The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-06-13
CALIFORNIA NOW
 HAS BIG O|L BOOM State Is Afiame Over Recent
 Discoveries GEYSER BREAKS LOOSE
Recent Production of Petroleum fI State Is staggerlng and Many Manufnctories Adopt
 It For Fuel

San Francisco, June 2.-(Special )-Cali- fornia is af1ame over its oil boom. It is the latest and greatest boom of all that the west has ever known. Already 1t has surpassed real estate, stock and grain, wine and fruits. Even mining and the old reliable tourist crop now look pale, unexclting and unimportant by compar son with oil.
 Millions are being invested in the oil in- dustry and millions of profits are being made out of 1t almost over night. Indeed, 1t is doubtful if any movement of its character and extent was ever known in the wide world before.
 Within the past few months the west has been aroused to tremendous interest in oil by the gigantic and spectacular leaps taken in the 'bilion-dollar indus try" In a mere space of weeks more re- markabe discoveries of oil have been made than in years before, exceeding the widest dreams of the most enthusiastic petroleum speculators
 Not less than a dozen oil "gushers' - wells that spout the crude petroleum up out of the ground without the need of pumping-have been struck within the past two months The greatest 'gusher the world has ever known-the Lakevfew we'll in the Midway district, near the town of Maricopa In central California was opened up, or rather opened itself up with the force of a volcano, 60 odd days ago.
 oil Geyser Breaks Lose
 Since the day this oil geyser broke forth with torrent of oil that blew the derrick to matchwood, tore the iron pipes from their moorings and sent their fragments hurtling 250 feet in the air and flooded the countryside for radius of half mile with the inky combustible, this worlds champion oil well has flowed with undiminfshed volume and has stored up in quickly improvised earthen reservoirs around its base total of 3.ooO,00o barrels of oil. This grade of oil Is worth at the present average market price b5 cents per barrel. which makes the cash value of this one wells production up to date s1 ,650 ,0OO or an earning capacity of $2I5oo per day And there are fully l6,OO oil wells in California.
 The recent production of petroleum in California is simply staggering. It mas even caused some local alarm and fear of over-production and consequent de- cline in prices from lack Of an adequate market oil has been struck In such great quantities and at such widely sep arated points in California that some sober operators are now seriously declar- ing 1t possible that practically the whole Golden state rides on top Of subter- ranean sea of oil hundreds of miles in extent and close to the surface at many points.
 Up to the present time the tremendous production has been cared for either by storage in steel and earthen reservoirs or by quick transportation through pipe lines to the seaboard where tank steam CTS have received 1t for shipment to all parts of the world Consequently there has been no decline in price nor in dication of demoralization in the indus try.
 No Fear of Overproduction
 The big men in the oil industry of Cal ifornia have no fear of over-production or falling prices. They have confidence In their ability to find a market for all of the oil that can possibly be pro- duced in this state and also a means of transporting it. They welcome the recent enormous production because 1t will per- nit the storing and conserving of millions of barrels, thereby insurtng present and prospective users of petroleum as fuel permanency of supply.
 Projects for the laying of pipe lines to cost an aggregate of over s50,Ooo,0Oo al ready are under way One now planned will extend from central California iuto Arizona and into the mining fields of Old Mexico.
 Uncertainty regarding the permanency and adequacy of the oil supply in Cali fornia has hitherto prevented many large fuel-consuming corporations from adopt ing oil, but now that cent developments have proved that the supply of fuel oil underlying California is practically limit less. and that its production and market ing have been reduced to business basis industrial enterprises are replacing their coal burners with oil burners everywhere The big railroads and steamship lines all are adopting the smokeless crude oil for