Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-07-01
CHEAPER FUEL NEAR
III
CRUDE OIL FROM TEXAS COMING
SOON.
81
- e Aa
up THE MISSISSIPPI
MISSISSIPPI
River Route Certain to Exert an In
Huence in Keeping Rates Down-A
Clean SmokeIess Fuel Without Gin
ders or Ashes.

Crude oil for fuel is coming and
coming sure. 1t is declared by q
gentleman just up from Texas that
Madison will be using it inside the
next six or eight months. There is a
demand everywhere for cheaper fuel.
Oil solves the problem. Transports
ton is all that is needed. Tankships,
barges and pipe lines are being built
now. Fuel oil can be brought to the
head of navigation on the Mississippi
and that, in turn, will force reasonable
rates from the railroads. With rea-
sonable rate, fuel oil can be sold here
much cheaper than coal. 1t is a clean
fuel. No SCOT, smoke, cinders, sparks
nor ashes. 1t is perfectly safe.
An idea Of the magnitude of the
eTxas discovery and it's wonderful pos
sibilities as a wealth-producer, can bn
had from the fact that, while the oil
production of the world has been but
about 138, 100000 barrels per year, Or
378 900 barrels per day, the flow of the
eleven gushers at Beaubont exceeds
5000 barrels per day. 1t costs moth
ing to produce the oil, therefore, being
in such amazing quantities, it can be
sold cheaply-it is the general belief
that the price will be about SO cents
per barrel. Big profits could be made
at 20 cents per barrel at the well.
The market for the oil will be as GER
tain as the market for coal. 1t will be
utilized for all kinds of heating, from
private residences to sky scrapers, and
for producing steam in everything,
from a tea kettle to an ocean grey
hound. One ton of this crude oil is
equal in heating efficiency to from
three to four tons of soft coal. 1t
must necessarily be cheaper than coal,
for the reason that there will be a
great saving in freight rates, and also
in the cost of handling it. Take the
railroads, for instance. There are
seven of them pentrating the Beau
mont field, and they will all use this
oil on their engines for producing
steam as soon as it is placed on the
market. The Mexican Central was the
first to announce that it would use Oil
on its engines, and it is preparing 10
do so now. In the case of ocean
steamships, their carrying capacity
will largely increased by using oil,
because, by doing so, they will save
both bulk and tonnage over coal.
Then they will save the cost Of an
army of stokers. of handling the tons
of ashes, and other work made neces-
sary by burning coal under their boil
ers. 1t is an easy matter to fit an ap-
paratus for burning oil to any boiler.
All that is necessary is an attachment
for sending a spray of the oil into the
firebox.
There is no question but that the
Beaumont oil field is today the great
est oil field in the world. Millions
have been invested there, although not
barrel of oil has yet been marketed.
The price of land in the vicinity of the
.gushers has gone up to such fabulous
figures that only millionaire or a
company with a large capital can buy
it. The man of moderate mems cannot
even consider it. The only way in
which such man can hope to share
in the prosperity of the Beaumont oil
fields is to NY stock in some company
that has land in the gusher district,
where the oil is not prospective, but
actually is known to exist.