The herald., 1896-01-23
SENATOR c. N. FELTON, ON OIL
The Gentleman Talks About the Local
Field and Its Prospects
Tells How Low Prices We're Reached and
What Ought to Be Done to
Restore Them

Hon. Charles N. FELTON, has just returned
to San Francisco after an inspection of the
Los Angeles oil field, and he has given an
interesting talk as to what he has seen and
what he thinks about it. He says:
"There are about 400 oil producers in
Los Angeles who are now busiIy engaged
in merry war of cutting each others
throats. How soon the war will end is only
to be determined by the endurance of the
owners and the output of the oil wells. Six
mouths ago the price of crude oil in Los
Angeles was from 70 to S5 cents barrel.
II gradually went down to 90 cents before
the well owners began to get alarmed.
From 90 cents it has gradually lowered
itself to 80 cents in Los Angeles, and there
have been many individual sales as low as
20 cents barrel.
"This low price is of course making moth
ing but losing venture for those already
in the business, and is deterring others
from entering it. 1t does not affect our
wells in Ventura county. which are used
for refining purposes. Our Pico oil is of
AZ gravity and contains about the same
quantity of gasoline and benzine as the oil
of Ohio and Pennsylvania, but is in other
respects of not such good quality as the
eastern oil. But the majority of the oil in
and about Los Angeles is of as low a spe-
cihc gravity as 10, and of this 20 per cent
is asphalt and per cent sand. Neverthe-
less it is an excellent fuel in its crude state
for large boilers, where it can be burned by
the use OF forced steam draughts. No de-
vice has as yet been discovered by which
the crude oil can be burned in cooking
stoves, although the patent office in Wash
ington is burdened with inventions claim
ing to have perfected appliances that
would do so. All that have thus far been
tried are found TO be useless from one
cause or another, principally because the
crude oil will not burn good enough unless
there is an artificial draught, or because it
smokes too much to suit housewives. When
such an invention can be perfected the
people in general will be able to get more
direct benefit from the local oil wells.
'As things stand now nobody but the
railroads and the breweries seem to get
any benefit from the crude oil 80 near at
hand. AT 81 a barrel the railroads in
Southern California found that oil was
cheaper than coal. So did the breweries.
The freight on oil is about 60 certs a bar
rel from Southern California. That makes
1t from 50 to 90 cents landed at San Fran
cisco. Thus, although the railroads and
breweries are using the fuel abundantly,
the price of beer has not gone down nor
has there been any reduction in passenger
or freight rates. On tho contrary, freights
are to go up on tine 24th inst.
wherefore the oil well owners of Los
Angeles find that they are merely working
night and day, and fighting tooth and nail
to make the railroads and the large manu-
facturers richi by supplying them with fuel
at less than one-fourth the former price.
The thing cannot, however, last long. The
wells are beginning to give less and less
oil, and unless there is a combination on
the part of the oil producers none of them
will make any money. They are now los
ing money"
There was no change in the oil situation
in the city yesterday. Additional sigma
lures were secured to the contract and
agreement, and it is now believed that it
will be signed by at least three-tourths of
all producers before the end of the week.