Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-02-27
OIL ADVANCING RAPIDLY.
The Credit Balance Market Goes Up
Eleven Cents in Ten Days.

ul5Ftu U6QlS III Ieu Days.
The Exchange Price is Keeping
Ahead and is Nineteen Cents
Higher-The Operators are Elated
Over the Prospects-TheG General
Impression is That the Market
Will Go to Better Than a Dollar.
Latest News From All the Fields
Of the State.
Special to the Register,
SlStersville, W. va, February %
There has been but one interesting
feature in oil circles during the past
ten days. and that is the advance in
the price of credit balances and the
speculation in the oleaginous fluid on
the exchange. Ten days ago, when oil
commenced to fiuctuate, it was not
thought that there would be anything
near like the furry of the present,
and great many thought it was only
one of the periodical efforts of the
Standard to beat the price down. 1t
has been the rule of the big COM
pany whenever it intended to force the
price down, to advance it a couple OF
cents and then go at it with hammer
and tongs and send it down along the
line at rapid gait. This time there
seems to be some other agency at work
besides the great octopus, and the adj
vance has not only been rapid but it
looks now as though it was going to
be permanent There is reason for the
belief that there will be a permanent
advance in the price of oil. In the first
place, there is very little oil above
ground in excess of what is actually
necessary to fill existing contracts, and
instead Of the demand lessening, as
the general belief is, it is increasing.
Then again, there is nothing being
done in the fields and the production
is falling off very rapidly. Taking all
these things into consideration with
the fact that in addition to the Stand
ard there is some unknown person
with a barrel OF money playing the
market, it leads one to believe there
will be some warm times yet 1t is
not generally known who the parties
are who are bucking the market, but
your correspondent here has learned on
good authority and from a private
source that a certain young man of
Chicago who has been twisting the
wheat magnates around his finger for
some time, has taken a shy at the oil
market, and it is believed that he will
make it very interesting for some one
before he is through
1t is q positive fact that some I'M
known person is working the market,
for the reason that some of the people
who are very intimate and generally
on the inside of anything that comes
off with the Standard, are giving it
out that the Standard is not doing all
this manipulating Of their own accord.
OF course, the Independent interests
are doing all they can to buck the
trust, but it is not believed that they
are able to bring about the present
condition Of things unless they had
powerful ally in some person or COM
pany which represents millions.
The producers in all parts OF the
country recognized at once that there
was going to be something out OF the
ordinary come off as soon as the credit
balance started up the line. and as
result nearly all of them have either
been holding their oil in the lines wait
ing for higher market or have been
selling it through independent brokers
on the exchange. This, of course,
makes it all the harder for the big
company to get hold of the oil, as
every one who has ever been on the
exchange and knows anything about
hnt hn
the brokers are turning their stun
over to outside people there is going
to be something happen.
The general opinion among the better
informed class of oil operators is that
oil will advance in very short time
to better than one dollar, and they are
all preparing for the advance. quite
a number of them are mapping out
new work and making arrangements
to increase the output Of their oil wells.
While this will increase the production
in all the fields, it is not generally be-
lieved that it will increase it to such
an extent that it will effect the mar
ket in any way. There will in all prob
ability be quite a lot Of wild eating
done, but this is an unknown quantity.
All the old pools, not only in this
State. but also in all the other States,
are falling off very rapidly in their
production and as there is nothing new
in sight the talent have very little TO
fear for some time at least.
Reports have been received here that
the scenes on exchange resemble
somwhat the times experienced there
three years ago at about this time,
when oil started eff in about the same
way and in a very short time was SELL
inc at $3.50 The old brokers are all
coming back and taking a hand in the
fun. and as has been the case before,
there will be fortunes won and lost
in a single day. The price on the
exchange at the close of the market
to-day was 95 cents bid, and there was
no oil sold. The credit balance mar
ket is as follows: Tiona SEC; Penn
sylvania 76c; West Virginia 76c;
Barr1esville 66c; Corning SOC; New
Castle sic; North Lima soc; South
Lima 45c: Indiana 45c. This Is the
highest price paid for oil by the
Standard Oil Company for almost a
wear. and even at this price the opera
tors are holding their production and
will not SELL it being stated on good
authority that there has not been
thousand. barrels Of oil sold through
the Seen purchasing agency in this
city during the last two weeks.
In the Benwood. Ohio, field the Fish
err Oil Company is drilling at their No.
Q on the Piatt The well Is through
+ho r;o Jni,n and dry and will be