The sun., 1913-11-30

mount world interest. Consider
with the Gulf Of Mexico. watch ad-
rs IL. and together they wash the
DIS that largely hold the present and
Immediate future Of fuel oil for tie mer-
chant ships. railroads and navies of the
world. and the Caribbean besides is the
antechainber of the Panama Canal
On the Mexican Gulf. Louisiana.
Texas. the Atlantic coast Of Mexico con-
stitute the greatest group Of feeders Of
heavy petroleum to the world
On tho Caribbean Sea, taking the
sinner curve from tho peninsula Of
fucatan to The islands OF Trinidad. past
the coasts of Guatemala. Honduras,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica. Panama, CO.
lombia and Venezuela and run
ming around the outer curve of the West
Indian Islands to Hayti, Santo Do
minso and Cuba. lies the land Of prom
lse OF petroleum. rich in indications If
ecant Of development At about the
middle Of the Caribhean's continental
coast line IA the Panama Canal with
all its possibilities as n marke, fo.
petroleum. as we'll as a nav highway
between the oceans to the markets OF
TIE Pacific.
For three centuries the Caribbean was
the great fighting pool of the world
Buccaneers and pirates swarmed there.
lured BY the prospects OF looting the
richly laden Spanish caravels. II was
the water door whereon swagsered the
buliies Of the Spanish Main. Now 1t
furnishes water carriage to slick gem
erallsslmos Of world finance and their
mechanical forerunners prospecting for
petroleum and driving keen bargains
with needy republics for leave TO drill
tho rocks Of the lands in search Of oil
more valuable than the gold and pearls
that Columbus sought
It b ven to know At the start that
che Caribbean oil fields arc Just now
mostly like the snakes in Ireland. whero
ehsro are no snakes. II 10 the Tom It'd
Alsrs groud(d Of great petroleum pos
eibfiities. Hence II - and has been long
AAuntsd by the concession hunters.
gsutry who ON the smallest sign. on the
barest hint dropped tn the smoking
room Of . steamer or the verarda Of
tropical hotel win forthwith seek out
the governing powers Of these Latin re-
publics and make bids and crave options
on the exploitation Of great territories
II may DO gold or silver or copper or
magnesia, but Is Just as iikely to be pc
troleum. We have little true idea of the
vast extent OF these territories, Judging
them by their size on our little maps,
their meagre population and their rel
stively low standard Of living. Their
suiers (probably the fruit OF revolu-
eton). often sharp enough in way,
If lad
undcve.oped riches they control. but a
clear consciousness Of their need of
ready money. Hence when the conces-
sion hunter comes his path is a. frst
absurdiy easy. Many great fortunes
have thus been practically given away
60 clever adventl.,ers. But the native
annette grows by what II feeds on and
future concessions are harder TO get and
hieher in price. What the Latin peoples
OF these rich countries and their rulers
want to Learn n that their ultimate
proflt and advance lie in throwing, open
She opportunities their lands. waters and
Forests offer to tho world on equal
terms TO all. Exclusive privilege
actual monopoly may be sold for
ANAL sum in hand, but they limit the
returns and clog the feet Of advance and
expansion.
1t was not surprising TO learn that
ALE the cables and telegraph wires
mere thrilling with the monopolistc
ooints claimed for the Lord Cowdray
concessions in Colombia that another
hand Of concessionaires, headed by
Charles F.. Otis of New York and Ches-
tar Thomson OF everywhere were seek
sn~ funds in London for similar conces-
siona I'm Colombia. Put them all on
q. level. Mr.. Colombia give no one
monopoly. The capital that will now to
nil vfil not be able to open all the wells
but lot them come with their rigs and
thsi- drills and got to work. the world Is
yelling for oil.
pefors We take q peep at the Carib-
man on possibilities let US take good
iook at the oil pools Of the Gulf Of
Mexico. where oil II actually spoutins
A. n rate II never spouted before on
earth. and 30 form some idea Of the po-
tentialities in tho countries further
south.
First let us lay down some general
basic information about these sources OF
oil. The usual "sign" out Of which
hope grows Is surface seepage. The
dark, greasy fuid oczes out OF the
ground and shows oftenest along the
beds OF rivers or srnaii etreaiH1' fiHils
thus in cracks or seams through fold
on fold Of rocks from the oil bearing
sands below. How near to the surface
these sands may be and what class OF
oil II In and in what quantity can only
be told BY tho drill. Now from the
bases Of tho great mountain ranges
from Alaska to Patagonia on the Pa
ciho - we'll a. the Atlantic these seep-
ases arc found, often in the rolling hill
country, often In the coastal plains.
! In the ffty-four years since Drake
| drove his we'll and found oil at depth
Of sixty-two feet along OH Creek. Penn
syIvania, they have driven tens of
Thousands OF wells even TO the depth
Of over 1000 feet in tho endeavor to
answer the questions that simple
smear and smell Of oil on the surface
$ propounded-
In xsxico they have found It at IN
average depth Of 1000 feet. On the low
eoastal plain between the sierras on
~ Wsst and the Gulf Of Mexico on the
east the surface Is broken by wooded
hills and hillocks formed over upthrusts
H seuptive or igneous rocks. Here In
ne STATE Of Vera Cruz and possibly In
~ q the state Of Tamaulipas. the