Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-06
OIL CoMPANY's REPLY.
Attorney Presents Answer to- Kansas
Charges to Garfield.


NEW YORK March en-. F. Elliott, at
torney for the Prairie Oil and Gas Company
of Kansas, has presented to Commissioner
of Corpora lions James R. Garfield at Wash
ington the first answer of that company IN
regard to the Kansas-Indian territory Oil
fields The company asks of Commissioner
Garfield the most full and prompt investl-
CATION possible at his hands. feeling en-
tirely sure, as Mr.. Elliott says. that when
their relations to. the Oil producers of Kan
sas are fully laid bare 1t will be seen that
the latter has been treated with the utmost
fairness rs Et.. a,s- =.4l.i .-..~ ~..ah
The statement adds that ''the recent &C
ton of the company with reference to Its
opera tons In Kansas has been with GOOD
reason. The legislature of Kansas was
threatening to pass. and has, indeed,
passed laws,ilhe compliance with which Is
an utter impossibinty. If they are to be
enforced the. company certainly does not
desire to INCREASE ITS investment in Kan n
sas - 6 Ri
Mr. Elliott, states further that on inves-
tigation the many sensational charges maze
railroads. etc-a viii be entirely disproven,
that the agitation has not been on the part
of legitimate oil producers. but principali y
by fake stockeg companies
are seeking a seapegoat. "a '''@ TX"
ION Janua7y.1. 1906" continues the state
ment, 1.-The company had invested In the
business over nine and .one-half millions
of dollars, about equally divided as to cost
between general equipment and crude oil in
tanks It had paidt the producers for the
crude oil over one million dollars more
than it's value on, January !.
THE increase in stocks Of crude Oil dur
ing the year,f9A, was, nearly- four and one
half millions of barrels. all of which the
company had to buy from the producer and
erect tankage for. The ,tankage cost an av"
erage Of % cents per barrel. In the month
of January. 1905. the daily production of
crude oil had reached the enormous average
of over $4,000 barrels, the daily consump~
ton about 10000 barrels. SO that there was
an excess Of production to be provided for
of over, 1900 barrels daily ,ev .-,
I'm order to provide a further market for
this enormous and increasing production
the company has under way line of pipe
to Whiting, Ind. at which place a large oil
gether with it's necessary equipment, will
cost over three, and one-half millions of
dollars. Altogether, the amount already In
vested and contracted for by the Prairie
Oil and Gas Company in connection with
the Kansas-Indian territory Oil field
amounts to- nearly $14.OOO.OOO. and much
more will be required. The present accumu-
latien of about FIVE millions of barrels of
crude oil is much as can be used and
marketed in the next two years with pres
ent facilities.
Notwithstanding the enormous oyerpro-
duction IN the Kansas-Indian territory field
the decline in price has been relatively no
greater, considering the quality of the oil
they produced, than the decline has been in
other producing sections of the cOuntry''
The entire statement. of which the above
covers but a few points. is a lengthy docu-
ment. go ....-ss4ss g.. -.zl