The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-21
CARRY OIL ON BOATS
POSSIBILITY OF TRANSPORTATION
LINE BETWEEN ST. PAUL
AND BEAUMONT
MATTER WILL BE DISCUSSED
Meeting of Fuel Oil Company
Brings to City Texan Who Will
Address Mass Meeting at
Chamber of Commerce.

The directors of the United States Fuel
Oil company, whose fields are among the
most prolific of the great Beaumont,
Tex, strip, neld meeting in this city
yesterday and at the meeting was w. M.
Crooks. of Beaumont, an attorney, and
director of the company. Mr.. Crooks re-
| .lates some Interesting facts regarding
this newly developed country and in
dustry. He will remain in st. Paul for a
few days, during which time he will meet
and confer with some of the prominent
business men concerning the possibility
of transporting some of the Beaumont
product TO this section of country.
The United States Fuel Oil company is
formed mostly of St. Paul parties. It's
president is L. J. Wilde. 1t is among the
most prosperous of the Texas companies.
Owing to the interest which this company
attracts in St. Paul, Mr.. Crooks has been
| invited by the Chamber of Commerce, TO
address a mass meeting of business men
under he auspices of that body tomorrow
evening.
According to Mr.. Crooks the fuel oil
produced by his company commands
price at the wells of 20 cents a barrel and
one barrel is equivalent in use to two
tons of coal. For this reason the oil
magnates have experienced no difficulty
whatever in finding a market for their
product, but upon the other hand they
nave D66H cTOWuCd Win OEuSTS. DOtl
the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific
railways have adopted the use of this
oil as fuel fer their engines, not on their
entire systems, but to a considerable eX-
tent. And they are planning to supplant
coal altogether with the OIL
OIL ON RAILROADS.
The Santa Fe people are accredited
with having found. after making ade-
quate tests that by the use of oil as
fuel they make a saving of So per cent.
AS an Illustration of the comparative
cost Of feeding an engine with coal and
oil Mr.. Crooks cited this instance
From Beaumont to SomerviIle is a dis
lance of $50 miles. The Santa Fe mas
been accustomed to using coal on their
engines in operation over this route, and
for the trip it had cost just $3.50 for
coal Since the adoption of oil fuel
this road has made a retrenchment of
$4I6G in the matter of fuel every time the
trip is made. For says Mr.. Crooks, it
takes just $3.50 worth of this fuel oil to
keep UP steam for this distance.
LINE OF TRANSPORTATION
Mr. Crooks is of the opinion that Min
nesotans will find it profitable to investi-
gate the matter of Transporting oil from
the Texas fields north. A continuous
line of steamboat transportation could be
formed by means of the Mississippi river,
the Gulf of Mexico, Sabine pass and
Neehe river Oil could be loaded on the
vessels at Beaumont and conveyed to st.
Paul without change. This transporta-
ton, he says, could be done for Is or 20
cents a barrel, which would stu make the
fuel very cheap after it had arrived here.
In order to effectually carry on this
transportation it would of course be nee
essary to form regular transportation
company, having it's own steamboats,.
Mr.. Crooks has not yet approached the
business men of st. Paul interested in
this affair on the matter of forming the
water transportation system referred to,
and says that is not his mission up here
at this time. He came primarily to at
tend the meeting of directors, but it is
planned to have the Texan enter into
some discussion of this proposition at the
meeting tomorrow night The idea has
it is stated commended itself to local
capitalists as a feasible one, and no one
need be surprised to learn that steps
have been taken to bring about such an
enterprise.
Regarding the magnitude of the Beau
mont oil fields Mr.. Crooks states that
they extend in some directions about 100
miles from the town. He looks for even
more phenomenal growth and develop
ment of the industry than has yet been
experienced. Beaumont, he says. is now
one of the busiest centers IL the Lone
Star state, and vast amount of North
ern capital and enterprise is being in
corporated in the progress of the country
There are many ST Paul parties who
have become familiar figures in the oil
traffic at this celebrated place and ac-
cording to Mr.. Crooks, they are all doing
we'll