Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-15
Big Industry That Standard
Successfully Completes With.
SHRINE OF FIRE WORSHIP
Four Bright Flames Around Which
Temple Was Built.
REFINERY NOW IS ON SITE
Nobel Brothers Of Sweden Develop
ed Business-Many indie
pendent Owners.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

pendent Owners.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
BAKU, Russia, June 12. 1910.
In ancient times for thousands OF years.
no one knows how long, the Persians
used to come up to the shores OF the Cas-
plan sea where the city Of Baku now
stands and scrape OFF the ground the
seepage from the springs Of Oil that
were found nearthe water.
They used these scrapings for lubri
eating purposes, for fuel. for light, for
healing wounds and for various other
useful purposes, and exercised much in
Eenuity in cleansing and applying them.
At some remote date-it may have been
rs far back as the time of Daniel the
prophet-the fire worshpers, the follow
ers of Zoroaster. found here several Oil
springs on fire. The naphtha must have
caught fire by accident They considered
1t a miracle. and through many centu-
yies made pi1grimages to worship and
adore the flames.
Ultimately they built a temple. a square
structure OF brick with dome and four
chimneys, through which in some in
genious manner they conducted the nat
ural gas which exhales from the naphtha
springs. and thus were able to maintain
four bright flames. The temple was in
the center of large courtyard Enclosed
by high wall, I'm which were rooms for
the accommodation of pilgrims.
The gateway was monumental. Above
1t rose square tower about fifty feet
In height.
At the four corners were chimneys,
through which the gas was conducted In
the same manner as at the temple with
in the Enclosure. The light could be seen
for many miles in every direction. They
called it The Shrine of Grace
Refinery Replaces Temple.
This temple stood at the village Of
Sourakhany, about ten miles from Baku.
The site is now occupied by the refinery
of the Kokovev Oil Company. 1t was torn
down about 1850. For a century or two
before that date pilgrims came all the
way from India and the Parsee mer-
chants of Bombay, famous for their
riches and enterprise. furnished the
money to maintain the fire and enter
tain the pilgrims.
The Parsees are the descendants of fire
worshipers who were driven from Per-
sia in the middle ages by Mohammedan
persecution. They retain some of the
customs and forms of worship of their
Persian ancestors.
Why the temple was abandoned and the
lights were allowed to go out have not
been able to ascertain. The only rea-
sonable explanation is that after this
part of the world was wrested from Per-
STA by the Russians something must
have happened or some regulation may
have been introduced which made it diff
fcult or impossible to continue the cere--
monialS and maintain the pilgrimages-
However that may have been. the
forms of worship and. the nationality of
the worshipers were gradually changed.
until now Russians and Armenians adore
the oil for the money it brings instead
Of for its symbolical significance.
Development of Industry.
The development of the petroleum in
dustry was slow and began late. The in
habitants of the old Persian city of Baku
utilized the oil for light and fuel and gas
undisturbed until 1855.
Then Russian named Kokreff and an
Armenian named Mirsoeff obtained a con-
cession from the Russian government to
operate wells and refine the product. They
had monopoly for twenty years, but did
q small business, producing an insignif-
icant quantity and a poor quality of burn
ing fluid compared with the product of
the present day.
In 1875 the concession was revoked and
there was rush Of prospectors and spec
ulators to this territory. Everybody who
could raise enough money to drive a well
did SO. until today. within a radius of ten
miles from the city of Baku, are seven
hundred and thirty-six wells producing
more or less oil and belonging to almost
as many people.
The largest number are on a peninsula
extending into the Caspian sea, called
Apocheron, between six and eight miles
north of the city, with about One-third as
many at a place called Bibi-Eybat, about
three miles south.
There are over one hundred independent
companies. Only twenty-five are doing q
refining business. OF these only eight
have sufficient capital to conduct their
operations upon paying basis.
The large distribution of the interests is.
however. demoral.zing. 1t has been q bad
thing for the town and the industry and
for everybody concerned, because when
ever any large enterprise was undertaken
cut-throat competition has been used to
interrupt and embarrass IL.
AS one gentleman expressed it, il would
have been to the advantage OF everybody
concerned il half the Oil that has been
produced at Baku had been allowed to run
into the sea.
Three Big Concerns.
There are three large companies the
largest belonging TO the family of the late
Alfred Nobel. the Swedish philanthropist,
who founded the Nobel Institute at Stock
holm and endowed IL with funds from,