The San Francisco call., 1901-11-23
OIL MEN FROM
SOUTH TESTIFY
They Fear General Rate
Reduction Would
Hurt Them.
Railroad Commissioners Sc
cure Very Little In
formation.


missioners developed little that was new.
The complainant resumed with the pres
entation of the testimony Of A. j. Samu-
els, secretary Of the West Shore company,
which does business in the Kern River
district.
Mr.. Samuels was positive that the re-
duction of rail rates for moving Califor-
MIA oil from the San Joaquin Valley
points to San Francisco would be of bene-
fit to the oil industry. The switching
charge, of which so much has been said,
he also regarded as unjust. His company
produces 1200 barrels of oil daily.
T. L. Reed. one of the original exploit
ers of the Kern River district, who is con-
nected with the Reed Crude Oil Company,
testified that his company has twenty
two producing wells and can produce 1000
barrels of oil per day. Reducing the
freight rates would help producers. Con-
tions in freight rates shall go to the con-
sumer would benefit the consumer. 1t
would be beneficial to the industry to
have the switching charge stopped.
W. A Bissen of the Santa Fe testified
that the Santa Fe has a contract under
which 1 cent per barrel is paid to the
over the Kern district switch for the
Santa Fe. His company, he said, has no
| financial interest in the switching.
Los Angeles Views.
Thomas A. Hughes of Los Angeles tes-
titled for the defense that oil is selling
price has been going down and the con-
dition Of the oil industry in Los Angeles
is bad. There is an excess production
there of from 1900 to 100000, barrels per
power in Los Angeles when oil sold for
81 90 per barrel, and no coal is sold there
now for that use. Oil is used exclusively.
Formerly Los Angeles sold it's surplus in
San francisco and got 81 so per barrel for
IT before the Kern fields were discovered
He did not think that lowering the rail
producer, for the price for oil would fall
just the same amount of the reduction
because the competition Of the producers
is so sharp and they will take what they
can get. To Mr.. Short the witness said
on cross-examination that under normal
ana permanent conditions the price for
pelng nxed, lower rail rate, being taken
from the cost to the consumer would
cause greater consumption of oil.
e. ihemas ON ODonnell of Los Angeles testi-
ned Tor the carriers about as Mr. Hughes
nad. When the Kern River district pro
aucers could get together and act to-
gethehr they will be benefited by lower
not be benefited by a lower rate.
Attorney Short examined on this
me, and the witness said also that to
ducer. He was of the opinion that if the
raliroad charges for moving oil were
reeIf reaTfeq Il all IL over the State injury would
The rate on oil from Bakersfield to Los
Angeles is 81 cents.
Well said Attorney Short, that is a
good protection for Los Angeles
storage ana Transportation Company of
Los Angeles agreed with the two preced-
Ing Ing witnesses G on the point that while the
Kern county producers are not compet-
ing SO keenly and the price is so low, a
let leeQuGtloI tit IN lrelght rates would not bell
eIlt the producers Fifty cents per barrel
was none too much for the Kern oil at
the wells. There would be no trouble 10
get 81 per barrel for the oil in San Fran
CISCO: At that price Gil could crowd out
al other FUELS used for power making
Los Angeles cannot produce oil as chea6-
~ as the Kern River district. When oil
goes below ~ cents per barrel in Los An
geIes that means a loss to the producers.
san Francisco would consume as much
OIL at 81 per barrel as it would at rs
cents per barrel. "
ned like the. other men from Los Ar
| geles about the freight rate reduction
that was asked for. While so cents for
oil at the Kern River wells might nav
profit for time to the producer it
would not permanently, he said. He adj
mltted under cross-examination that un
der permanent conditions lower prices for
| fuel oil would be better for manufac-
| turers.
At the afternoon session Senator R. N.
Bulla and Attorney ]. A. Graves. both
Of Los Angeles, were examined They
were called by the Southern Pacific Com
pany. to show that reduction of the
freight rate from Bakersfield to San
against the profits of the Los Angeles oil
| producers.
Senator Bulla Testifes.
Senator. Bulla testified that oil had prac-
| tically taken the place CT coal in Los An
geles. and that 81 80 per barrel was very
| 10 oU cents a barrel and less has not ma
ter1aIIy increased its consumption. He
| just SO much oil would be consumed m
| der present circumstances, and unless tie
| output was curtailed the price at the
wells would be still further reduced.
In my opinion continued the Senator
! "a low freight rate tends to reduce the
price of the oil and brings no benefit
either to the producer or the consumer
In response to question from ATTORNEY
Short, Senator Bulla delved into the pro-
| tective tariff proposition. holding that
| while a high rate was good for the pro
ducer in one locality, t might not he so
| good in another.
| Witness Graves, under coaching from
Attorney Herrin, said that he was "a
| lawyer who had wandered from the fold
| to go into the oil business" He gave an
interesting resume of The fluctuations in
the prices of oil in Los Angeles since its
II think" continued Graves, "that IL
freight rates were reduced the price of
oil would still go lower. At present
waste of $40 gold pieces, and the oniv
| remedy is in a combination to store and
control the output. Tie Bakersfield field
alone will supply the whole State of Cal
| ifornia for a century"
AS the Southern Pacific COMPANY had
no more witnesses on hand, at the concIu-
| sion of Mr.. Graves testimony an adj
Journment was taken Until Monday after
noon at 2 O'Clock when representatives
of botn the Santa Fe and the Southern
Pacific companies VIII testify
PAINTINGS EXHIRTTEn