The San Francisco call., 1896-07-27
NO MORE OIL
FROM UNCLE SAM
Sumatra May Supplant the
United States in
Japan.
BIG PRODUCTIVE WELLS.
Threaten to Supply All Oriental
Markets Inside of Five
Years.
DAMAGING TO THIS COAST.
A Great Dutch Industry That Will
IDjure San Diego's Prospects
as a Port.

The island of Sumatra may within the
next five years supplant the United States
as Japan'G source of supply for kerosene.
What that means to this country can be
inferred from the fact that last year Japan,
according to the United States Minister in
Toxic, who returned to this City yesterday
from Washington, imported about 30,000,-
600 gallons of oil from America.
DR.. Muir. who was for many years an
oil-refner at Titusville, arrived at the
Occidental yesterday with his family. A
little over four years ago he established an
oil refinery for big Dutch company in
the then recently discovered oil fields far
in the interior of Sumatra. Since that
time he has been constantly employed
managing the refinery and perfecting the
plant.
He returned to America few weeks
ago to get his family, and is now on his
way back 10 Sumatra, where he has orders
to begin the construction of two more re-
fneries, so extensive is the business be-
coming.
The oil region is on the bank of navi-
gable river, and is practically in the heart
of the jungle.
The Dutch own the island. The Dutch
own the wells ana the refinery, and the
Dutch hold all the managerial positions
connected with the oil business.
Mr.. Muir is the only American among
fifteen Dutchmen who have charge of a
colony of nearly 5000 natives and half
castles who are employed about the vari-
Gus departments of the business, which
includes a can factory, a box factory and
a sawmill, good timber being found close
at hand.
British and Chinese steamers come up
the river and load the cases of oil right
: rhoxr fhaV,, f<,G
pore, to Penang, to Yokohoma and to sew
eral East Indian ports.
Twelve wells are in operation in the one
district and their average daily output is
from 200 to 450 barrels each. So far no
other oil districts have been discovered,
for no prospecting has been done. The
Dutch will not allow Americans or other
foreigners to enter upon the territory.
1t is believed that other rich fields await
development and efforts will be made to
find them.
All this information is in substance
what Mr.. Muir said yesterday, but he par
t:cularly requested not to be quoted lest ii
might affect the com pany's plans.
He declared very emphatically that in
five years from now no petroleum will be
shipped from the United States to Japan.
He also said that Japan gets some oil
from Russia, but that it is not high grade.
He refused to say what the quality OF
the SumaJra OIL is, out reiterated MS as
sertion in regard to the future exports
from this country to Japan.
Mr.. Muir has been in the oil refinery
business for thirty-one years.
One OF the principal reasons, Sho Ne
moto the Japanese Commissioner of Com.
merce, stated the other day, in favor ot
San Diego as a terminus for one of the
new Japanese steamship lines, was that il
would be more conv enient port at which
to load kerosene, raw cotton and ma
chinery for the Japanese markets.
For" he said, ''our country imports
great quantities of kerosene from Amer
ica."
The State Mining Bureaus expert ha
disclosed, after an investigation of yea
and half in the oil regions of Southern
California, that this State is great un
developed oil region that must rival Penn
sylvania. A. S. Cooper, the Santa Barbari
oil expert, has said the same thing.