Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-17
DEVILS DEN SWINDLERS
OPERATE IN NEW YORK
Advertise Properties as Contain
ing GuShers of High Grav-
ity Oil Production.

Several montshs ago a fake concern
called the Standard advertised in the
east that it owned land located to the
north of the Devils Den district and
adjoining another company's property
which it said had 7000-barrel gusher.
The company was advertising stock at
10 cents, but after an exposure the
manager moved to New York, where he
later placed the stock on the market
at 25 cents through a fiscal agent.
There is no reason why such an ad-
vance should be made or why 1t should
be on the market at all, as there Is no
gusher in the vicinity, as the adver-
tisement states there Is.
The California Standard was a gem
of truthfulness as compared to what
has Just come to light through an ad-
vertisement in the New York Curb of
the Mephisto Oil company. Following
is a portion of the reader:
"J. Bliss Dudley, president of the
Mephisto Oil company, in the Devils
Den district of California, wires to
friends in this city that the casing has
arrived for we'll No. 1. which is within
$50 feet of the gusher that was brought
in by the DEVILS Den Consolidated.
Drilling will be started at once, and
in a few months the management ex-
poets to be in the same grade Of oil
as that brought up by the DeviFs Den
Consolidated. This oil is 81 gravity
and sells for $1.37 {. barrel. 1t is much
sought after by the Standard Oil COM
pany and other refiners, and as re-
suit of the nature OF the oil the Stand
ard has bought about 21,000 acres i'm
mediately around the property of the
Mephtsto. This company owns 100
acres of land which runs with the Oil
sands as described by the United States
xrrI11 I.n nh n
sink 100 wells on this property"
The advertisement of the Mephisto
says:
FAKE GUSHER TALK
"This company is putting down its
casing on No. well, now being drilled
only 15O feet distant from a 20O0-barrel
gusher we'll of its next neighbor. The
oil is high gravity and finds ready mar
ket at $13O a barrel. Compare this
price to the the 60-cent price of the
heavy gravity fields and figure the
difference in the profits
"There Is no overproduction of 81
gravity oil, the kind the Mephisto's
next neighbor found only $50 feet dis
tant from we'll No. 1; and Mephisto
should bring in a gusher of similar
gravity oil inside of 120 days"
Now, isn't that about as unmitigated
a falsehood as ever emanated from the
pen of an unScrupulouS promoter!
There is no gusher or 7000-barrel
producing we'll, or even a 00-barrel
well in the Devils Den district Just
now. Not even between Coalinga and
McKittrick is there well producing
a regular 10O-barrel flow, and the au-
thor of the advertisement and the
reader connected with 1t uttered
falsehood of the rankest kind, and he
knew it when he wrote 1t.
The Devils Den district is one of the
most promising in the states undevel-
oped region, and will no doubt at no
distant day be classed among the pro-
ducers, but just now there is no pro-
duction, and the misrepresentation
of the management of the Mephisto OIL
company in attempting to induce the
poor sucker to separate himself from
his coin in a rank wildcat proposition
will hurt the Devils Den section to
such an extent that it will require
many months to re-establish confidence
among the investing public and thwart
the promotions of legitimate propo-
sitions., ..
The citizens of Satadena should or
ganize and give J. Bliss Dudley, the
all-around faker and windjammer, a
taste of what he may expect after he
has been separated from this mundane.