The San Francisco call., 1910-04-30
congress AIDS
OIL MONOPOLY,
SAYS LINDLEY
Standard Oil and Southern Pa
cific Suck Wealth From Pub
lie Lands, He Charges
Declares Conservation in Rela-
ton to California Petroleum
Land Does Not Conserve

California oil producing land, tenn
porariiy withdrawn from settlement by
the federal government, is in grave
danger Of being sucked dry of its
wealth. according to the views eN-
pounded last evening before the san
Francisco bar association by Curtis II
Ifndley. the president IN the oil pro-
ducfne region of the state, according
TO Judge Lindley. there are 2,4OO,455
acres withdrawn from entry, While IN
the district and adjacent TO the with
drawn lands, 70 per cent OF the iahd Is
operated upon by the standard OH
company. the Southern Pacific COM
pany and affiliated corporations Since
all oil wells operating in a district
draw upon the common subterrahean
supply. the speaker made the point
that while congress is making proNi-
sions for the finsl classification and
5isdisposition Of the government land
the wealth Of the oil lands would be
drawn off by the active corporations
through their wells
Continuing. Judge Lindiey said;
s.If would seem apparent. consider
ing this economic fact. which am
quite sure is substantially correct, me
rounsery-atfOp theories applied TO the
oil REGIONS would conserve and pre-
serve the oil for the use. not of the ui-
fEruafe consumer. not of the general
public. hut of 1he Standard oil, South
IN Pacific and allied interests. This Is
= conservation which does not conserve,
according 10 the ideals of the sponsors
for the measure.
TALKS ON CONSERVATION
Judge Lindley's address was on
Pending Federal Legislation-the Con
servation Of National Resources and
It's Possible Effect Upon Mint z, lrri-
cation and Hydro Electric Industries
In opening ne said that il was the
opiuion. expressed by an astute OBJ
server. that the American nation is at
a parting of the ways. where two op-
posing tendencies present themselves
for acceptance or rejection One OF
these tendencies is called the New
JefTersonianism." the other the New
Hamiltonianism.
THE terminology." continued the
sneaker. is a rather transparent dis
guise for individualism on the one
hand and colIectivism on the other;
the latter being an expression which
CONVEYS TO the sociological student the
idea Of advanced socialism The Of
rciaI exponent of the neo-J o-Jeffersonian-
ism most in the public idea for the
time being" said Judge Lindley, lis
undoubtedly Richard a. Ballinger, sec
retary OF the interior The theories it
upholds is that the welfare of the ma
OPPOSITE VIEWS
The sponsors for neo-H -Hamiltonianism
hold opposite views; that it is this ex-
cessive individualism which has
brought about the existing concentra~
tion Of wealth and financial power in
the hands of a few irresponsible indi-
Viduals Only by making the individ-
ual subordinate TO the demands of a
dominant and constructive national
purpose can America accomplish a NOR
ally and socially desirable distribution
Of wealth. Under this social theory the
national resources of the nation should
be conserved, the government should
control the mines, the forests, public
) irrigation and the hydro electric indus
tbs. These" said Lindley, are sub
siantially my policies bequeathed with
hts mantle by Elijah Roosevelt to Eli
sha Taft, and are for the time being
associated in the public eye with Mr..
clifford Pinchot."
OIL SITUATION
Saying that it was not his purpose to
enter into the question of policy which
might control or shape legislation con-
cerning public lands, Judge Lindley de-
clared:
I wish to cali attention to one
economic fact in this state which
Stares US in the face. and which
ought to be seriously and promptly
considered by the United States SEN
ate in its forthcoming consideration
of the withdrawal bill.
Il is well known that the oil de-
pOsits occur in horizons Of some
considerable area; that in pumping
~ from one well you are practically
drawing upon 4 source common TO
the entire horizon. The multiplicity
of wells in the production of oil de-
crease the common supply. It is for
this reason. and TO prevent adjacent
oil operators from getting more
than their share. that IN every lease
in the oil regions II is incumbent
upon a tenant to vigorously prose-
cute the work and produce the
maximum quantity of oil so as to
get the full share coming to the
proprietor Of the leased land. Sus-
pension of work on one location
gives TO the adjacent operating pro-
prietors that much advantage as
against the common source of sup
ply.
Considering these well recog-
nized facts, let US look at the situa-
tiOn in California and the effect of
the present withdrawal act upon
the general oil industry.
There are now under temporary
Withdrawal, validated by this act,
in California 2.400,453 acres of
land, SuppOsitionusly oil producing,
in actively worked oil region.
Ia this region, in checker board
fashion, there are today in private
ownership 20 per cent of oil pro-
ducing lands, operated. owned and
controlled. directly or through sub
sidiary companies, by the Southern
Pacific and the Standard oil COM
II these government lands ad-
Jacent~ TO the actively worked oil
lands and in the same oil hori-
IONS, owned by these corporations
and their subsidiaries. are to be
maintained in state of with
draWal until the government at its
leisure CLASHES the lands and con-