The herald., 1895-07-20
BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION
The Oil Controversy Presented
to q Select Committee
NUISANCE OR NO NUISANCE
The Producers and Property Owners
Confront Each Other
An Ordinance Is to Be introduced Prohibiting
Smoke, SIudge and Notes.-The Oil
nen Present Figures

The fire and water committee of the
council sat as a jury yesterday, the case
at bar being entitled the Oil Producers of
the City of Los Angeles versus the Prop
erty Owners Opposed to :he Oil Industry,
as the same is originally conducted. The
party of the first part in the con-
troversy pending was represented by
some twenty-five of the oil men, the
property owners interested having on the
ground James Burdette. esq.,, who, single
handed and alone stood up and defended
the cause of himself and his clients, fer
Mr.. Burdette is himself resident of the
district where the people claim the boring
for oil to be nuisance. The object of
the meeting yesterday was for the pur-
pose OF bringing the two contending par
ties upon common ground.
John Burns was the first and principal
speaker for the oil men. He opposed
strongly the ordinance which the property
owners ask to have passed, calling the
contemplated legislation piece of perse-
cution in line with the recent court pro-
ceedings upon the same subject. The
provisions of the law, the speaker de-
clared, could not be enforced. and if en-
forced would ruin the whole oil industry.
II.
tended that pumping between 10 p. m.
and a. M. as is amended by tle pro-
posed ordinance, was absolutely impossi-
BILE, as the apparatus ployed fills with
sand and must be cleaned at any hour,
day or night, whenever necessary. The
Turner Brothers contended that the Sec
tion of the proposed law com peling the
placing of the tanks in the ground was
impractlcable, because the water in the
oil must be allowed to run off. The al.
legged danger OF fire in the district was,
the Turner'S declared. very much of
myth. as the oil in this section must have
at least $50 degrees of temperature before
it will become inatlmmabe. The object
of the recently formed oil exchange was
declared by one of the Turner's to be to
conduct tina boring and drilling so that
the industry would prove as little of
nuisance as possible.
E. L. Doheny thought that the noises
complained OF were the result of the First
street ca BILE and the Temple street rail-
ways. He thought that the sharpening
OF tools might he done in the daytime at
some additional expense, and he would
not object to an ordinance preventing the
driving of casing at night or making the
blowing of steam whistles misdemeanor.
He believed the contem plated ordinance
void and unconstitutional and were it to
become law b., intended to disregard its
provisions, just as he had done with the
perior Judge Van Dyke.
John Burns called the committees at
tention to the absence of police protec-
tion IN the oil district the people of
which, he SAID, are compelled to repair
their own streets and sidewalks, receiving
not one dollar for the purpose from the
city, while in the aristocratic Figueroa
street residence district men are furnished
by the city to "dig the weeds out of the
CUTTERS" is the way Burns expressed it.
Doheny went into an explanation of
the magnitude of the oil industry, declar-
ing that the present output is about
5000 barrels a day, of which amount two
and one-half barrels displaces one ton OF
coal. when used for fuel, the saving being
about $6 a day to the oil consumers and
thousands of dollars being thus kept in
the city which formerly went to New
Mexico, British Columbia Australia or
England for coal.
The oil men have invested at present
capital aggregatng $500, 0OO and if not
hampered by legal restrictions, oil will be-
worth in money to the city $4,000 day
during the next two years.
For the property owner, Attorney James
Burdette disclaimed any opposition to
the industry as business, and denied
that the opposition to the boring was OF
a malicious character. He would. at the
proper time and place, bring forward 10
families who will testify that the noises
operation of oil wells. had driven them out
of the oil district, to hunt homes in other
localities. He had always stood ready
to meet the Oil men half way, in the hope
that some sort OF a compromise would be
arrived at, but had found it to be impos-
81 BILE. They have declined to listen to any
sort of proposition which had for its OBJ
ject the abatement of the alleged nusances
complained of. 1--WE want the same
rights as you ask for yourselves" said
Burdette, 'and are fighting simply to re.
tain possession of our homes, which we
have bought and paid for
Two hundred and fifty out of the $50 oil
producers were represented at yesterdays
meeting. The committee adjourned with
out taking action. The smoke. noise
and alleged smudge nuisances will prob
ably be abated by legislation in an ordi-
nance whicn will be recommended to the
council for passage. The other features of
the property owners ordinance will not be
acceded to. II is probable that the now
contem plated ordinance will tax each well
80 cents a month, the proceeds to 90
toward the payment of the salary and
expenses for the maintenance of an oil
inspector in the district, who will act
under the supervision of the fire depart
ment.