Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-05
IMPORTANT OIL SUIT
Involving the Forfeiture of C. D.
Robbins 20 Year Leases.
IT WILL GO TOTHE SUPREME COURT
An Old-Time Gusher Struck in the Western
Tart of Mcdonald.
GORDON SANDER AT WILLOW GROVE

which involves the question of forfeiture oi
oil and gas leases, has just closed at Wash
| ington, Pa 1t has not been settled, how
ever, as Judge McIlvaine took it out of the
hands of the jury and rendered decision
| carried to the Supreme Court for final de-
cision.
His reason for this action was that the
| case involved too many fine points of law to
be disposed OF by II jury. and as it involves
thousands Of acres of territory and thou.
| sands OF dollars. he deemed it best to send
the case before the highest tribunal in the
State for the purpose Of securing lasting
verdict
The history of the case dates back TO De.
| cember 26 1888. At that time c. D. Robbins
| leased for period of 20 years large block
Of land aggregatinZ over 900 acres. in Cecil
| township, WASHINGTON county, for the pur.
pose Of drilling for oil or gas.
The lease was remarkably comprehensive
| one. Il read that within six months after
the leases were signed he VAS to drill well
| on one OF the farms named in the general
lease, and IL oil was found in paying quan.
titles, he was to drill other wells and
thoroughly test all Of the farms W hich he
held under lease.
According to the agreement he drilled a
we'll on the Joseph L. Scott farm but found
neither oil or gas. Concluding that the rest
Of the country was unproductive Q, he drilled
no more wells.
Rrviv-d by the Mcdonald Field.
When the Mcdonald field was opened up q
year ago many OF the farmers who had
leased to Robbins in 1888 concluded that he
had forfeited his lease by not drilling after
wells, and gave their leases to other opera.
tors.
In this way Knox, Apple, Elvea & Co. Sc
cured a lease Of the John Scott farm and
drilled yell which Is good for from so to loo
barrels from the fifth sand.
R0bD1nQ m a
desk and producing his lease of 1888 went
before Judge McIlvaine and asked for a
writ to restrain Knox, Apple and Elyea from
removing or selling the OIL MIR. Robbins
argued that since his lease specified that he
| was only to drill more wells in case he found
oil in paying quantities in the first, his
leases had not been forfeited as the first we'll
was q dry hole, and had been drilled accord
ing to the agreement. II it had been a pro-
ducer he would have been compelled to drill
others. Therefore he claimed that his leases
granted the writ.
The present case. which ended yesterday
afternoon after three days session. was q
suit of ejectment brought by the Venture
Oil Company versus Howard Thompson,
Joseph TOmlinson ct al and was based
LARGELY upon the foregoing.
EARLY in the eighties S. II. Cook sold farm
of ls2 acres, lying south of Laurel Hill and
about mile southeast OF Mcdonald. to a
party named Gamble. On December 26, 1855.
Gamble leased his farm for 20 years to C. D..
Robbins.
Was Not q Successful Farmer.
Gamble failed as a farmer and made an as
signment. Cook bought back the properly
subject to the a0-year lease given to Rob-
biTs. Then Cook sold the farm to party
named Smith, subject to the old Robbins
lease, but reserved to himsel { one-half of the
one-eighth oil and gas royalty OF one-six-
teenth OF the whole. Smith then sold the
farm to Dr.. Miller. subject to the same reser-
vation regarding the oil and gas royalty.
Then DR.. Miller sold to Frank Woods rs
acres OF the farm, and by deed of assign
ment sold to Woods 1s- of his Lie OF the oil
and gas royalty under the lease which
Gamble gave to Robbins. Miller'S sale to
Woods was in December. 1859. On June l2,
1891, Miller leased his SO acres TO A. r. Fretz,
who in turn sold the lease to J. G.. McCon-
nell. and Howard Thompson, Tomlinson &
Co. drilled we'll which proved to be good
gasser.
The Venture Oil Company bought from
Robbins his oil and gas rights in the old
Gamble, the Woods. the Hallam and the
Brown farms. a2gregating l83 acres, and he
alleged that the lease which Miller gave to
Frctz was illegal, owing to Robbins holding
q prior lease.
The defendants claimed that Robbins had
abandoned his lease, and after listening to
the points raised by each side Tor three days,
Judge Mc1lvafne decided that there had
been a technical abandonment and q con-
structive surrender Of the lease by Robbins,
and taking it ont of the hands of the jury
rendered u verdict for the defendant, that
his case might be carried to the Supreme
Court This decision is directly at variance
with the one rendered in the Scott farm
case.
There were eight attorneys employed on
the case. A. NJ. Todd, j. W. Donnan and
John Bredin represented the plaintiffs,
while Judge Charles McCandless, of Butler;
T. X. Taylor, H. NJ. DuIan, L. A. Sterrett, OF
Washington, and Eugene Mullin. OF Pitts
burg, looked after the interests of the de-
fense.
Gusher In " estern Mcdonald.
The production Of the Mcdonald field
went up 1000 barrels yesterday and was re-
ported as % 900. Two more wells we're added
to the list of those making 20 barrels an
hour or more. One OF these is q new one.
1t is known as FitZgfbbons, Hairy Co.'S
No 3.aii the James Walker heirs farm, and
is located over half a mile west OF south
from the old Fife farm well on the western
part of the field and over two miles due
northwest of NGblestown 1t reached nsaina the
and was reported to he making all
the way from IS to 1a5 barrels an
an hour. The pipe line gau, es place it at 60
anv other wells drilled in that part of the
field, and is consequently a big surprise.
When the old File No. car1e in at lS bar
rels an hour half dozen wells were imme-
ccption they all proved to be busters, or SO
small that the owners abandoned them.
There are over half a dozen people inter
esteo in the new well, among them E. II.
Jennings, D. W Robinson, S. Hoag, Beers,
Hasson and others.
Improved by Nitro-G'ycerine.
Forst & Greenlee shot their No. on the
McMurray farm. at Noblestown, and brought
its d. oduction up to 20 barrels an hour.
j. p 81 refflcr 6 Co. have just finished up
a I0O-bar' Ell Gordon sander on the Dempey
lot at Willow Grove.
Mankedick farm, at Willow Grove, were on
top of the Gordon last evening.
Mercer & McClurg's No. on the Guy lot,
near Oakdaie, is down 900 feet.
J. McGil larm, in southwestern McCurdy.
wa. on top of tho fifth sand last ni9ht.
1t will be drilled in Monday. Their No. on
the NcCielland heirs farm. and No. on the
W. j. McGill, are both due in the fifth early
next week.
Their No. Campbell, near the Noise, IS in
the 100 cot. No. . KcKeown, south OF VIII
ard Grove, is also ill the lcOfoot. and their
No. 8 McKeown was cased yesterday.
s. S. Wilson's church lot well, south OF
Willow Grove, was just on the top OF the
Gordon last night.
SIsTERsv1LLE-The we'll on the Morrison &
Mccoy arm, east of town, is not in the sand,
as was reported few days ago.
Tho Mcdonald Gauges.
The following estimates were submitted
by the gaugers of the Southwestern Penn
sylvan:a Pipe Line Company:
The production of the field was 20 900 or 1000
more than the day before. The hourly gauges
were as follows: Jennings, Guffey & Co.'S
Matthws' No 3, 20; Lynch & Co.'S No. l
Meisr, rs: Oakd;,le Oil Company's Nor
gan No. 2, 40: J. NJ. Guffev & Co.'s No 7
MankedIck. 20: No. McMichael. 20: Brown,
Robson & Co.'S No. 8 McMurray, S5;
Forst & Greenlee's No. 2 McMurray, 20: FItz-
gibbons & Co.'S No Walker. gu. Produc-
tion, %, ,OGO Stock in field, $4,000.
The runs of the Southwestern Pennsyiva-