The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1910-05-21
Current Comment
The Oil Game.


Very few of the thousands who are
rushing blindly to the oil fields of
southern California, appreciate the
conditions of that district. In fact
none of them has the faintest concep-
ton of the oil game as 1t is played
When they attempt to apply aheir
knowledge of mineral locations they
are likely to grow more confused than
ever, to their own embarrassment.
Take the Bakersfield situation for In
stance. the reader can grasp 1t more
quickly taking a checker-board. I'm
agine that all the black squares on
the board, are sections, given the
Southern Pacific for building the
railroad, then imagine that one-half
the red squares belong to the Stan
dard Oil company. then remember
that one-half of the remaining
squares were withdrawn by the
interior department or conserva-
lion purposes and 1t will be apparent
hat the independent operator has but
United opportunity. On ton Of this ia
The fear that congress will pass what
8 known as the Picket-Nelson bill,
which means that there will be no
oil for the simple reason that the oil
lies In oil sands not unlike water, at
great depth. SO that when the Stan
lard Oil company puts down one of
it's wells, on the red square sections
IL land and the Southern Pacific on
the black square sections, that when
hey start their pumps going the land
withdrawn for conservation purposes
will be drained off and there will be
no oil for future generations. The oil
will come out of the Southern Pacific
and Standard Oil wells on the adjoin-
ing sections on the same principle
exactly as In Cripple Creek when. in
pumping the Ell Paso mine, they
Trained the water from adjoining
territory.
When California became a state, it
Of necessity recognized the land
grants that had been granted by Mex
leo. Where Bakersfield now stands.
was Mexican land grant which was
owned by the Tvis estate and Is now
known as the Kern River Land and
Town company. In addition to this
here Is the firm of Miller & Lux,
the multimillionaire cattlemen. 1t is
said. that one can travel from Mexico
to Canada and, at the end Of each
nights travel, can stop at one of Mil
Ter & Lux's ranches. That firm owns
In the vicinity of Bakersfield about
100000 acres, so that what was for
merly the Tevis estate and Miller &
Lux,that they have the country cor
nered on the land question and at
some future time will probably col
onize 1t in forty acre tracts.
In the oil game at present, so far
as California Is concerned, the Stan
dard oil and the Southern Pacific may
give the independent man a chance
to drill. but shrewd observers, who
have given close attention to the oil
game. agree that 1t is no opening for
the men Of medium capital much less
than in mining.
When the lands were withdrawn by
order Of the interior department, 1t
left this situation: The courts have
decided that valid location meant
the presence Of oil, that Is, that they
could not hold their locations under
the placer act, mining act or gypsum
act, and in four or five places in the
Midway district, the visitor will find
two derricks on the same section
drilling like mad, for the first dis
covery. The one who gets oil first
will have the discovery. This, Of
course, will contribute to q world of
litigation, because the paw streak is
thirty miles long and ten miles wide.
The only class that can find proms
ising opening there now is the legal
profession, az it stands to reason that
lawyers will be In demand to compro-
mise the interests of independent pro-
ducers.
The same laws will be in force in
Nevada, II they get oil at Blair. All
the locations that have been made at
the salt marsh or the immediate VI
cinity will be null and void, 30 that,
Il they do strike oil at Blair, the only
wav to hold locations IL to Immediate
" order derricks and rush them into
the new field because previous To-
Gators cannot hold their ground. No
location can be valid unless the To-
Gator can show oil.-Goldfield Tribune