The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-11-08
Many Different Opinions Expressed
Should Not Look to Law.

III ~ AlilIS NllNh NiN NuSN 10 NbAANN'
Whether the law can be enforced
or not is an important question to
several producers in the field. 1t
looks now like the legislation design
ed to benefit the small producer has
been an ignus fatuus. The small man
has depended upon the law to protect
him and he has not gone to work to
build tanks and to depend upon him
self for his own production. Here
is the way pointed out to this paper
by which the law will fail. If the
commission grants the request of the
producers and sets the minimum price
at 55c, the pipe lines will shut down,
oil cannot be placed in steel. and
some one of the companies operating
in the field which has a charter un-
der some other state will take the
case to the federal courts, and there
obtain an Injunction against the state
commission enioining il from enforc-
ing price-fiXing law, This will put
the case in the channels of the fed
eral courts, where it will remain for
four of five years before it is finally
adjudicated, and it will never be
of any benefit. to Healdton producers
but might be of benefit to the other
fields if the law is sustained. If that
view of the case is correct the Heald-
ton producers should not depend upon
their conservation law but should
build tanks to hold their crude.
Governor Williams is quoted as hay
ing said that minimum price on
crude could not be fixed by law,
and Judge Henshaw of the commits
sion is. quoted as having said that in
his opinion the commission did not
have the right to fix prices unless
eXtortion was being practiced. AS
the law sees the oil bushes it seeks
to have the by-products come as
cheap as possible to the great body
of consumers, and cheap oil in the
field means cheaper petroleum pro-
ducts. In other words, the law looks
after all the users of petroleum pro-
ducts instead of the few who produce
crude oil.
There are a number of persons in
the field who would like to see a
price fixed. They believe it would re-
suit in equalizing the runs, that the
price would be more profitable to the
producers and also it would break
the contracts with the Gainesville
line. They say that if the commits
sion has the power of price-fiXing that
the producers cannot make sales at
a price below the figure set by the
commission. They point to an an
alogous case in railroading. Where
the interstate commerce commission
fixes a certain price on hauling
freight a shipper cannot make a
contract to obtain freight shipments
for a lower sum than the price fixed
by the commission.
While there are many who want
the state conservation law given a
thorough testing, there are others
who want the field turned open. They
make the argument that the price
will continue to advance right along
now until another field is brought in.
They believe that oil in storage will
bring competitive buyers and will re-
suit in higher prices. All the field
workers and teamsters want the
field opened up. One man said II
the field is shut OWN that the coun-
try would be full of idle men. Mer'
chants and all classes of business
men at Wilson, Ringing and Ard
more naturally want TO see the field
kept going. They are getting a good
trade from the oil men and the field
workers. and they do not want to
lose that trade or to have it dis
turbed.
The lawyer who is interested in
seeing questions tested out would
like TO see the commission make the
order to see what would be the re-
suit. This class Of lawyers see a
world of beauty in big legal questions
and lose sight many times of the
effect that litigation has upon bust
ness.
The commission has stated that II
would do anything it had right TO
do under7the law to help the small !
producers. The commission has a
right to say whether the price-fixing
faatnrn Of tho Ian ie anfnrcaahi.. ~