Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-13

The Excitement In the Pennsylvania Fields Greater Than Since the Iioom Days-How High Prices Would Affect the Foreign Market.
 OIL CITY, April I3.-What iS going to become of the oil market? That is the question that above all others is now agi- tating tho minds of the people who have some oil production or a littlc money to lose or make within n spcc1lativo deal
 Oil was selling around 63 cents a barrel about two years ago and the supply was much greater than tho demand that production fell of on account of the low prices. Things have changed wonderfully since then. and oil has bcCn gradually creeping up in pricu. The Sl mark was reached at tho opening of the prUscnt year.
 Oil sold Thursday for Sl.>0 per barrel. The docrCaSC of the stocks and the cOntin- ued drain of productiun had begun tu cx- cite comments. and the world awakened to tho situation. It was S,rn that an enormous demand had hcrn created for Pennsylvania oil, which demand had OK hHuStod tho supply. outEruwn tho ability of the country to satisfy and on tho heels of a failing production.
 Five Million Barrels on Hand.
 
 timo is 5,CUO, GOO harr,ls. The monthly consumption is not far from 8. OuO, UUO bar TolS. It will bo Seon, therefore, that the supply on hand, if no moro were produced, would not run two months. But the pro duCtiOn of the various fields in pennSyl- Vania Is about ,, O"O GOO barrels a month. so that at the present rate of production and consumption the stocks will last tho balance of tho year
 This iS not really a test, however, for tho present consumption is lighter than for months. and at tho rate of Cun>ump- tion that has prevailed all winter the stocks would barely run tu midsummer.
 What oil will go to k a question that is supreme above everything just now. Tho wise man who has followed the market through its previous surprises confess 's that hC does not know. Tho confident man has an opinion Some predict wildly high prices. whilu others. taking con scrvativc view, say that S3 will be the linn it. Tho man who argues high prices bases his prediction on tn" scarcity of new ter ritory and ttU decline Uf the stocks. Ger tainly that las brought a speedy riSr of the market nf late. But there k the OthCr side which iS hacked by a r,>pCctahlo fol lowing Many old wells arc hcing rrlrlll cd, and they say perhaps new territory may bc found.
 Foreign Countries Take Lots of It.
 should oil continue tu % higher. thcrc is one thing clso that will tend to lessen the consumption and keep tho production sufficient. Foreign countries take great quantities of American petroleum, which has no equal anywhere in tho world \u doubt when a certain point k reached in the price of tho American article 1t will become too high for tho foreigner. tu whom pricr is considerable of an object, and tho miserable Russian oil will take its place
 Al present. sn the men who iSSuo figures from the federal treasury department tell Us. this country exports annually nearly GOU, uUi, uUO gallons Ut refined oil and q fourth d. many gallons uf crude and luhri- eating oil This product S"c~ "a all Sr,' tiuns of the globe. ;~hulld the pricr put it out of the r,n, h of the foreign buyer. his rvfu~,h tu lUv American oil would have great deal oi effect in hrrrng the price Whrr" the -\mvri, an consumer would not find hi~ light distressing him in cost. seventy five per cent of the Icnu~ylva- nlA crude can hc used for illuminating purpuSrS. and there k not n particle of the material that cannot hr used for some purpoSr ur other, In the Lima fields only p Der cent of the oil produced can be used for Illuminating purposes, and tho re maindcr iS only good for fuel The Rus sian oil is Uf still poorer quality. The val ue of the Pennsylvania article and the high price has excited the entire oil pro, , ducing territory in tho state. and such ao- tivity has not existed for many years