The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1901-06-07
Our Texas Letter.

EDITOR TIMES: The oil fever Is
still raging at b aumont but not 81
high as heretofore. Men have made
fortunes down thsrc, other men
possessed fortunes and did not know
it, and other men have had fortunes
thrust upon them dealing in and
owning land in and near the oil tie!ds
1t is "a fact that the oil underles that
section in vast quantities. In fact
it appears now that there is 50 much.
or will be so much after Il little, that
it will be drag on the market.
Unless it can be used for other pur,
poses than fuel and illumination the
productien at the present rate will be
so great that the profit in it will be
small enough that it may not make
its owners such fabulous fortunes
after all. 1t will cost something, i
is true, to distribute it, then there
being such vast quantities of it, it
will certainly be put upon the market
at an exceedingly low rate. The
crude Gil sells for about 2jc per bar
rel. So far about 235 Gil companies
have been organized in the State
with capitalization somewhere in
the ncighborhood Of ninety million
dollars. Now lets auaIyze the situation
a minute. No doubt ten or dozen
of these companies will control almost
the entire output of oil at Beaumont.
This will leave, gay 24O companies.
with as many as twelve men attached
to each company as charter members
or promoters, making in all perhaps
$500 or 3 600 men working in tie
interest. Well they Will know what,
and the little men who buy stock AT
ten, twenty five, fifty and seventy
five cents per share in al! thc COM
panies that must fail u'tiln,tc!y in
their efforts, will be the nen who
will be the losers and who VIII raw
the expense of the many fruitjess
attempts now being made in thar
section of the State to produce veal h
where there will be no wealth. The
''promotcrs Of all the comparir,
will be and remain on safe yrourd so
tar as losses ale concerned. T!eN
understand quite well their business.
| hear that the shares which nre
offered ir the different conpaiic- at
10, l5 and % cents per share cost
the promoters less and not more
than FIVE cents pee share, 50 that yoa
Can see at Il glance what a fire op-
prrtunity presents itself t. the pro
moter' to make, and to the investor
in these fcti ious ocks, to lose money
A few men have made money spccll
latlng in lands at Beaumont ,or there
has been steady advance in the
price for some time. Parties who
owned the land sold it out in small!
parcels and many lots OF it have
changed hands several times at an
advance each time. So mauy IF
those down there did not realize for
some time, s0Ile until iJ was too lare
what their lands were worth to them.
Of course much Of it may not he
worth any more than ordinary farm
ltnd suitable for raising rice, but T..
Illustrate the poiut [ want to make:
DR.. +. W. Owens, of Bonham, wen,
down to Beaumont to look after some
interest of his there, and wien he
stepped off the train "a gentleman ii
farmer maybe. addressed the doctor
and informed hm that lie had farm
some ten miles out from Dcarm i.
which he would dispose of for 81
per acre. He did MT buy, he did
not 90 for that purposc. The nae
$ Id his farm the mex day, however.
not for SIS but for $l25 per acre.
Many persons have made C n5il.
erable money by dealing III lani.
buying and then selling out soon It
was so for while that if ii piece #
land was offered AMI it was no,
bought there and then, sight unseen.
the chance was gone. l.ards coUio
not be examined, time was to-
precious for such dilatory proceel.
ings. In this State lands are known
and located by certain surveys and
headlights. Maps of the oil region
were made with all the Different head
rights and surveys ia IT, When one
wanted to buy if the land lay in
certain survey that was description
enough for many Of the prospective
buyers. Boys IA and Is years Old
became real estate dealers. 1t was
an every day business for the boys to
u,lL .r,u,I IN tho crnu1, ot Ran