Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-29
STATE MINERALOG|ST AUBURY
ATTACKS BURR BROS. WORKINGS
Official After Investigation of Companies and Properties Under
Control of Eastern Fiscal Agents and Promoters and Local
Stock Sellers, and Issues Statement Placing Firm in
Bad Light with Their Alleged DupeS

New York Coalinga company. This is
particularly true in the case of large
number of visitors appearing in re-
sponSe to an advertised invitation to
the public to visit the ground at the
expense of the company. Automobiles
sufficient to convey the entire party
were provided and, it is alleged, they
were rushed through the field and that
other oil wells to the south and not
those of the New York Coalinga were
pointed out as it's property.
I'm the face of this showing, the
Securities number of March, 1910,
says: The New York Coalinga prop
erty is in splendid shape etc. Fur
ther on reference is made to well No.
as the best well on the lease. This
well has never produced anything but
water and is distinctly water well,
which probably accounts for the fur
ther ingenious statement: The fluid,
however, normally stands within 500
feet of the top of the WELL
LIABILITIES TELL TALE
"a statement to July 1, 1910, of the
assets and liabilities of the New York
Coalinga company, just issued by the
alleged successors to Burr Brothers
interest therein, shows liabilities
amounting to $SS,095.S2 as against as
sets of $596S.17, three of the items
among the llaDlllll6S DelIS 9OA,UOo.1t
due the New York Coalinga company
on contract for purchase of lease, with
interest to July l, 1910; National Sup
ply company, with interest to July 1,
1910, $17, ,259.55, and Burr Brothers
(notes), with interest to July 1, 1910,
$13,075,13,' etc, indicating that the
splendid shape of the company in
March must have deprecated at an
exceedingly rapid rate.
to e,fs, fay, OH fn "
the officers of the new company, Will
liam Franzen, president and general
manager, and j. d. Lanning, secre-
tary and treasurer, $50 Elm avenue,
Pasadena, Cal, further states thar
The six wells we now have do not
produce a total average of 100 barrels
a day, not enough to pay interest on
the debt, not enough to pay interest or
production, which is quite heavy.
1.-THE Coalinga Aladdin Oil company,
Incorporated under the laws of Ari
zona for $1,000,000 an overcapitaliza-
tion, as proved by the nationally cap
italized property of equal or greater
value in the immediate neighborhood.
The officers were S. c. Burr, New
York city, president; E. w. Preston,
Coalinga, vice president, and c. H.
Tobey, New York and Coalinga, secre-
tary and treasurer. The company has
operated upon twenty acres of leased
land in a proved oil territory, but of
treacherous nature, owing to the fire.
uuent intrusion of water. One well
was drilled to a depth in the neigh
borhood Of 267O feet and struck oil.
WATER STOPS WORK
For the alleged purpose of secur-
ing greater production, however, an at
tempt was made to drill to lower oil
sand when water was encountered. An
Intellectual attempt was made to plug
the hole so far as it has been in
creased, but efforts to keep out the
water are up to the present unsuc-
cessful, and complaint is made that
the operations of this company have
resulted in injury to the land operated
and the adjoining territory 1t is un-
derstood that the owner has served
upon the company notice to relinquish
the property for failure to comply with
the terms of the lease. The total
amount of oil from this we'll did not
exceed during the lifetime of its pro-
duction 110O barrels of oil, clearly in
dicating. the failure of production.
"Referring to Securities advertising
matter relating to the lease of this
company, 1t is stated The value of
this lease is such that we consider it
cheap to secure it for the issuing of
500, 900 shares of stock. At the pres
ent selling price of this stock, this
amounts to $4,000 for the lease"
Said lease to E. w. Preston, vice
president and general manager of the
Coalinga Aladdin company, makes no
provision whatever for a payment of
stock to the owner of the property. as
told in a cleverly worded but nislead-
ing statement Immediately following
the above quotation, and, as a matter
of fact Burr Bros. In satisfaction of
their efforts in promoting the COM
pany, simply appropriated one half or
more, of the Incorporated amount Of
stock of the company. small portion