The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-01

stock, and the manufacturing Institutions
are experimenting with oil as a fuel. For
the Gas Belt the oil could not nave come
at a time more suspicious. Not only are
the towns happy, but the country people
are taking advantage of the new wave of
prosperity. The farmers are more than
any other class receiving the benefits. The
value of their lands has increased phenom-
enally, and an oil man stated the other
day that it is becoming the hardest kind
of a task to get an option at any price on
land in the vicinity of Marion and nearby
towns.
The farmer profits richly by an oil strike.
He gets a bonus for the option he grants,
usually of good size. If he does not want
to sell his land outright he receives a heavy
rental for it. In addition to these gains
he receives one-sixth of the product of the
wells on his land. The same course is fol-
lowed in Ohio and in the other States Of
the central field.
The great central oil field of the States
of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia is regarded by oil men as first
and foremost, for the reason that the all
important market is easy of access. The
Texas and California fields labor under a
serious handicap because of the fact that
it is hard to get the crude oil into the
hands of the m~arket-that is TO say, the
big pipe line companies which fix the price
OF the product and manufacture the by
products. OF these the Standard Oil Com
pany is recognized to be the most impor-
tant as a market. Its pipe lines form a
network over the fields of the four States
of the great central field. 1t brings the
market up to the wells. A fair understand
ing of what is meant by the market" may
be obtained by a short description Of the
handling Of the crude oil after it is pumped
from the wells.
HANDLING CRUDE OIL.
At each well the oil as 1t comes from the
ground is pumped into wooden tanks. of
from 200 to $50 barrels capacity each. These
tanks are used as the measure of the
amount of oil produced. BY their measure
ment the farmer obtains his one-sixth, and
the producer obtains his price from the
pine line companies. When the tank is
pumped full word is sent to the pipe line
company. in fact, the Standard Oil Com
pany. BY their agents the oil is gagged in
the tanks, the price is fixed and then the oil
is turned into the connecting pipes of the
company. II - Dy means VI the pipes lndl
the oil is carried TO the refineries of the
company. The Whiting refinery, at Whit
ing, Ind, is the largest in the world, and
the refinery at Lima, o., handles a big
share of the crue oil produced in Indiana
and Ohio. In these refneries the oil is
submitted TO processes of distillation by
means of which more than 500 by-products
are extracted from it. The pure illumi-
mating oil is then tanked by the company
and placed on sale. Some of the by-prod-
ucts which are the most profitable are
parafine. naphtha, naphthaline, vaoline,
benzine. gasoline and the lower grades of IL
Eliminating oil. \ fuel oil is obtained by
the distillation process which looks like
New Orleans molasses and is of about the
same consistency. This general handling of
the oil from the wells takes place at every
well. The market is thus brought TO the
held. and after the STANDARD oil Company
has furnished he producer with a slip in
forming him how many barrels has been
piped out of his tank. and how much per
barrel. according TO the market price. he is
credited with all that is left for him to do
is 10 go to the bank and cash the check.
SOME KIND OF OIL.
There is practically no difference in the
oil which is obtained in Indiana and Ohio.
Ii is oil with a parafine base. that is TO say.
In a ia ocess OF distillation and extraction OF
ali other by-products Darafhne is left.
While there is no d%iscounting TIE vriue of