The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-06-29
OIL MAKES Il
MILLI0NAIRES
IN few DAYS
COW PASTURES TRANSFOItM-
ED INTO LAND THAT Is
WORTH $4,000 AN ACRE.
sTENoGRAPHERS AND BOOT
BLACKS, CHAUFFEURS AND
CLERKS BECOME WEALTHY

CALGARY, Alberta, (Canada) i,
June 29.-Oil drills, dozens, doz-
ems of them, playing a tattoo over
the wide stretches of this rolling
foothill country on the eastern
fringe of the northern Rockies!
No music, this, for the Hesita-
ton, but it's rhythm has set the
millionaire, the butcher, the bak-
er, and the stenographer a-whirl-
ing in the diz1iest financial tam
go ever known in Canada.
Twenty-one newly made Call
gary milliOnaires i'm less than Fl
days; shop-girIs snatched by
Midas from the ribbon-counter;
chauffeurs laden with leases val
ued I'm the tens of thousands;
brawny homesteaders chasing to
the nearest town to buy touring
cars! These are some of the ac-
compartments of the oil boom
that has held Calgary in it's grip
since May is, when the first
strike" was made at the Ding
man well, 40 miles south.
Land Values Rise.
Since then thousands of acres
of the most commonplace COW
pasture have been transformed
into coil land" commanding
prices up to $1,000 an acre and
more.
w. 8. Heron, the central fig
ure in the big oil boom, arrived
here some years ago from the
Cobalt mining district in North
ern Ontario. He staked his all
on the acquiring by outright pur-
chase of land in the district. First
drilling was begun on the Ding
man property, adjacent to the
Heron holdings, eliminating in
the strike" of May is, when the
we'll gushed to height of sol
feet.
You can only guess how many
worth
Companies Spring Up.
Brokers' offices opened in ev-
cry block. Bootblacks sold their
stands to lease and stock sellers
for hundreds of dollars. When
the police made war on the curb
brokers, the hotel rotundas be-
came seething centers of excite
ment. Lines formed in front of
the offices of popular companies,
buyers fighting for the privilege
of acquiring the dollar shares
Perspiring clerks tossed the
money into large clothes-baskets
and then called for more bask-
cts!
But the buying powers of the
public could scarcely Keep pace
with the avalanche of shares
ranging in price from 10 cents
up. Companies sprung up dozens
daily, until IL is estimated that
their aggregate capitalization now
exceeds 100000, 900.
Girl Makes Fortune.
In the long, lean months Of
last winter, when Old Boreas, In
league with Gen. Depression, WA
sweeping across the bleak prai-
rie, Jennie Earle had her eyes
glued on the main chance. Miss
Earle was a stenographer In the
office of a man who has since
become one of the leading oil
operators of the district.
Her imagination was stirred as
she tapped the keys by stories
she heard of expected" gushes
and riches. One day she learned
of some government leases about
to lapse. A few minutes later
she had taken her place In the
line at the land office steps.
NightfaIl found her still awaiting
her turn. The doors changed
shut. It was cold, and the men in
front of her dropped off one by
one.
Buys Government Land
Soon she became No. In the
line. Result: For a deposit Of
s1eO she had acquired the min
eraI rights for a year on one OF
the most valued sections OF land
in the oil district. Now she owns
a quarter interest in a $1,000
eco company and occupies thel
post of secretary-treasurer. Stock
has been in lively demand. Sol
Miss Earle's bank account. In adj
dition to her holdings, runs high