The Brinkley argus., 1907-10-18
THE INDIAN COUNTRY. 4 Trip Through the Oil Fields of the New State
 hy an Ex-3rinkleyite.

oil fields and learn sCmetninS oI uio oil business, landed in Cleveland, Okla, eo miles north of Oklahoma City.
 Cleveland is typical oil town of about 2OO0 people, nesting among the hills of Oklahoma, near the Arkansas river. There found about loO oil wells with only about 50 producing oil, the balance being pulled leasing taken out) or abandoned.
 There is enough waste of gas in Cleveland 10 furnish Brinkley with light and fuel. You can see on every side, one inch pipe sticking above the ground some eight feet with the full force Of gas burning day and night the year round. The street lamps are left burning all the time because it is cheaper to let them burn than hire man few minutes day to turn them off and on.
 The cotton gin here which is four gin outfit, gets gas to run the boiler, warm the gin room, light and heat the office, all fer S25 % per month.
 Crude oil. (as it comes from the grouno) is worth from 20 to 3octs 3 barrel and no demand for it at that price as John D. has Cleveland "fx- ed
 Going from Cleveland l went to kiefer, l. T.-a sure enough western town which could be called "a tent town, as there are hundreds of people living in tents. What few houses there are here are mere boxes. To speak of morality in Kiefer to lots of her people would be speaking in ar unknown tongue.
 There are about 500 oil wells at Kiefer, all producing oil from 25 to 5000 barrel per day. This oil is pumped into tanks near the wells hold tnp from lO0 to 500 barrels where it remains until the greenish thick sedi- ment settles at the bottom, when the oil is measured and pumped into i'm mense tanks holding 55,0oO barrels, some safe distance from the wells. Then it is pumped through 8 inch pipes to Kansas City, $50 miles, or to the gulf 5CO miles away, where il is either refined or sold fer fuel.
 In pumping to distant refinery, they build pumping stations about every 50 miles where they have a 55,OOO barrel tank and immense pumps and keep day and night en- glneer on a salary of Sll5.OO per month and furnish them nice concrete houses to live in.
 Well, you may say it is no wonder oil is so high at the store. But hold on while and we will figure a little. We will take one of those Kiefer (Glen PooD wells, producing 5000 barrels day, which cost John D. Rockefeller about 45cts barrel. One barrel of crude oil will refine l6 gallons of gasoline. and 25 gallons of kerosene which they must get at least l2lis cents per gallon and the by- product, (grease. paint and taD will pay all expense. So you see John /. has net profit of S5.37la cts per barrel, Multiply that by 5000 and you have the small sum of $l6,li0.OO per days profit on one we'll Multi. ply this by 365 days in the year and II will make fhe hair stand on your head. Then think there are loO0 wells in Kiefer, alone.
 You, reader, may say you will come out here and get rich. But held on brother. John D. got here first and has il "fixed. Some people that are next, will put their money together and drill a well about 5000 feet (that is about as deep as they have to go) and when John D. finds they have oil, he says hold on boys. that is my property, found it first (Freezes them out
 But there are lots of drawbacks to the til business, as well as anything else. Oil is q great conductor of cleo trlcity and the oil tanks are liable 10 be struck by lightning any time, and set on fire. It is all off then. as there is no way on earth to put the fire out.