The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-01
CUSRERS CLOSE BYIT
DIR. GRAHAM HOLDING ON TO HIS
TEXAS OIL LAND.
MAY DEVELOP 1T LATER.
HIS Properly NORTH OF BEAU
MONT, But WELL IN THE OIL
TERRITORY.

The Mad Excitement of the Opening
of the OIL Fields Subsiding, DIR.
Graham Says, and Thinks Getting
Down to "a Business LeveI-COIlOs-
sal Fortunes Have Been Made I'm
the Last Few Months-Dr. Gra-
hams Estimate of the Texas oil
for Commercial Uses-The Former
Offer for His Lands StiII Stands.
DR.. st. ]. B. Graham returned yes
terday from Beaumont, Tex, where he
has been for the past week or more
looking into the conditions and the pos
sibilities of the oil fields. His interest
in the matter is natural one, as he
owns 200 acres of land situated well
within the oil territory, for which he
refused $4,000 an acre a short time
ago.
DR.. Graham describes his trip as one
of exploration. He said that he is we'll
satisfied with what he learned. No
effort. he says, has yet been made to
develop the possibilities of his property,
nor has he, at present, any definite
plans for doing so, being satisfied to
wait for the time being. Others, how
ever, are boring for oil In every direc-
ton. not only in the Beaumont fields
proper, but even so far away as Nico-
doches and Corsicana, several hundred
miles from the Beaumont gushers.
DIR. Grahams land is a little north
of Beaumont, while the center of the
producing wells is southeast of the
town. His land, he said, is well inside
the oil territory and wells are being
brought in in that direction. He was
not prepared to say what he will do
with his interests, whether he will sell
or develop the land.
DR.. Graham said that at present
eight or nine companies control the
territory around Beaumont. There are
sixteen producing wells, averaging u.s.
900 barrels of oil day, a daily output
greater than that of all the remainder
of the world together. But though
these are all the completed wells the
fields in every direction are a perfect
forest of derricks and new wells are
being sunk everywhere. The average
depth which the wells are sunk is 400
feet.
Already, DR.. Graham, said, the pos
sibility of the oil for various purposes
is being utilized; many of the largest
manufacturing plants are using it for
fuel, and it is even used to sprinkle
the streets. 1t sells, delivered at 25
cents a barrel at which price it has
driven coal, for many purposes, out
of the market. Two and q half barrels
of oil are equal, said DIR. Graham. to
a ton of COAL over which it also has
the advantage of being cleaner in
burning, taking less storage room, and
giving a greater per cent. of heat to
its bulk. Already in New Orleans it's
competition with coal has reduced the
price of the latter to 81 a ton and the
producers of that fuel are forced to
use waterways for transportation in
order to sell even at that price
The wild excitement that existed
shortly after the discovery of oil has
about subsidized, DR.. Graham said, and
things now are on a level business
basis. Some evidences of what the ex-
element was can still be seen near the
principal hotel of the town in a row of
booths. temporary affairs just large
enough for a man to turn around in,
but which nevertheless were rented out
to agents of companies during the
hight of the excitement at a rental of
$50 a day.
DR.. Graham said that at a conserva-
tive estimate oil from the Beaumont
fields can be delivered in New York at
a price % per cent. less than coal, and
that he has little doubt that it is only
question of time when the big trans
Atlantic liners will come to use 1t for
fuel, as is now being successfully done
by many Russian ships on the Caspian
and Black seas.