Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-01
REVISE OIL LAND
LAW, SAYS GRAHAM
Los Angeles and Fullerton Opera
tor Delivers Forceful Address
at Mining Congress
DANGERS OF CoNFISCATloN
Exposition of Equitable Conser-
walton Policy Appeals Strong
" to Western Delegates

An address delivered by S. c. Gra-
ham of Los Angeles, an oil operator
at Fullerton and elsewhere, during the
session of the American Mining con-
gress, favoring a just and equitable
conservation policy in accord with that
of Mr.. Pinchot, was the cause of con-
siderable comment at the several meet
ings, both private and official This
address helped to straighten out many
points misunderstood by the mining
men, and for that reason it is of un-
usual interest to those having oil and
other mining interests. 1t is regarded
as clear summing up of conserva-
tion as a policy. Mr.. Graham's speech
follows:
The first and most important pur-
pose of federal legislation regulat-
Ing the disposition of publicly
owned oil lands should be the pre-
vention of monopoly and securing
for the people as large a net re-
turn as possible from the sale or
rental of these lands.
It is not necessary that the gov
ernment should give away its oil
lands to encourage and promote the
oil industry in California. In the
Appalachian fields, where oil was
first produced and where the bust-
ness soon grew to enormous pro-
portions. practically all of the land
was owned by private individuals.
The operators were compelled to
compete, with one another in the
purchase or lease of those lands.
The royalty or purchase price var
led greatly, depending, as must
be the case everywhere, under fair
competitive conditions, on the rich
ness or supposed richness of the
oil deposits. The usual royalty in
ordinary territory was about one
eighth, but in some instances as
high as one-half royalty and a
considerable sum per acre as bo-
nus was paid. Under the conditions
existing there venturesome opera
tors, generally operating on leased
ground, have drilled thousands of
wells miles away from any pro-
ducing territory-by far the lar
ger part of which were failures.
The Same conditions have existed
in practically all of the oil fields
in the eastern half OF the United
States.
EASTERN OIL LAND LAWS
If in the east oil lands had been
publicly owned and the government
had exacted from the operators
just the same terms they were
compelled to make with private
grain of common sense assume that
development and production there
would have been in any way
checked or retarded? But here in
the west, where a large portion Of
the lands containing oil are publicly
owned, the assertion is made by
some OF those engaged in the bus
mess of producing oil that If the
government were to exact a roy
ola elr fOv OP
kind in any way commensurate
with the value of the lands, drill
ing would at once stop and the
oil industry here would be ruined.
Most of the men who are making
this assertion have themselves pur-
chased or leased land from private
owners and bought claims and To-
cations on government land, and
that, too, in most instances, land
upon which no work had been done.
Their position Is that, while they
are willing to pay to some one to
whom the government has given
the land a good stiff price for It,
1t would fbe an outrage If they were
asked to purchase or lease 1t from
the government direct.
The Southern Pacific Railway
company holds under grant each
alternate section In the richest oil
llCld0 III lllO llilIlh IlOSL
the men who are In favor of contin-
uing the old conditions will agree
with me that whatever the legal
status may be, the railroad com
pany has no moral right to these
lands, but while they are denouno-
ing the Southern Pacific for hav-
ing wrongfully secured possession
of these valuable lands, they are
at the same time asking the gov
ernment to give them the rest of It.
FAIR COMPETITION PERMISSIBLE
A great deal of indignation is
expressed in some quarters that