The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-19

ed with the oil field by pipelines, They
radiate in every direction. One runs
north to Humboldt through the Cha
mute district Another runs south as
far as Caney and west over to Peru.
Pipe is on the ground to extend from
Caney to the Bartlesville district and
Tulsa A line is now being laid from
here to Cherryvale and is projected to
COfeyville. Another is being built to
Buffalo and Benedict. LateraIs are
run out from the main lines to the oil
wells in the various districts. The
Standard is very liberal with it's pipe
lines. 1t win build one wherever there
is any oil. The moment an operator
can show production Of SO barrels u
day the company will plan to give him
a pipe. But in this work the Standard
has not been able to keep up with the
procession. Hundreds of wells have
been drilled and capped, awaiting the
arrival of the pipe lines. The delay is
with the pipe factories and not the
Standard Pipe cannot be built fast
enough. In the Indian country the de-
lay is due to red tape at Washington.
The interior department has to grant
right of way for the pipe line and it is
slow in acting, although congress has
authorized the line.
over $4,000, 900 has been appropriated
by the Standard for pipe lines in the
Kansas field. This of course, includes
the lines already built. Solid train
loads of pipe are shipped direct from
the factories in Pennsylvania to this
field. Sheet steel for the oil tanks
comes from Chicago and Pittsburg al
so by the trainload.
Each main pipe line is supplied with a
pumping station to force the oil through
gravity from TIE small turks AT the wells
through the Iarc ais to the nam i.r1 the
rel for the steam to pump the oil into the
main This is a clear pickup for the OPP
steam to pump their wells.
The NeOdesha refinery was established
in 1895. 1t started with a capacity Of 500
barrels u day. It Tow has capacity Of
$500 and will he Increased again this sum
mer The Kaas as CitV refinery ,yIll start
with capacity of 1G, Cos a. day. PhiS will
also have to be doubled in a short time to
keep pace with the oil production.
The Standard en- pIcys about forty men
to ride the pipe lines and gauge the oil
They look for leaks Or thefts, some peo-
pie have been known to tap the lines and
swipe a vast amount of oil. The gaugers
visit the oil wells ana measure. the oil in
the tanks and run it into the pipe line.
They give the operator a ticket and he
sends it into headquarters here the hrst
of each month and check is mailed him.
The Standard tdkes no CHANGES. 1t re-
quires en- operator to make affidavit as TO
give the name of the land owner and the
amount of royalty. The Standard then
opens two accounts-one with the oper-
ator and the other with the land owner
who gets the royalty. On pay day a
check is made to the land owner for his
share and another check TO the operator
for his share. Farmers here are never
afraid of being gOuged by operators. They
know the Standard Will protect them.
For oil purposes the Standard has arbi-
trarily divided the Kansas field into two
districts one is the North Neodesha dis
trict and the other is the South Neodesha'
district. The line runs east and west and
scrapeS Neodesha on the north side The
company doesn't believe the oil in the
north end of the field is as good as that
in the south end Therefore it made two
districts. The north district operators get
about 20 cents less a barrel than the south
district operators. This works an tnjus-
tice on the operators of the north district
along the dividing line. Their oil is as
good as the oil a hundred feet south of
the line, but it doesn't bring within 20
cents as much a barrel. A line had to
established somewhere, and it happened
to fall near here. In some parts of the
north district very heavy oil is found. A
price is fixed on it, also. At the present
time South Neodesha oil is worth Sl.16
a barrel: North Neodesha, 96 cents a bar
rel. and heavy oil SIS cents.