The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-05-03
OIL AND OIL PRICES.

1t is premature to announce, says
the Sioux City Journal, in commenting
upon the boom in oil prices, the fail
ure of the supply of petroleum either
in this country or in the world. I'm
doubtedly there has been a reduction
of the annual product for three or four
years, but it proves nothing but that
the price has been so extremely low
that many wells and indeed whole oil
fields have been abandoned. 1t is
very common, where such product
decreases under a low price, to con-
clude that the natural supply is in
course of exhaustion. One of the
ablest modern statiSticians in the
field of finance and monetary science
some years ago entered into an elabOr-
ate argument to show that the gold
rock of the world had been practically
exhausted and that the decline, which
appeared from the figures of annual
product for several years, would go on
indefinitely. Indeed, he mainly rested
his argument for bimetalliSm on this
basis, which was mere geological
speculation. But within few years
there began the extraordinary de-
velopment of gold mining throughout
the world which has so enormously
increased the annual product of gold,
and which has now demonstrated the
fact that there is sufficient gold rock
in sight to support for a long time a
much greater yield than is now mined.
1t is very likely so with petroleum.
The rise of price, continues the Jour-
nal, will cause great increase Of pro-
duction. Many old wells can now be
worked at a profit under much
higher price than has ruled for many
years. New wells will be struck. En-
tirely new oil fields will be found and
the boundaries of old fields will be eX-
tended. While export has increased
immensely for several years, this also
is to some extent matter of price.
1t is known that there are vast oil
fields in Russia which have been only
partially developed and the stronS
probability is that new discoveries in
other quarters of the globe will add to
the available oil supply. The low
price of cattle has caused reduction
of the. herds, but no one would infer
that the possible supply is therefore
reduced. OF course, the possible sup
ply of live stock differs from that of a
mineral, but practically the same
principle operates with respect to the
development of both. The limit OF
petroleum is not involved in all prob
ability, but the state of the oil in
dustry is merely matter of markets
merely practical matter, as the
near future will disclose.
On the other hand the Minneapolis
Times does not take exactly the same
view of the situation. 1t looks upon
the advance in oil as merely the
manipulation of the Standard Oil
trust, though it admits that if the
reason assigned for the advance is
true, that it is good one. But it is
inclined to look upon it with sus-
picion, and points to the reports Of
new and copiously yielding wells as
it's reason therefor. But in the mean
time the people go on paying the
prices asked, and thank their stars
that the boom in prices has come at
the beginning of the summer season,
instead of waiting until the long
winter evenings arrive, and hope that
it will run it's course and settle back
some toward the old figures before the
summer passes away and the fall days
arrive.