Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-01-19


The excitement with regard to the pur-
chase and leasing Of land has not diminish
ed, but, on the contrary, has evidently in
creased. At the same time there is great
er attention paid to the location of the
properties in the market, and the proba-
bilities of finding oil, and also TO the va
lidity of the title. In the latter respect
too little attention was at first paid by
the purchasers, and much trouble has al
ready resulted in consequence. Buyers
and sellers were both 30 anxious to com
plete the bargain, that they did not pay
the necessary attention to details, and the
amount of business with which the County
Registery Office was overwhelmed, made il
difficult to get st the true condition
of property for sale. Another trouble has
grown out of the old leases granted in 1860
and 1861. Many Of these leases contain
ed clause requiring the continued prose-
cution of the work on the wells, while 9th
ers were drawn up without any conditions
being imposed. Most of these leases have
lapsed on account of the abandonment OF
the works, but after the sale Of the pro-
perty, the lessees not .unfrequently claim
possession, and attempt TO extort money
| by way of compromise. As the rejection
of their demands might be followed by q
tedious lawsuit, and the suspension of work
in the meantime, the purchasers frequent
/ " find it more to their interest to COM
promise the matter at once. More than
this, it sometimes happens that the holders
of one Of these forfeited leases find some
one verdant enough TO buy the lease itself
l saw fellow in Oil City, endeavoring TO
get off en- old lease of 1861, that had ex-
pired from none compliance with it provis-
ions more than two years ago. he modest
/ ly asked six thousand dollars for docu-
| ment which was worth about one mill, to
be ground up as paper stock. On my
pointing cut the fatal defect in the paper,
the owner coolly remarked that he Gguess-
ed there would be no trouble in getting an
extension" As the lease called for only
one-si1th the oil as loyalty to the land,
| and the terms now obtained are one-half
the oil, thought there might, perhaps, be
a little difficulty in the matter.
The Legislature of Pennsylvania should
pass carefully digested law in reference
to the oil interests of the State which not
only would remedy the evils already men
toned, but clearly define the duties and
liabilities of companies incorporated for
the production of oil. At present, comps-
mics organized in Pennsylvania, organize
under the general act of incorporation,
which was very loosely drawn up at first,
and has been so many times amended and
added to, that it is now mere bundle Oi
incongruities and contradictions. It is in
timated that the Legislature will probably
pass 8 Law taxing the product of tho wells,
and discriminating sgsinst.companies form
ed under the laws Of other State s.Such a
policv would be suicidal. An immense
amount Of capital, foregn to the State, has
already been brought for the development
of the Pennsylvania oil lands, and more
will be invested unless driven of by 8
short-sighted policy
@ The value Of the oil product OF Venango
county is steadily increasing, and has now
reached figures startling TO those scquaint-
ed with the condition OF the county few
years since. A carefully prepared esti-
mate, made in September last, and based
on the actual returns of all the producing
well on Oil Creek, for a period of twenty
one dsys, showed daily average of 5,e65
barrels on Oil Creek alone, exclusive Of the
Hruns" branching from it, and also exclu-
ding the Allegheny and its other tributa-
ries. It is believed that the subsequent
striking of several good wells on the creek,
including the "Ooquetts," which now
fowE 500 to 500 barrels daily, the numer-
Gus producing wells on Cherry Run
and the other "runs," and also on the AL
legheny and its tributaries, will now make
the oil product Of Venango county at least
10000 barrels daily. This. at the average
price of tan dollars at the wells, which i;
a low average, will give one hundred thou
sand dollars day, or over thirty-one mil
lion dollars a year. The number Of welli
on Oil Greek in July, 1882, was sever
hundred; at the present time, the number
Of wells down and going down in the
county, is estimated between three anC
four thousand. Should but one in twenty
of the wells now sinking be productive
tho yield of oil would be largely increased
but not enough to keep pace with the in
creased demand.
The product of the creek finds its way
TO market by various routes. During the
/ high state of the water and bad roads It Ii
taken in fst-boats to the Oil Creek Rail
road at Skaters Farm, to the Atlantic
and Great Western Railway at Franklin
or by fst-boat or steamer to Pittsburgh
Of that portion transported by the Oh
Creek Railway to Cory, some is taker
thence by the Atlantic and Great Western
Railway, some by the Philadelphia and
Erie, and the remainder is refined al
Downer's refinery at Cory, which con
sumes about two hundred and fifty bar
rels Of crude oil daily. In noticing the
amount of oil sent forward by rail OF
steamer, it must be borne IN mind that
much of it is refined oil, to produce bar.
rel of which consumes about two and s
half barrels Of crude petroleum. The
average number OF barrels shipped daily
from the oil region, over the Atlantic and
Great Western Railway during the past
six months, was nearly three thousand
A still larger amount, it IS believed, went
by river to Piasburg, and some was taken
by the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad.
The extensive refneries at PlummersvIlle,
on Cherry Run, and several emsller refner-
les along Oil Creek and its tributary
streams, assist in reducing the bulk of the
oil shipped, making the estimate of the
oil product probably nearly correct.
S ,erman on Praying for JeR LAWS.