Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-29
BY LEWIS L. AUBURY,
State AIineraIogist.

1.-THE next arraignnent by the Cali
fornia state mining bureau of fake oil
companies extends to the Coalinga
field and involves Burr Bros, Inc,
Shelton G. Burr, president; c. II. Tobey,
! vice president; Eugene H. Burr, secre-
tary and treasurer; S. c. Burr, 70. H.
Burr C. H. Tobey, w. G. Reed and
G. r. Burr, directors, operating with
! offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles
and Coalinga, Cal, and 212 Flatiron
| building, New York; resident manager,
A. j. Beecher, office sol First National
Bank building, San Francisco; resident
manager, C. II. NJ. Tobey, GA H. w.
Hellman building, Los Angeles, and r.
w. Preston, field superintendent, Coal
| inga.
Burr Bros, after cleaning up every
thing possible from their operations in
the Coalinga district. and without de-
claring a single dividend upon the stock
sold in any of their oil companies, are
| seeking new fields. Their offices with
the exception of a superintendent, and
elaborate office formerly much in evil
dence in the town of Coalinga) have
with the least possible notice of such
intention become a thing of the past.
PEOPLES THE FIRST
"Of the companies organized and
operated by Burr Bros. the People s
Associated Oil company was the first,
incorporated for $1,000000 under the
laws of Arizona. This company drilled
hole to the depth of $500 feet on gov
ernment land outside of boundaries of
proved territory, which was then
abandoned and the equipment was
moved from the land. The operation
of the territory exploited by this COM
pany is purely a gamble, and as adver-
tised by Securities, Burr Bros monthly
advertising medium, constituted a rank
outrage upon the investing public. In
thus advertising this company in Sc
curities it is stated, in referring to an
alleged upper oil sand stratum passed
through, that it was extremely graft
flying, for it shows clearly that the
formation is identical with producing
properties in our neighborhood.'
There are no producing properties
in the 'neighborhood in question, and
other attempts to produce a paying
well in the vicinity have resulted only
in failure and subsequent abandon
ment, except possibly in one instance
where it is claimed that work is still
being carried on.
THEN n. Y. COALINGA
"The New York -Coalinga Oil COM
pany, incorporated under the laws of
Arizona for 100000, par value 81 a
share, conducted it's operations upon
thirty-one acres of at present moder-
ately producing proved territory. This
company operated under lease from
the owners of the land. the alleged
terms of which, considering the pro-
duction, rendered it's success an abso-
lutte impossibility from inception, and
stamps it as a stock jobbing PROPOSE
tion. Six drilling rigs have been erected
and four wells drilled to an average
u
age production from the property Will
not exceed sixty barrels daily.
1.-THE total deliveries of oil from this
property from June, 1909, to July, 1910,
amounted to 33,542 barrels. During the
same period their storage dropped from
1850 barrels to zero, so that the actual
production of the wells for the thir-
teen consecutive months appears to
have been 1852 barrels, and the total
production for any one month during
Burr Bros control did not exceed, 800
barrels
considering this in connection with
the terms of the lease it can readily be
seen this company operated daily at a
loss. Said lease, it is alleged, provides
that the owners of the property re-
ceive therefrom $50 barrels of oil
monthly, and one-third of the actual
production as a royalty. In addition.
it is understood that 100000 in further
payment was agreed upon, to be made
by the company to the owners of the
land. -
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
"In exploiting this property to pros
pective investors. Burr Brothers or
their representatives resorted to many
forms of Misrepresentation. Some OF
these were false statements as to the
production OF the individual wells; and
in showing to strangers other adjoin-
ing and more productive property, with
the representation it was that of the