18 SCIENCE REMAKING THE WORLD 



there was no demand for gasolene, as much of it was run 

 into the next fraction, the kerosene, as it would stand 

 without blowing up in the lamps. Each state had to 

 have an oil inspector whose duty it was to see that no 

 kerosene was sold that had an ignition point below the 

 safety point of the lamps. There is now no difficulty 

 on that score because the temptation is all the other 

 way, to run the heavier kerosene fractions into the 

 gasolene until it becomes too heavy to burn and the 

 motor knocks. In the early days the gasolene, being in- 

 jurious to the illuminating oil and not being much 

 wanted anywhere, was allowed to run from the re- 

 fineries into the streams, where it sometimes took fire. 

 When the introduction of the automobile created a 

 demand for gasolene the refiners awoke to the fact that 

 they had been wasting one of the most valuable parts of 

 the petroleum. Then they began to save and sell their 

 lighter distillates which under ordinary conditions 

 amounted to about 1 1 per cent, of the crude oil. 



But with the multiplication of motors this did not 

 suffice. It became necessary to break up the heavy 

 oils into light oils, which meant breaking up the big 

 molecules into little molecules. Nobody knows ex- 

 actly how petroleum was formed in the first place, nor 

 even what it was made out of. But presumably it was 

 made from masses of vegetable matter subjected to heat 

 and pressure. If, then, we could reproduce those con- 

 ditions we could shatter this sorry scheme of things and 

 remould it nearer to the heart's desire. 



This was accomplished by W. W. Burton, president 

 of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, who worked 



