The resourcefulness of the oil men of America was not confined to mastering the seemingly insuperable problems of increased production and transport. A minor contribution to the efficient prosecution of the war was the construction of a pipe line across Scotland to supply the British and American navies in the North Sea and avoid sending tank steamers through the dangerous sea routes leading to the naval bases on that body of water. This work was carried out by Mr. Forrest M. Towl, President of the Southern and other pipe line companies, and was in full operation shortly before the armistice was signed. In this work both the American navy and the British Admiralty coöperated. Even apart from its wonderful assistance to belligerent action on land, it is clear that petroleum played a vital part in winning the war at sea. The following succinct statement of what it accomplished was given by a well-known oil man conversant with all phases of the subject, shortly after the armistice. “Oil and internal combustion engine made possible the submarine, enabling Germany to stave off defeat as long as she did, but oil burned under boilers gave us the increased efficiency of the destroyer, which conquered the submarine. It was the ability of the Allies to obtain a constant, ample supply of oil and the superiority of oil over coal as fuel for naval operations that finally turned the tide of battle and proved a decisive factor in the war. “The destroyers that broke down the morale of Germany’s undersea crews were oil burners of such remarkable flexibility and speed as to bring about a sharp change in naval practice. It took some time to bring the number of destroyers up to the work laid out for them by Germany’s early advantage, but the fate of the undersea boat was sealed with the arrival of the first oil-fired destroyer in the waters where the submarine preyed. The original fleet of war vessels which the United States despatched to convey merchant vessels and hunt U-boats were all 16,250 horse power, which at top speed could show 32 to 35 knots an hour. Later on we had destroyers developing 27,000 horse power but the small boats had already proved the case for oil fuel in war. “One of the reasons for the success of the destroyer in keeping the lanes of travel reasonably free from the undersea menace was the ability of the oil-fired warships to take on fuel in the open sea. The American flotilla had a tank supply vessel stationed at longitude 36 degrees West, from which oil was taken on by the destroyers at the rate of 40,000 gallons an hour, without interruption even in the roughest weather. Indeed, there were times when bunkering was done with both vessels travelling at six knots an hour. Similarly oil gave the larger warships increased speed and independence in the matter of fuel stations.