The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-01
IF PETROLEUM SHOULD GIVE OUT.


The failure of the supply of petroleum in
the United States or it's reduction to
point that would put the price beyond the
reach of persons Of moderate means would
be a national disaster. Such event may
not be imminent, but it is possible and may
come sooner than most persons imagine.
Two or three generations ago no person
gave any thought to the possible exhaustion
OF our natural timber supply. Now nearly
all the States have forestry laws, railroads
are planting trees for a future supply of
ties, and the supply of some kinds Of lum-
Der Is almost exhausted. We are a waste
full people and given to killing any goose
that lays a golden egg. When natural gas
was first discovered in this city people
talked and acted as If the supply were in
exhaustible. Now, after fifteen years Of
most wasteful it is practically ex-
gas at meter measurement they would not
be discussing what shall be done with the
Consumers Gas Trust Company, for the
supply would still have been good for many
years to come. Petroleum may so the same
way. 1t is certain the supply is not mex
haustible, and it is being drawn upon at
a prodigious rate, both for home consump-
ton and export. Its uses have greatly null
tiplied in recent years. and If experiments
now In progress to utilize it for seagoing
steamers are successful the demand for 1t
will be greatly increased. At present it is
used for Illuminating purposes in a large
part of the civilized world and in hun
dreds of thousands of households for cook
ing purposes and heating small rooms. Do
mestic consumption and exports of it have
greatly increased, and the steady advance
in the price of the crude product indicates
that the supply is not keeping up with the
demand Naturally the increased price
ought to stimulate production. but there is
limit to that. During the eleven years
from 1890 to 1901 the total production in the
United States increased from s., ,513 bar
rels to SO 1883. 1874, the latter being the largest
output ever recorded. The increased pro-
duction in 1901 was due almost entirely to
the development of the Texas and Califor-
MIA fields, as those Of New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio and West Virginia showed a
falling off. The output In Texas during 1901
and 1902 was amazingly large. but it is be-
ginning to fall off. The California field is
very productive and shows no signs of ex-
haustion. as yet, but it is being heavily
drawn upon. In San Francisco petroleum
| is now largely used in power plants instead
of coal imported from British Columbia,
| and it is also used by smelling plants,
| that the railroads alone consumed about
| 100000 barrels of California oil during 1902.
While the domestic consumption is in
| creasing thus rapidly our exports of the
article have increased almost as fast. not
| withstanding that Russia produces more
| than we do, though she does not export
nearly as much. The steady increase in the
price of oil during the last year or two in
dicates that the demand is outrunning the
supply, and but for the discovery and de-
velopment of new fields the increase of
price would be much greater. Most per-
sons have forgotten that when oil was first
| discovered. in 1857, 1t brought $40 a barrel.
In LEO it fell to $500 barrel. in 1870 to s3Ss
\ and In 1880 to 95 cents, the price Of refined
| oil falling with that of crude. The present
| price of oil is high compared with that OF
| ten years ago, but II Is far below the price
during the first fifteen or twenty years OF
| the industry.
The exhaustion Of the oil supply is not
in sight, but it is possibility. Like natur-
raj gas, 1t is stored product of nature
and. vast as the supply may have been OIL
got along fairly well before petroleum was
discovered and will get along If it should
be exhausted. but it would have to change
many of its habits, and the change would
involve the revolution of many Industries.