Evening Star Newspaper, August 27, 1925, Page 27

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1925. arning! To you 78,846 Washington motorists RECENT investigation has re- A vealed a serious situation. We have determined to take action to safeguard the motorists and protect our reputation. ' Ever since the advent ot the auto- mobile, the chief concern of the Vacuum Oil Company has been to provide effective, safe and scien- tific lubrication for automobile engines. To this end we manufacture a line ofautomotive oils known as Gargoyle Mobiloil, under the designations of Mobiloil «E,” Arctic, «A,” «B” and «BR.” These oils, due to their suitability for engine use and their hlgh char- acter, have attained a nation-wide distribution and general acceptance from the public. We have placed the distribution of Mobiloil in the hands of thousands of dealers, depending on them to supply motorists with the genuine oils when requested. But we have found,through investigation,that not all dealers supply genuine Mobiloil when asked for. We discovered open substitution You know and we know that the ma_]ontv of dealers selling automo- tive oils in the District of Columbia are honest men, striving to give honest service. You know and we know that the majority of these dealers do not overcharge, do not misrepresent, do not substitute. However,in checking up recently, to see if motorists really were gettlng Mobiloil when they asked for it in all cases, we discovered an amount of open substitution that gives us serious concern. While we found that many honest dealers were supplying exactly what To every Washington automotive dealer Fvery honest automobile or supply dealer, whether he sells oil or not,should he interested in this campaign to sup- press substitution. The stability of his business is threatened if consumers can- not depend on the honest delivery or goods asked for. So we ask you to put the weight of your influence behind this campaign by attacking substitution your- self wherever you find it. What our investigating car found out ‘COMPANIED by a representative of A the National Better Business Bu- reau who could attest the conversations and legally identify the samples, we drove up to 30 retail outlets and asked for Mobiloil. procuring samples from many. (We will continue from time to time to so collect and examine samples.) The car we used was cquipped with a special mechanical device. This device was so arranged that oil which was pre- sumably poured into the crankcase as usual, was actually led off into an empty can. On driving away from the Service Station, the can was removed and seazled and later given to authoritative, dis- interested chemists for <\,mm1mun and analysis. When examined later a surprising number of these samples proved to he substitutions— in one case the oil supplied was used oil which had been drained from crankcases of other cars 2nd then trentad However, it is but fair to state that many of the dealers called on refused to supply any but the brands they rep- resented, and made. no attempt to sub- stitute. VACUUM OIL COMPANY 61 BROADWAY . NEW YORK CITY - Mobiloil Make the chart your guide was asked tor,without misrepresenta- tion, we did discover that quite a few were substituting inferior oils for Mobiloil. This is what sometimes happens— A motorist drives up and asks for the grade of Mobiloil recommended for his car. He is sometimes sup- plied with a substitute. He drives away, believing he will receive the service he hasalways had from Mobil- oil.. If trouble results, it reflects not only on us as manufacturers of Mobiloil but-upon the thousands of dealers who sell genuine Mobiloil. We are determined to stop this practice and prosecute the offenders. We propose to continue the campaign against substitution As we explain on this page, we have already collected and examined a number of oil samples secured from Washington dealers. We will continue to collect and ex- amine samples of oil sold as Mobiloil. We will institute proceedings in the courts against proven substitutors. In the meantime, protect yourselr by asking for Mobiloil by the full name . . . Mobiloil «E,” Mobiloil Arctic, Mobiloil «A;” Mobiloil «B” or Mobiloil «BB,” as specified for your car on the Chart of Recommenda- tions which hasbeen published by this Company for nineteen years. The safest way to make sure that the oil you get is what you ask for, is to observe the drum, or can from which it is drawn. See that this drum or can is marked in red with our Gar- goyle trademark as printed at the bottom of this page. If you suspect substitution notify us so that we cap investigate. Call Main 8164 and ask for Mr. J. H. Donaldson. We can blot out the substitution evil if you will help us. In fairness to honest dealers In all fairness we must state that when called on, some dealers made no effort to substitute. When asked for Mobiloil they fr;::ly ':id that they did not have anyon hand,but madeaperfectly straight- ¥ ey b , idea of underhanded mbsututwn never occurred to them.