MYSTERY CARBURETTOR

Evening Star, Issue 22573, 15 February 1937, Page 15

MYSTERY CARBURETTOR

CREAT HOPES BY INVENTOR The fortunes of what is known as “ The Pogue mystery carburettor ” are now arousing keen interest, not merely in Canada, but all over North America, and particularly among people interested in the oil, motor, and aeroplane industries. Its inventor is a resident of Winnipeg, Mr Charles Nelson Pogue, who is 3S°years of a'ge, and for tho past 17 years he has been engaged in experiments, which' he claims have resulted in the production of a carburettor capable ■ of enabling a motor car to travel 200 miles, on a single gallon of petrol. As far back as 1927 ho claimed to have reached 75 miles to the gallon on normal road tests, and at a later date he professed to have run a car 25.6 miles on a pint of gasoline at speeds varying from two to 70 miles per hour. Further improvements in the carburettor are said to have increased its efficiency enormously, and witnesses aver that a Winnipeg man drove a V 8 car, 1934 model, equipped with this invention, 216.8 miles on a single gallon of petrol. PROTECTED BY ARMED GUARDS. Mr Pogue, who was in his initial experiments, backed by another Wiunipegger, Mr IV. J. Holmes, 'has refused numerous offers to buy an interest in his device, and has made it clear that the carburettor would be placed in tho market by himself and Ills associates. He has taken out the necessary patents, which have now been registered ail over the world, and tho interest of Mr Jade Hammell, a well-known mining millionaire, was successfully enlisted. As a result, Mr Pogue and his invention were transferred to Mr Hammeii's estate, outside Toronto, and there the inventor has been continuing his work under tho protection of armed guards, who are on duty night and day. The present stage of the enterprise is that a skilled engineer, who was formerly connected with one of the' largest motor manufacturing corporations of Canada, is now engaged in building by hand a carburettor modelled on those 'made by Mr Pogue, and if, when it is finished, it makes good tho claims advanced by tbe inventor, then the Pogue carburettor will have to he recognised as a commercial proposition, and its manufacture on a large scale will immediately be proceeded with. REVOLUTIONARY POSSIBILITIES. The 'possibilities of a carburettor which can make a motor car run 200 miles on a gallon of petrol are nothing short of revolutionary. The first sufferers will he the companies producing oil and petrol, as obviously tho consumption of petrol will be enormously lessened. Not only . will they have to curtail their production, but they will have to write down their heavy investments in filling stations, as with the Pogue carburettor Jiving up to the claims made for it, motorists will .only have to resort to filling stations once for every eight times that they visit them at present. Again, the cost of transportation by motor or aeroplane will bo greatly cheapened, and the railways will bo faced with severer competition than ever. On tho other hand, many more people will be able to afford to run a motor car, and the demand for these vehicles may be stimulated considerably, although there is no reason why they should be cheaper. OIL COMPANIES’ INTEREST. For a considerable time past the oil companies, aware of the existence of this threat to their business. future, have been keeping a watchful eye upon the progress of the invention. Some of their officials assert that their technical staffs have long ago investigated tho Pogue device, and reached the conclusion that, from their viewpoint, there was nothing of a disturbing nature in it. Since Mr Pogue has kept tho actual device closely guarded from all eyes save those of his backers, it is hard to see how any reliable inspection could have been made by outside experts. Mr Pogue has at least managed to convince men of standing and proven intelligence that he has something worth backing, as Mr Hammell is one of tho shrewdest mining men in Canada, and the Hon. W. D. Herridge, a brother-in-law of cx-Prcmier Bennett, who was lately Canadian Minister to the United States, is a director of a company which was formed last May, with a Federal charter and 500,000 common no-par value shares to promote the invention.