The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-02-24
HISTORY OF OIL
FIGHT IN KANSAS
Crusade Is Being Led by Gov
ernor Hoch IN True Pingree /
Style.

Washington, Feb. 24.-Here is the
story Of Kansas oil and the Standard
Oil company's order of Feb. IL to boy
eott 1t, which prompted President
Roosevelt to issue an order to the de-
pafIment OF commerce to make an in
vestlgatlon that may4 lead to criminal
prosecutions of Standard oil men Of
millions e, q ID
The Kansas oil belt comprises FIVE
count1es-Neosho, Wilson, Montgomery,
Chautau!qua and Allen: Oil was first
fully well; Last year it produced 6,0OO,-
600 barrels. Today there are 1880 pro
ducing wells in the belt. The yield
Of the $500 is 10000 barrels daily.
Last November Kansas elected a re-
publican governor of the Pingree school
Of politics. Hetis Edward w. Hoch--
(Kansans pronounce it 3Hoke)-aS coun-
try editor. A millionaire railroad con-
tractor who began life carrying drink
ing water for railroad construction
gang was Hoch g hacker. Stubs, plain
Stubs, is this contractor g name.
to be mere tool Of the republican
statehouse ring, SO the ring controlled
senate swatted to death every bill that
Stubbs introduced. Stubs -didn It scold.
He 'slaid low" until the legislature ad-
journed. Then he started crusade
against the statehouse gang. It was On
appeal to the plain people. The plain
people responded nobly. Stubs put
Hoch forward for governor. So badly
was the statehouse gang scared that
Governor Bailey, their man, withdrew
Governor Hoch, Stubs backing him,
urged the legislature, when it convened
in January, to enact legislation to re-
ieve the Kansas oil belt from the ex-
actions Of the oil trust. Two bills were
accordingly introduced. One fixes rail
road rates for crude oil, naming max
imum charge. The second was for an
appropriation Of 100000 to build a
state refinery Of 1000 barrels daily ca
pacitY. Standard Oil lobbyists fought
both bills in their accustomed guerrilla
style. But they lost. Both bills passed
the legislature. H.. >~...: 49, .-:
=, Directly the Standard Oil company
issued its boycott order. Specifically
it declares that, so long as these two
laws remained on the Kansas statute
books, the Standard will not buy or
handle a single barrel of Kansas oil.
OF course, there was CONSERVATION in
the oil fields right away. The indie
pendent companies could take but a
very small percentage Of the daily
yield of 10000 barrels. The producers
could not begin to build tanks fast
enough to store it. The loss of millions
and millions Of dollars confronted them
SO long as the boycott stood. ....
The representative in whose district
four of the five oil counties lie, Philip
P. Campbell, himself was much con-
cerned. The state authorities were
helpless. He saw no relief but at the
White House. Representative Camp
bell is a Nova Scotian by birth, who
grew up on a farm on the Kansas prai-
RES, first -termer from farmer dem
ocratic district, and about 40. How
fully the president took in the situa-
tion when he had listened to Mr.. Camp
the promptness with which he decreed
that the whole poWan of. the federal
government shall be'hsed to discipline
the Standard Oil company.