Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1905-05-25
OIL THE OBJECT
Citizens Meet and Plan to Put
Down a Deep Well
for Oh,
An Eastern Expert Well Drillel
Says We Have Plenty
of Petroleum.

The business men of the city gener-
allv met at the Commercial Club rooms
Saturday night to listen to the PROPOSE
tons made by G. w. futile, OF tire
Powers Well Digging Company, OF
Clarjnda. Iowa, to solve the question OF
the existence of crude oil or petroleum
in this vicinity
Mr. futile represents company
that has been putting down hundreds
of oil wells in Kansas, Oklahoma ana
Texas, and he has been in charge OF
this work personally for number OF
years long enough to become entirely
conversant with the question.
He had two propositions to make,
namely: That the business me organ
ize a company and pay his people at so
much per foot for sinking the gas well
near the freight depot down as far as
1000 feet it being now down to 1900
feet, or turn the we'll over tol hlm ana
the interests he represents ana they
would go ahead at their own expense
and silk the we'll deep enough to de-
monstrate whether there is OIL in this
vicinity The latter proposition seemed
to strike everybody present the most
fayorably, and the necessary arrange
| ments were started to get the city coun-
| ell to donate the well, as we'll as form
! the necessary corporation. There VIII
| be no trouble along this lire, as mum
Der OF aldermen were present. ana
| spoke for the city council.
Mr.. futile is a practical deep well
driller and appears to know exactly his
business. He has operated SO long III
the oil fields in the states mentioned
that he is competent authority on all
such matters.
In aktalk with the Free Press he
spoke about as follows: 81 know you
| have crude oil or petroleum IN this
country in abundance, and am as sure
of this fact as that it is being found il
Kansas. Any gas that leaves suit OF
smudge on vessels, chimneys or NANTES
where it burns must come from Oil
1t was never known to fail. The ga
| have seen natural gas that was per
fectly clear, and which, when burned
did not leave trace, but this is not tn
case here. | am as certain you hav
crude Oil underneath your natural GA
here as | am certain of anything, ant
my company is only anxious to demon
strate it to you. 1t will open up new
| field for our operations, and not onl
benefit us, but give every piece of LAM
in this country such a boom as NOTHING
else could. 1t will prove big thing al
around. | have found out since com
ing to Pierre that agents of the stand
ard Oil company have been gettin
busy here for some time past The
know what we do, that you have oil
and they have been quietly takin
leases on almost every piece of Ian
| they could get near Pierre. Those fror
whom these agents have secured lease
of land did not realize what it was 70
but they soon will, and then they wi
| have cause for regrets that they hay
tied up their land for twenty-five {
thirty years to the biggest trust in tn
country 1t is the policy of the Stane
ard to get control Of land in the Oil {
prospective oil regions and then d
nothing to develop it. This is in lin
of the undevelopment of the il dustr.
and limiting the supply, which wi
keep up the prices. Every land ownt