Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-08-15
ONLY ASK FAIR PLAY


the present situation of the indrpeh-
dcnt TrtlhorleS in TINS liclu. IN your
issue of the lllh you WIN lIho, on
your OIL news page, one OF thcsr ar
tcles. These articles are ruled with
gloomy iorbodlnss ana dlH'ouIaglnE
prophecies which would lead those
who are not familiar with the Sltua-
ton to believe that financial dcSlruc-
tlOn not only impeudcd hut already
had happened TO the Industries re-
terrcd to, and that the only present
signs Of life remaining were the few
feeble wigglcs of the tail which every
boy understands must continue until
sundown
1t Is "A question whether a discus
sion Of the matter should be under
taken or whether 1T is not better to
allow 1t to pass unnoticcd, but for
fear that the statements made should
be taken seriously il is best perhaps
that some reply should be made.
1t is perhaps safe to presume that
the continuance Of the great industry
which has been the subject O6 these
articles Is to be desired, especially as
it is probably in the amount Of capt
tai invested the value Of its output
and its Importance from the stand
point of railway transportation earn
ings among the most important, If
not the most important Of any manu-
featuring industry in the state, and
for this reason alone the articles mem
toned demand that sane and TCa-
sonablc reply should be made TO at
least some of the statements.
Tho articles i'm question stated that
the present alleged prCdiCnmcnt Of
the Independent refiner was CliCiting
no sympathy from the producers for
] thnt l1lrIpp ha hniult n
tho flush production in the Cushing
field and before the pipe line fHCili-
ties i'm that field were sufficient to
carry all the oil produced there, these
same rcfincrs like a thief I'm the
night. stole quietly into the preserves
of the producer and seduCed him into
granting a contract to the rcfnCr for
the oil he was producing and could
neither control or save or sell at
prices below the market price as
posted by the Prairie oil & Gas Co,
II this statement Is true and the at
titudc Of the producer at this time is
one Of enjoyment of what he believes
to be the hopeless prcdicmment of the
rcrner, it Is the only correct state
ment contained in the paragraph, and
the paragraph proves nothing except
the truth Of the generally accepted
statement that gratitude in business
affairs is limited to the period during
which the favor for which gratitude
should be felt is being extended. and
also proves now very crratiC indeed is
human memory II seems to be true
that instead Of the rcfiner taking adj
vantage Of the condition Of the pro
duccr he responded with all the
energy and ability and money he
could command to the frantic appeals
Of producers who were absolutely
shut out of any market either good
or bad and who, contrary to the
statements made I'm the article In
question. were not required to make
better prices than the posted price
but urged and plead and insisted that
his oil he accepted on almost any
terms hv which he cOul1 dispose of
IT, 1t is a fact known 10 and will be
admitted bv every fair producer that
rcrInCrs did not demand prices below
thc market until the producers them
selves had named such prices and 10y
contracting with one consumer com
DcIlcd all others to demand the same
concessions as a matter Of business
necessity and self protection. II re-
ouires hut LITTLE intellect to under
stand that one refiuor could not pay
a producer tho full market price
when ne knew that his connection
was being supplied by others at
wide marGin below such market price,
and TO do so could only result I'm
h,n1,ruptcv It might hc well for
those trade Journals to call TO the
minds Of the producers tho fact that
for a long pcriod of time. from the
time tho Gushing field assumed large
proportions. until the recent period
when the pipe line facilities grew to
n marnitudc which permitted the
handling Of the entire output Of tho
fold. the idcpcndent rcfincrs in this
field I'm one way and another. took
from them and found for them
market for approximately 10000 bar
rcls of crude oil per day. every barrel
or which would have had to go into
steel storage at an expense Of 25 cents
prr barrel a daily cost Of S17,5OO,
monthly cost Of S525.OGJ or a yearly
cost Of $4,000. 900. VIII, considering
the statement as being correct thut
there arc about 200 cmpty $1,000
barrel tanks I'm the Gushing field to-
day would be represented by that
number of stec- tanks which are
Junk. and we are also entirely within
the facts when we state that this con-
dition continued for that period OF
time To the dislntcrcstcd onlooker
the lust cause of the present ALLEGED
ioy Of the producer at the expense of