What Happened to Whale Oil? E. F. Hutton

WHA T HAPPENED TO WHALE OIL? tg G. 5. JJullon IT IS GENERALLY A MISTAKE for politicians to try to bol ster up depressed areas or industries. History proves this over and over. If an area or industry is depressed because of previ ously mistaken legislation, the law should be repealed. But if they become depressed for economic reasons, the poli ticans should keep hands off. Take whale oil. That industry was a great and neces sary one down to about 1850. Whaling ships searched every sea. There was "no climate that was not witness to their toil; no sea not vexed with their ships." Then came coal oil, or kerosene, and New Bedford and Nantucket became depressed areas. Government, how ever, kept hands off and whaling men and their sons found other jobs. With the coming of natural gas, kerosene for lighting started a long decline despite more millions of homes. The smelly lamp gave way to the gas jet, which was soon obsoleted by electric light.

Mr. Hutton (1876-1962) was the well-known industrialist, invest ment banker, and author of the column, "Think It Through." 433 434 E. F. HUTTON Suppose all these new industries had been taxed to keep the dying ones alive! Government kept hands off, and the free competition of better and cheaper products caused the most rapid technological progress in history. Congress is now urged to legislate increased coal con sumption by 100 million tons a year to relieve unem ployment in the coal industry which has pushed wage scales to the highest levels in America. Congress can do that only at the cost of other industries and their em ployees.