The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-06-23
BIG OIL BOOM
IN CALIFORNIA
Millions Are Being invested N On
Industry and Millions Arc Eaks
Over Night

I
! tnat the West has ever knows a.
ready IT has surpassed real ~wt-S.,
stock and grain. wine and frv5e-
4 Even mining and the old relfzb -
! tourist crop now look pale. ua.sr-
citing and unimportant BY couu1.-<-
| son with oil.
! Millions are being invested In IN.
oil industry and millions OF prodes ~
being made out OF It almOse aver
! night Indeed. 1t is doubtful IL Euu
movement OF Its character and Sxte1<
/ before.
Within the past few months ~
| West has been aroused to treuleudo-,-
interest In Oil by the gigantic xnsE
spectacular leaps taken In thu OIL
/ or weeks more remarkable C5fs-oxz.-
RES OF OIL have been made ahzT Tn,
years before. exceeding the vviTSewr
dreams OF the most enthusiasts n
roleum spectators.
NOT less than a dozen oil ~KuSRsr-s-
wells that spout the crude 49,,
leum up out of the ground WHOM
the need OF pumping-have bse-
truck within the past two month";
me greatest "gusher' the world hzs
Eyer Eyer known-the Lakeview well. ia
the Midway district, near the town a.
Maricopa, in Central Califorufz-vr1E
| opened up, or. rather, opened ffweYg
up with the force Of volcan1. sirrrTe
oou Gays ago.
OIL Geyser Breaks Looar.
Since the day this oil gevser broae..
/ torth with torrent of oil that blew
the derrick to matchWoOd tore thu
IRON pipes from their mooriaxE xnE
sent their fragments hurting Pa 60
in the air, and flooded the eowufr--
side for a radius OF half a mile ufeh
the inky combustible, this vzarFd1z
champion oil well has flowed with vzE--
diminished volume and has StorRd ~
In QuickIy-improVised earthen rezsRr--
volrs around its base a total OF 7.aGa.--
900 barrels of oil. This grade Of On
is worth at the present avera<e mar
ket price % cents per barrel wASen
makes the cash value OF thfE aun
wells production up to date SI.ssA.-
QUO, or an earning capacity OF $77. Sa1
oil wells in California.
me recent production Of pefroIeru1
IN California is simply staggering Ff
mas even caused some local alarm arF
FEAR OF over-production and q conss--
quent decline in prices from lack oc
an adequate market. Oil has heew
struck in such great quantities auA
at such widely-separated pOfzfa In
California that some sober Operz1nrw
are now seriously declaring Il pOaxE-
bic that practically the whole GaI8em
state rides on top of a subterrzxsEwr
sea Of oil hundreds Of miles in eTfewe
and close to the surface n mann
| points.
Up to the present time the Sray-
| mendous production has been cxreA
Tor either by storage in steel and
earthen reservoirs or by quick trans
portation through pipe linex To cfsn
seaboard, where tank steamers knuU
received IL for shipment to al parfw
of the world. Consequently ther1 haR
been no decline in price nor fHdIcz,-
i ~ % v-~a1 esrsnN -, l.
No Fear OF Overproduct10z-
The big men IN the oil industry ~
California have no fear Of overpru-
duction or falling prices. They kzS1
confidence in their ability to Gud q
market for all of the oil that can
possibly be produced in this State
and also means of Transporting r.
| They welcome the recent euOrrzSum
production because il will permit thu
storing and conserving of millions O.
barrels. thereby insuring present zz&
prospective users of petroleum as EzeE
a permanency of supply
Projects for the laying Of pipe ffr,ex
TO cost an aggregate of over $50. 8G4.--
| 600 already are under way. One nov
planned will extend from CenfrzR
California into Arizona and into fhea
mining fields of old Mexico
Uncertainty regarding the permz-
AiNAANN anu tOCtlQACN OF the OH NWpuiV
in California has hitherto preyenfe.E
many large fuel-consuming corpOrx-
tfons from adopting oil, but now tfrzf
recent developments have proved THAI
the supply of fuel oil underlying CaIi-
fornia is practically limitless. and thar
its production and marketing hzzaes
been reduced TO a business basis, In
duStrial enterprises are replacing
their coal burners with oil burners
everywhere. The big railroads ana
steamship lines all are adopting fha
smokeless crude oil for fuel
Thus the unparalleled petroleum.
production of California, already
recognized as the eighth wonder or
the world, promises to be an eysscf--
marker in civilizations Industrial pr0-
gresS. For years scientists haSE
sounded warnings Of the approaching
exhaustion Of the coal and weed sun
ply of the earth. but an all-wise FroVk-
dence has now provided a spbS5ftuS-
IN the form OF great deposits Of pe-
troleum. richer and better than tbsz
original supply.
RevOlutiOnizes Worlds Induszrx- I
California has recently takes thu
lead in bringing forth this precf0ua
! fluid. and having demonstrated 10 tia
world that its supply is practically
lneXhaustible, revolution is being
brought about that is rapidly maxim
PSNA TIE nISl ana 1OreInSSL TEst4
in all lines OF industry thrOuEhoux
the world. No Imagination can con-
ceive all that this means
Beginning with the adoption Of on
as fuel for locomotives by the South
ern Pacific Railroad a few yearx axo
its use has gradually extended In the
United States until now all the raf8-
roads on the Pacific Coast burn n
exclusively. Big Eastern .YaiIwaSEs
nave recently made arrangements 20.
employ il. Steamships have been .Ssxx-
verted into oil burners. Office huiIA-
inss now utilize it for heating and
power purposes. Crude oil is befrse.
used to generate power for rniuiuE-
companies and even the restauraSF
kitchens all over the West are egniz-
ped with oil burners The navies 81
the United States, Great Britain ard
Japan have decided to adopt il tn
American Navy already has equfppex
its Pacific Ocean vessels for the burn
ing of oil. including the torDei.r
Hotilla, and naval oil stations are "a
be located all along the Atlantic
Coast.
multitude of other new ana