The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-04-06
a recent extended interview
Laws Are Needed.

IT
Laws Are Needed.
Nothing is doing the oil business
more injury than widespread sales OF |
worthless oil stock, and nowhere -
there more need Of blue-sky laws to
deal with such promotions. 1t is in
fefesting to note that most or these
takers try to make 1t appear that the
Survey has Endorsed their
and predicted that oil VIII
be obtained from them. AS a matter
of fact, the Survey does not make re-
ports on private holdings and It's re-
ports as to oil fields which 1t has ex-
amined are never given to promoters
or to anyone else in advance CT pub
Iication. II people who are solicited
10 buy oil stocks on the strength OF
alleged Endorsement by the govern
uneft would insist on seeing publica-
tfons in which it is distinctly stated
that oil may be found in the field that
is being promoted, or would Write 70
the survey at Washington inqulring
II there are such publications, the
loss of their savings would be avoid
Fraudulent Advertising.
aThe cIeyerness OF some OF these
promoters Is nothing short of mar
veIous. Recently a pamphlet has
come to my attention advertising So
called oil properties near Moorcroft,
Wyom.. and stating that the lands
owned by this particular company are
surrounded by naval petroleum re-
serve. AS matter of fact, the gov
eminent has never made and does not
intend TO make q naval reserve IN this
part OF wyoming. Certain lands In the
vicinity were at one time temporarily
withdrawn pending examination as to
their oil character, but after biologists
of the survey had examined them the
entire area was classified as 'nonoiP
In February,
more recently a widespread adver-
Using campaign hes been carried on In
the newspapers by a company claim-
ing to own oil lands east Of Denver.
Thousands of dollars must have been
expended in fuIl-page advertisements
worded with consummate cleverness.
Prominent In the headings is the
statement, Read what your Uncle Sam
thinks about it,. Throughout the adj
vertisements are paragraphs most
skilIfully framed to convey the inn
preston that government biologists
have examined this property and fe-
ported upon It favorab1y, although mo-
where is such statement directly
made. So carefully are these para
graphs worded that after having read
them once or twice you are almost
willing to take oath that government
biologists are enthusiastic over these
lands as a rich oil territory, when, as
a matter of fact, no government geo.
logist would risk ten cents on their oil
possibilities. Notice, for example, the
cleverness of this:
Fine Juggling Of Words.
sAlI of our operations are based on
orr thorough Investigation of the Uni
ted States government report on the
Denver Basin The governments own
biologists ought to be reliable author
ity on what is in this region. They
are unprecedented. They have no axe
to grind. Independent geologtsts, en-
gineers, and oil experts agree with
the government investigators. On the
strength of the information obtained
there has been wild rush to secure
land in this region" Who wouldn' t
consider this statement that govern
Inent geologists have investigated and
reported favorab1y? The letters sent
ont in response to inquiries contain
many such skillfuIly drawn sentences.
in a recent letter to sucker one OF
the officers states: But reports kept
coming so persistently and always
backed up with the statement that the
emitted States geoiogtst had made in
vestiqations and reported faForably,
That finally, after hearing all this for
a long time, we were induced to look
up these geological reports and see
for ourselves, and sure enough we
found the elaborate map made BY the t
Government experts, together with
their reports on the Denver Basin
ae neglected to state what those maps
land reports show, but who whould no
I tfce such an omission in q letter cal
kcuIated to make a man expect sudden
wealth overnight In another piece
Of advertising which these men seno
ont. it is stated that the land lies
within the United States geological
survey of the Denver Basin and IS
described by eminent geologists as be-
ing valuable petroleum lands.
wouldn't the ordinary reader conlude
mat the eminent biologists referred to
we've those Of the g0yeTuuaent.
Report Cited Years Old.
seThe, fact is. the geological survey
made a careful study of the Denver
sasin some twenty years ago and pub
iigIed SIC results IN 3 book known as
Monopraph %. AT that time there had
heep no successful oil deNeiopmentt
a1,ywhere in tho region examined ana
there "A no nention In the menogrhpn