The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1901-08-11

continued q produce 10000 barrels per
day for q number of days or weeks.
When the fact is kept I'm view that
there are l3 wells to be supplied with
! tankagc, rot one, and that there was
not single tank erected when the I.u-
. cas- gUSL,r logan operations. the read
er is readily able to understand what
vast problem the storage problem is
= and why Boaumonts IL gushcrs have
been tightly muzzlcd most of the time
since they were struck They have not
been permitted to flow steadily. after
| the manner of most oil wells thus Civ
Ing experts some idea Of their staying
! qualities. but have only been unlpashed
for an hour or two at time as fast rs
| new tanks could be built or new pine
! lines laid to neighboring towns and the
| gulf.
In the land of the car few years
ago a well was struck that was mod.
ern deluCe Of oil, pouring forth 100000
| barrels per day for 40 DAYS and 10
nights until 100000 barrels In all had
| seen the light, but the Lucas guShcr
| and some Of its neiChbOring wells arc
| by far the largest ever struck i'm the
western hemisphere Prior to the al
vent of the Lucas well the record hold
| er was the Mathews well. which was
| good for 10000 barrels n day. The
! Texas wells are consequently not only
| the most difficult to care for from the
| tankage standpoint, but there are other
complications Ordinarily when new
| fields are discovered the United Pipe
Lines, n corporations that has hun
dreds Of mammoth tanks and huI-
dreds Of thousands of miles Of plpe
lines. extends its lines to them o: once
and pumps the oil away as fast as It is
produced. storing it in it's tanks or
selling it to its alter ego the Standard
Oil company
Texas. however. does not love the
Standard Oil company and has enacted
certain laws designed to prevent 1t
from doing business in the Lone Star
State. When the laws were made, no
one had any idea that in very short
time Texas would possess some Of the
greatest oil wells i'm history, and now
that she has oil in large quantities to
sell the Standard does not seem at all
In a hurry to violate the states I'M
friendly statutes by purchasing il.
Standard agents declare that the oil
has little value, owing to the fact that
but small quantity of illuminating OH
may be extracted from 1t. and the oil
trusts valuation seems to be about 20
cents per barrel. Large quantities OF
the Beaumont petroleum, however,
have been sold for 81 cents per barrel
for use as fuel on rice and sugar plan
tations. steamboats,, railroads and In
manufacturing establishments. The
oil is said to be better oil for gasmak--
Ing than the Lima OIL and it is expect
ed that its byproducts will successfully
compete with those of the Ohio and (,
Indiana oils.
Producers here are not disconnected l.
by the attitude Of the Standard Oil,
company. because they know that that
company will sooner or later take a
business hand in the Texas game.
Tankage sufficient to store 100000
barrels Of oil has been erected since
the Lucas well was struck. and there
are pipe lines to Port Arthur and the
sea. two facts indicating that the ofl-f
will be disposed of to some one, Stand
ard or no Standard. In fact. there 3re
those who claim that despite its al
legged GOODNESS the Standard Is already
doing business here under one of its
numerous aliases, theory not at oil
improbable.
At 80 cents per barrel the Beaumont
on sells for exactly one-third the price
received for the product of the Brad
ford oilfeld-$1.05 per barrel-while Ii
ona oil is worth $1.20 and Ohio. Indi-
ana and Kentucky oil about - cents.
Colonel j. NJ. Guffey. the most noted
oil producer in the United States and
the leading spirit In the Democratic
party in Pennsylvania. is one Of the
principal owners of the Lucas well and
has thousands of acres of other terri
tory leased near 1t. He and bis asso-
ciates have already expended a fortune
for tankage. pipe lines. etc. and II
Beaumont proves to be pool, but little
money. perhaps none. will he made
The boom here has been over for some.
time. and the majority of those who.
bought land or leases at boom prices
have undoubtedly lost the money In