The Green Forest tribune., 1909-10-22
TO SPEND $1o,ooo HERE
Mr. Payne Discusses His His
 Plans for Oil Prospecting

hours in the country south ot town, where leases are being taken for Payne & Reese.
 Mr. Payne called at The Tri- bune office and expressed him. self in very matter off fact manner concerning his proposi- ton to put down a deep we'll here. He has had too much experience in the actual oil development to get excited. Talking of the situ . ation here MT. Payne said:
 s'I am glad to note the tone of your paper concerning this en- terprise. You are eminently correct in telling your people that they have all to gain and noth : ing to lose in giving leases on their lands. We are offering a very liberal contract and pro- pose to spend many thousands of dollars in the community with the possibility at least of never profiting one cent.
 eff we develop oil here the community will be vastly more benefited than we. To be sure, we hope to make money on our investment, but the profit ought to be very good indeed when you consider the outlay of S10,- 900 all of which it will take to put a we'll to depth of 2500 feet, and this we propose to do, pro- vided, however, we do not strike oil or gas before going that deep."
 Asked as to what he thought of the indications Mr. Payne rather smiled and said:
 "Our actions certainly prove that we have faith in the pro. ject. Prospecting for oil, how ever, is altogether matter of speculation and we may yet de- eide not to carry out our plans, in case we do not get all the land included in the leases that we desire. We want to cover enough territory to do some good in case we venture to drill a deep well. The knoeker and the stubborn land owner can drive us out of here very easily.'
 We suggested to MT. Payne that we had occasion to make some investigations as to his re- sponsibility and was pleased to note that he and his partner were well backed financially.
 "Yes, we can command all the means we need for the work. We have been reasonably suc- cessful in oil operations. I was the first man to sink a we'll in Okmulgee county, and it was a partner of mine who put down the first we'll in the Glenpool dis. trict at Tulsa. We can do the business here, that is we can see what can be done here, without serious financial loss to US even if we should make no find"
 In answer to our query as how he became attracted to this place MT. Payne said:
 ''I saw the report in your pa- per of Mir. Watson's finding those rocks containing pockets of oil and thought it was matter that would bear investigation. The paper was shown me by Mr. Coffey. You see I spend much of my time in Eureka Springs, as the water at Tulsa does not agree with my health. After talking the matter over MT. Coffey and decided to come over and thus the matter first started"
 ''I am glad to see you take a conservative position in the mat. ter. After we have found some- thing will be soon enough to start boom, but want to tell you, my boy, things will get up and dust here if we should be SO lucky as to bring in a gusher here. Your fine, new office would not be very far ahead of the town in little while. You would get a little city here in short order.''
 While here MT. Payne decided that he would extend his lease- taking to the north side of the railroad track and embrace sev- eral hundred acres on both the east and west sides of town. He said he would be back here again next week and if satisfactory progress had been made, he would go to Tulsa and so arrange his affairs to come to Green For est for and indifinite period. In the mean time he would get everything in readiness for ship. ment of material from Tulsa here for prospecting work.