The Oil Division of the Fuel Administration played so important a part in the final success of the Allied and Associated nations that if it was true, as a British authority declared, that “we floated to victory on a sea of oil,” the credit belongs largely to the men who directed the American oil supply, for the Western front was dependent almost wholly upon oil from America. There was a constantly increasing production of crude oil, which was speeded by all possible methods, and the proportion of gasoline extracted was continually being increased. Oil-burning vessels in the British, French, Italian and American navies needed the oil and the Motor Transport Services of all the armies needed immense and rapidly increasing quantities of gasoline. Oil production was increased in 1918 to 344,000,000 barrels, which was 50,000,000 barrels more than it had been in 1914. To provide transportation a fleet of oil tankers was built and when the war closed over half the gross tonnage of tankers in service was American. Gasoline this country sent across the ocean in an ever increasing flood which grew in 1917 by a million and a half of barrels over the previous year and in 1918 amounted to 13,312,000 barrels, an increase of more than 9,000 barrels per day over that sent in the previous year. But so sharp grew the need for it at the front in the summer of 1918 that restriction had to be put upon its use at home. The Allied forces warned by cable that without increased and early deliveries of gasoline their plans were likely to collapse. Marshal Foch’s cablegram said bluntly, “If you don’t keep up your petroleum supply we shall lose the war.” Immediate saving of gasoline was the only answer to the necessity and the Fuel Administration asked the people living east of the Mississippi River to forego the use of motor-propelled vehicles, except for specified necessary purposes, on Sundays. Compliance was voluntary and for military reasons the public could not be told how dire was the necessity. But so immediate and universal was the response that from every section reports showed that Sunday motoring was almost wholly abandoned, the reduction being from 75 to 99 per cent. During the nearly two months that the restriction continued it was estimated that a saving had been made of approximately 1,000,000 barrels of gasoline, of which more than 500,000 barrels, ten shiploads, had been sent overseas.