Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-03

A T THE meeting of the California
u oil producers at Bakersfield Tues
"A day steps were taken to have the
government buy for use in tho navy
the storage oil now on hand In the
state. A resolution was adopted asking
congress to pass a bill providing for
the purchase of the z0,O0O,OOO barrels
of cheap oil in storage II Oklahoma
and to purchase all or part of the stor-
age in California that might accumu-
late in the future. The oil held in stor-
age in Oklahoma and elsewhere by the
Standard Oil company Is used as
club to effect low prices and the pro-
ducers believe that with the ala or
the government the evil can be COM
pletely removed, giving the man at the
well "a chance to get u prontdple pIlCe
for his product.
The government does not favor buy
ing oil from the Standard Oil company,
It is said, and with effort on the part
of the other producersi some agree
ment may be reached through con-
gress by which to get federal contracts
The resolution provides that the gov
ernment install tanks at the naval sta-
tion near san Diego and elsewhere and
to have the government adopt the use
of oil all over the country, like In Eng
land, where large quantities OF oil are
being stored for naval purposes.
Take All or Part
The California producers would like
to have the government take all or
part of the storage oil and declare that
II this is done the price or the cfuue
product will advance.
Oil at 60 to 65 cents barrel as an
engine fuel Is robbery, say the pro-
ducers, for, when compared with coal
the price is dirt cheap, and II the
proper price was paid 1t would not be
less than 81 barrel. The agencies
believe that with the recent eonsolida-
tion or absorption of the Union Oh
company and the consolidation or the
two agencies, such a force SYould soon
be brought to bear as to raise the
price, but none of the speakers at the
meeting Tuesday ventured the opinion
that So oil was thing of the immedl-
ate future.
However. Il was generally understood
there is no danger of an oyerproduc-
tlon in California, that with big or
ders to fill the agencies Will De aDle u
care for the output
THE report that the big wells either
coming in almost daily or now drllllnS
would play havoc to the industry by
so increasing the product as to be IN
excess of the demand met win httle
credence at the meeIlnB. midway W@9
referred to as a "big bear that none
need fear The wells there have never
flowed, they say. as much since the
first week of their production and that
this field would gradually settle down
like the others did and become a
steady producer.
Chiefly at Midway
The increase in production in Call
fornia at the present time is chiefly
I'm Midway. 1t was declared that Co
alinga would not do much more In OK
cess OF its present output and that
the other fields had either remalncu
unchanged or had experienced fall
ing off in production recently. Thus
with the increase in Midway 1t would
seem that the output of the state
would remain about the same. But the
producers figure on new fields beng
exploited and proven territory. deVel-
oped. There is no doubt that the pro-
duction will be materially increased
as the years roll on, but the increase
In demand will amply provide for TINS
difference, and even in the face OF the
petition to congress for the govern
inent to use oil as fuel, men prominent
in the industry assert that the AGENCY