The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-13

and daughter Of Commander Dickinson.
In Washington. Preparatory 10 leaving
home for the summer. gasoline was being
sprinkled about the edges OF the carpets
as precaution against moths kooIeTs
were on top OF the house mending the TIN
roof. They had a tinsnith's charcoal rur-
mace on the roof. three stories above, 10
heat their soldering irons-a TN pall win
handful OF burning charcoal in IT. prae-
ucaly. The fumes OF the volatile gasoline
In the parlor, passing out or the WINDOW
and up the side OF the house TO the roof.
formed a connection with the tiny furnace
fire. There was a lash, an explosion lhs
clothing OF the ladies took nre, ana they
were burned 10 death.
as an explosive, at much less cost VIII soon
take the place and do the work OF the
Red Devils and White Ghosts, and re-
duce the dangerous character OF these We
hicles.
or are about 10 substitute oil for coal in
their locomotives. It viii probably come
into common use as fuel for the portable
and traction engines used in farming Tor
running the threshers. cutters and other
machinery OF advanced farming, and when
the merits of fuel oil become known as
clean fuel. easily handled and measurable
with absolute certainty, these points, to-
gether with its cheapneSS VIII recommend
II 10 all manner Of manufacturers. Distance
freight rates from Texas TO New York by
way of the gulf and the Atlantic in boats
are but a fraction of the cost by rail. The
chief expense in transportation Is IN the
handling. the loading al the place or snip
ment and unloading at the place OF receipt
This and the storage account at botn ends
apply to coal as well as TO oil, except mat
oil is more easily and more cheaply handled
and stored than coal.
The genius who produces an invention
for the use Of oil as fuel for the Kitchen,
the cookroom and the laundry on a broader,
moro comprehensive scale than Is now IN
vogue will confer a blessing on the house
H. mil hn ~
nomic triumph. Several devices nave al
ready been evolved, and perhaps the reader
will have the privilege of eating Thanks
giving dinner cooked without Goals, from
turkey and cranberry sauce 10 mlnce PIE,
and afterward toast his shins over the
nuts and cider around a rOusing fire or
Then will the millennium have arrived.
when the long-suffering householder may
cry quits with the coal barons ana save
has had to buy to warm his home and cook
his meals.
EXTENT OF THE OIL BELT.
Biologists who have made a careful sur
vey of the oil belt in eastern Texas making
a thorough study of the situation and the
formation of the territory, express the opin-
ion that the oil belt extends from Beau
mont down to the gulf coast twenty miles
below, and thence along the coast in
twenty-mile belt to the Rio Grande. and
perhaps beyond that river into old Mexico.
The district already in the process Of de-
velopment, and where oil has been found in
great abundance, includes the counties of
Orange, Hardin, Jasper, Liberty and others.
Robert I. Hill, chief geoloSlst or the
United States geographical survey, says in
his report:
1.-THE area Of profitable exploitation of
the Beaumont fields is between the San
Jacinto and Sabine rivers and south Of
Oil City TO the gulf 1t is probable that
other oil fields may be discovered in the
coastal plain between the Beaumont and
Tampico fields. Here lies a vast territory
underlaid by the oil-bearing strata which
have not been explored"
They have been explored since Mr.. Hills
report was written and are now yielding oil
in great quantities. Thus Texas presents
an oil field greater than the whole area
of the State Of Pennsylvania and rich in oil
beyond any other field ever explored.
Oil companies organized less than half
q year ago, and who have been making
herculean efforts and spending money like
water in equipment are already paying
fancy dividends, and Texas is getting ready
to light and warm the world cook its Vict-
uals and supply the fuel for its workshops
and railroads.
The total production of coal in the United
States is 25S, 900 tons year. 1t is valued
at $256, 100000 at the mines.
Tests show that it requires three bar
rels of Texas oil to perform the work of
one ton of coal for steam purposes That
is TO say, 60 cents worth OF crude oil is
equal to a little more than 81 worth of coal
at the place Of production. The difference
in the cost of transportation makes the
cost of oil for fuel purposes IL per cent.
less than the cost of coal.
The thirteen gushers of Beaumont alone
produce G0600.G00 barrels of oil per year,
or nearly half enough 10 equal the total
coal production of the country when used
as fuel. The production of the balance of
the Texas oil field now i'm the course of rap
Id development, is already large enough to
swell the annual total to o9,O00.0OO barrels,
and before the year is done eastern Texas
will be ready to give to the country the
equivalent of its total coal consumption in
fuel oil, at a saving of millions of dollars
to the consumers. whether they be fac
tory men, mill owners, railroad companies,
automobile drivers or housekeepers.
So generally has oil supplanted coal for
| fuel in its native State that Texas coal
merchants are seeking agencies for the
new fuel. while the Ignite coal companies,
also dealing i'm a product Of the State. COM
plain that large manufacturing concerns
are declining to renew their coal contracts
| with them for fuel
Meantime the Texas oil men call this only
n skirmish and making gigantic prep
ara lions for competition with the coal pro-
| ducers of the United States in every mar
| ket and declare they wilt be ready 10 pro-
| duce and market 100000 barrels of oil a
| day in a very few months, sending to all
| parts of the country at competing prices
with the coal barons.