The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1901-06-14
THE OIL INTEREST IN GRE Asses

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The public mind has about settled
upon the conclusion that there is no
Inconsiderable oil supply feeding the
several small springs known to exist
Oh the river banks for the first few
hundred yards below the Columbia
bridge.
They were not at first disposed to be-
lieve these fairy tales of the discovery
of oil right here in Columbia. 1t took
their breath away. 1t was too good to
be true. The men who had put thei
money into it were laughed at, and the
Herald was advised not to publish it.
But the tone has changed now to
healthier note, and the general opinion
is that there may be" something in
it. That is precisely the correct view
of it. There may be" something in
it; there may not be- anything in
it. But if there is anything in it it
is such big thing that it is worth
boring for.
We do not wish any of our friends to
90 deep enough into this speculation
to hurt themselves financially. We
would not care to see any of them put
thousands of dollars into it, as some
of them have expressed Willingness
to do. But if fifty or hundred of
them will become interested in it, and
together spend three or four or five
thousand dollars, "the game is worth
the candle. "
For illustration Mr.. Hayes will
sell to-day at public auction some
forty lots. There is some talk of a
syndicate bidding on the first lot, and
if it goes reasonably low, taking them
all We had rather see these lots go
into the hands of as many people az
there are lots, and then let all the pur-
chasers pool their interests and bore
I for oil in two or three or half a dozen
places. This would give the land a
fair test, and nobody could be badly
hurt.
Those who have any notion of deal.
ing in oil stock or oil land, will find
no better opportunity than to-day
1t is cheaper to buy land, cut up into
small lots as these are, than to buy
stock. You get more for your money.
And if the boom should collapse, you
will have your land left. And to-day
is better than later, for the reason
that when the boring begins, that Of
itself will excite the market and botf
lands and stocks will be higher thai
now.
Every man must determine for him
self whether or not he has anything tx
risk in a speculation like this. If 20,
decide that you have, let not tomor
rows chance pass you by, Don
'bite off more than you can chew. ,
If you want very little bite, club il
with one or more friends and buy jus
one lot together.
Mr.. Shirley, the discoverer Of "gushe
number one, says he knows more thai
he will tell. He says that further dow
the river, on the land his company ha
under option, there is another sprinI
quite as delightful to look upon, a
the one first discovered. Mr.. Shirle
will not point this spring out, but h
has admitted that it is up a certain
wet weather branch or gulley north o
the brick yard and running to tn
river; and Mr.. Hayes claims this YER
gulley and on both sides of it, ant
says it is part of the land he will
offer to the highest bidder tomorrow
The Herald does not wish to encour
age anybody in wild speculation. Gu
contention is simply this: The serfac
indication, the outcropping of oil, wal
rant further investigation, and noy
is the time to get in on the ground foo1