a balloon container for the gas, tubing to carry the gas to the motor and certain adjustments in attaching the controls to the carburetor and accelerator pedal. In England the balloon In a box rests on top of the car, where it is held in position by elastic bands, which stretch when the balloon is filled and shrink as it empties. It is made of India rubber tissue like that used in the ordinary balloons of ascension. The tubing from gas bag to carburetor is fitted with a cock which has a triple function. It permits the bag to be charged or emptied or can be turned to the neutral, which permits the gas to flow along to the carburetor. A second cock controls the flow to the carburetor. This is turned off when filling or discharging. Between this cock and the carburetor is the control mechanism attached to the accelerator. This mechanism is so arranged that gas or gasoline may be used as it happens to be convenient, The only difficulty at present in the way of a wholesale substitution of gas power for gasoline lies in the fact that the factories which manufacture balloons are under military control.