Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-04-02

! tlon or refining capacity. This surplu'
| has had "a tendency to steady the oi
| market but as the stock was con
trollcd by the larger companies u
/ has been withdrawn from tho opci
market Light is thrown on this sub
! icct by tho report Of Secretary Lane
i OF the interior department, in whici
/ hc SAYS "Thus. while there IS mar
| lscl shortage Of Gushing crude, which
/ ih directly responsible for some OF the
! independent rcfincfs paying pre-
mium of from 20 to 80 cents barrel
above the quoted market price, other
companies have not exhausted their
1913 surplus Of Gushing crude. Since
these larger companies have. In fact,
larger stocks than year ago II fol-
lows that with them the shortage oi
gaAolinc-rich crude is at most only
threatened ana TO the extent that
these companies are using their 49, >
surplus. the threatened shortage *
not yet factor in increasing the cost
pf gasoline
In this report. the cause Of the pho
nOmcual rise of the price of gasoline
Is divided into siN headings, as fol
lows:
brief review of the oil Industry
viii aid IN assisting an understanding
Of the present situation. Pass over
the first test wells sunk In Pcnnsyl
Nania IN 1893, the subsequent use OF
the crude MS IA medicine and It's use
without refining as an illuminant IN
crude lamps to the time when II was
discovered that by distillatiOn tn"
crude could be separated into prod
ucts of higher and lower grades Of
more OF lcss volatility. This distill,-
ton led to better Illuminating prod
hII
were drug ON the market and for
years were turned into the streams
until this became u menace to the
communities In which the early re
fncrcs were located.
Records Of the crude oil show that
IN 1853 1t sold for $50 per barrel Of
~ gallons. this being the usual size
unit The prices fluctuatcd between
this figure and SO per barrel up to
1874.
Between this year aud 1914 the
maximum price reached was Si.23,
the minimum 80 cents. Between
1895 aud 1914, the highest price was
S. 60 and the lowest price 60 cents
During this period. the price Of crude
oil showed steady Increase. in spite
Of temporary fluctuations. New uses
were continually being found for the
various products of crude oil and the
demand apparently kept slightly
ahead of the supply. resulting in
steady and healthy Increase.
In any study of the crude oil situa
ton. the peculiar fact is at once ap-
parent that the actual production or
oil at the wells is unknown. even to
the government The word produc-
tion, therefore. as used in the paper.
refers 10 marketed production only.
oil Fields of Country.
The government divides the oil pro-
ducing sections OF the country into
ten fields. as follows:
Appalachian field, including all
areas of oil production in southwcs-
tern New York. western Pennsylvania.
southeastern Ohio. western West Nr-
ginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Lima Indiana field. embracing all
areas of oil production In northwes-
tern Ohio and eastern Indiana, ~
well as a few scattered pools of linz
tied extent In the western part of the
latter state.
Illinois field. including tho prin-
cipal oil producing area in the south
eastern part OF Illirois and ccattcrcd
pools In the southcentral and western
parts Of the state.
Continent field. including all
areas Of petroleum production in
Kansas and oklahoma, irrespective OF
the character or grade OF oil produced
I'm those states.
North Texas field. embracing n
OF detached pools In Wichita.
Clay ShaCkclford. Palo Pinto. Navar
70 and Williamson counties In tho