The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-25
INSPECTOR
HAS FILED
COMPLAINT
Oklahoma Will Bring Suit
Against Oil Companies.
WILL NOT PASS TEST
inferior Quality of Oil Is Be-
ing Shipped in.
WILL NOT PASS TEST

Guthrie. o. T. Jan. 2l.-Oklahoma viii
bring suit against certain oil companies
now shipping oil and gasoline into this
territory. This statement is made OF the
authority OF the governor, =. y. Fergu-
son. The attorney general of the terri
tory, ]. c. Roberts has been instructed
10 prepare the papers. The suit is TO be
brought on the grounds that notwith--
standing the oil shipped into some parts
of the territory will not pass the flash
test and is therefore dangerous 10 use,
the companies sell this oil instead OF
shipping it back to the place of origin.
There are two companies now shipping
Oil into oklahoma They are the Wa
ters-Pierce of New York and the Nation
al of Wichita, Kan.
Information as TO how far either o.
both of these companies are guilty of vio-
lating the laws of the public safety in
Oklahoma las been filed with the attor-
ney general by Oil Inspector Dillon.
Suit would have been brought weeks
ago but Attorney General Roberts de-
cided that there was no law in the stat
utes of Oklahoma which provided for any
standard test. 1t is not thought that the
companies can be prosecuted for shipping
in and selling a bad quality of oil; that
is an oil that will fan short of the
standard gravity test. Such a suit is not
proposed The action in behalf of public
safety can and will be carried out, how
ever before any tribunal to success for
The territorial administration.
The oil situation in Oklahoma is a very
complicated one. \ law protecting the
Tod 1aN-f
chief executive, but the legislature has
taken no action as yet along this line. To
the contrary, il would seem. a bill abol-
fishing the Office Of oil inspector has been
introduced by Williams of Pawnee. He
declares, that the people of his district
want all kinds of oil admitted into the
territory in order that they may take
their choice of them all.
There have baan a number of COM
plants by the citizens of saltwater" said
OIL Inspector Dillon today, about the oil
they are getting there. l was up there
last night and 1 want to say this: The
merchants are today selling oil out of
the last five tanks l condemned. They
ere selling rejected OIL"
This afternoon in the council a resolu-
ton concerning this same matter was
introduced by J. p Hickam. It is pc
tition signed by 10i citizens Of Saltwater
1t follows:
We represent to your honorable body
that the quality of coal oil now being
sold in our city is nOtoriOusly inferior
and not UP to the standard of the test
which is supposed to have been made
and this condition has continued for a
long time; that We believe the laws Of |
the territory governing the inspection of
said oil is practically dead letter and |
is either wiifully violated or ignored. The |
price of oil has advanced IL cents per |
gallon within the last few weeks. and |
much of the oil sold in this CITY is dan |
gerous to those who use it. We there |
fore petition the legislature to investi- |
gate the enforcement of the oil inspection |
laws
MIR. Dillon was asked concerning a ru- |
NOR to the effect that he was going to |
resiEn> his position. He said: There is
nothing In such a reDort