222 
The  Price  of  Gasoline. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  19 17. 
creased,  and  was  about  38  per  cent,  greater  in  191 5  than  in  1914. 
The  supply  did  not  increase  in  proportion,  the  quantity  of  gasoline 
and  naphtha  manufactured  in  19 15  being  31  per  cent,  greater  than 
in  1914.  The  difference  between  production  and  sales  was  covered 
by  decreases  in  stocks  of  gasoline.  As  a  result  the  general  level  of 
prices  in  19 15  was  necessarily  and  naturally  somewhat  higher  than  in 
1914. 
This  conclusion,  however,  does  not  indicate  how  much  higher  the 
price  of  gasoline  should  have  been  on  the  basis  of  strictly  competitive 
conditions,  nor  does  it  indicate  when  and  where  the  advances  re- 
quired by  such  conditions  should  have  taken  place. 
Cost  figures  for  representative  refiners  indicate  that  the  margins 
in  December,  191 5,  were  from  about  1  to  3  cents  per  gallon  greater 
than  in  July.  (See  original  report.)  That  is  to  say,  while  costs 
increased,  prices  increased  much  more,  with  the  result  that  in  general 
the  refiners  were  making  much  larger  net  returns  per  gallon  of  gaso- 
line in  December  than  in  July  or  in  August.  This  fact  is  reflected  in 
the  larger  net  earnings  in  19 15  of  the  principal  refining  companies 
and  the  increased  stock-exchange  quotations  on  the  securities  of 
such  companies  toward  the  end  of  that  year. 
While  prices  advanced  rapidly  in  all  parts  of  the  country  between 
September  and  December,  19 15,  the  movement  of  prices  to  Sep- 
tember was  irregular,  in  some  cases  declining,  in  others  rising,  and  in 
still  others  remaining  nearly  stationary.  The  rise  between  Septem- 
ber and  December  was  general,  but  was  more  rapid  in  some  localities 
than  in  others.  In  relation  to  cost,  the  prices  were  much  lower  in 
some  sections  of  the  country  than  in  others,  as  shown  in  the  dif- 
ference in  margins  per  gallon  of  gasoline  made  by  refiners  in  different 
localities. 
These  differences  have  this  in  common:  They  all  correspond  to 
certain  areas  described  in  this  report  as  Standard  marketing  terri- 
tories. Within  such  territories  the  price  of  gasoline  moved  with 
practical  uniformity.    Between  them  there  were  wide  differences. 
These  marketing  territories  were  established  long  ago  and  with 
little  reference  to  the  gasoline  business.  They  bear  little  relation  to 
the  areas  that  would  be  adapted  to  the  most  economical  marketing 
of  gasoline  (see  report),  a  fact  conclusively  proved  by  the  large 
interterritory  sales  among  Standard  companies  and  the  conduct  of 
profitable  business  by  "  independent "  companies  within  the  area 
embraced  in  these  territories  but  with  very  different  boundaries. 
