Semi-weekly herald. [volume] (Durango, Colo.) 1907-1917, 1910-08-08

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the total for 1898, which are the latest
figures can get here. reached 49,
7as. 76y barrels. California came sec
ond. viii 44.s54.7s7 barrels; Illinois,
336S5,1 JOG barrels: Texas, II. 2O6, 464
barrels; Ohio, f0.s5s,7 1877 barrels; Penn
sylvania s.424,325 barrels; West vir-
| ginia, 9,523,176 barrels. louisiana. a.
| i31,l73 barrels: Indiana. 3,2s3.G29 bar
| rels; Kansas, 1,S0l.7Sl barrels, and
New York, l,1G0.12S barrels.
From these figures you viii see that
| the Industry at Raku Is very import
| mt, and the Russian government de-
r.ves a revenue OF between $50 .0OO.-
0Jo and s75.O0o.000 a year by taxing
| II There is a direct tax upon the pro-
dIoers. an additional tax of go cents
Ions, produced. besides the income
rom the sale of stamps required on
| contracts. bills OF lading and all other
commercial paper. The little city of
Baku with iI7.o0o inhabitants. and
they mostly Persians. Armenians and
Tartars. is the fourth source OF rev.
enue for the Russian treasury.
Most % the reflneries. especially
those Of the Nobel and French compa-
niles. ale located at what Is called In
Russian Tcho;ny Gorod. or The Dark
city, which Is connected with Baku
by street car lines. The Nobel com
pany has provided homes for IT'S off.
GERS and employees at the White city"
mile o. two away--Blely Gorod. as 1t
is called III Russian
The Dark City consists OF large
number OF reflnerIes, surrounded by
high railway tracks. mostly covered
wirh tank cars. and the cutters on both
sides are fil,cd with a network OF pipes
tapping q myriad of tanks and conduct.
ing the oil between the wells and the
refineries and the reservoirs where 1t
Is stored for shipment The Dark City
Is located upon the shore OF the Cas-.
plan sea. where extensive docks have
been built and pumps provided for
iilling tank boats which carry oil up
the Volga river into the interior of
Russia as far as Moscow via Astrak-
han. where It flows into the Caspian.
Mr. Norman. an English engineer,
who formerly lived In Chicago, and
spent several years In the employ OF
the Standard Oil company, showed rue
around the Nobel refineries and told
mo an interesting story of the develop
ment OF the industry here
"Naphtha Springs as they were call
ed. have been known here for ages"
said Mr.. Norman "The fire worship
ers came n thousand miles for thou
sands of years to worship them until
the Russians conquered the territory.
In the SOS n steamship company on
| the Caspian sea undertook to collect
oil by scraping the surface of the
ground. and they carried It to other
ports. 1t was also shipped Into the In
terror by camel caravans. Then two
gentlemen. Russian and an Armen.
ian. obtained concession to work the
deposit. and had a monopoly until 1876,
when the Nobel brothers of Sweden
hhicu, buuWiB anu ftODtTt-cafHe
down, put their brains to work. built
| reflneries and have been here ever
since. They now practically controi
the industry, employing about 10000
people and have refineries and ma.
chine shops covering an area OF one
and half square miles
Mr.. Arthur Lessner. also Swede,
Is general manager The company is
stock concern, organized under the
Russian laws. and It's shares are dealt
regularly in on all the stock exchanges
of Europe
"The specific gravity of the Baku
oil is much higher than that of the
American OIL" continued Mr.. Norman.
1t has naphtha basis, while the
| American oil has a paraffine basis
This oil Is more like that OF California
! 1t is better for fuel than for illuminat-
| ing purposes and Is used for steaming
on the railways and steamships in this
| part of the empire.
"The distinctive feature OF the No
bel refineries is continuous system
| OF distillation; that is, series OF
stills from which the various proper.
| ties OF the oil are extracted as the
| crude raw material is passed from one
to another. each having a higher tenn
perature than the last
There are eighteen pipe lines be-
| tween the wells and the works." said