The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1917-09-26
INDUSTRIAL NUMBER oKAHoMAN AND TINES sEprEMBER 1917

their securities can therefore b placed
In practically the same class o. rail-
road securities. The earnings Of the
companies are limited, but most Of the
companies have been able to maintain
ertditable dividend record. and the
stocks shcw . liberal return on invest
ment at the present time. A
Now, about the future Of these va-
rioas classes OF securities. Il NO Longer
sesns necessary to dwell a lsngth on
the future oi tbe oil businsss. All
AUTHORITIES agree that the use Of oil will
ccntinus to expand The present d.
velopnnent cf the American industry has
been dvs Ia . hses measure 10 the
sudden and tremendous expansion IN
the We Of the internal combustion en-
Gine ~ motive power for pieaiure AUTO
mobiles, motor trucks, farm tractors,
and spesdy marine erah, The growth
In the use Of motor vehicles has hssn
one a the lntefasting phenomena In
modern life, and In no direction hu its
influence been more significant than
On the petroleum industry. Tho saturl-
tion point has beenf subject Of much
dlscussioa among Interests CONNECTED
with the motor industry. but thsrS
seems TO Be no prospect Of this staes
being reached In the near future. Tie
increase In the uss Of sutomobiles nov
appsafS 70 b maiutaiaing record
considerably abow shs avssase yearly
increase ofpast ysars; and In the aear
future the replacement Of used esrs b
likely to approach the present rate Of
production, The development OF the
motor truck and the farm.trsctoe field
seems to have been hardly started, while
the advent Of the aeropisne rerhains Z
factor Of undetermined influences Ia Ii
present stage Of development
Wide Uss Of Pstrolsum ProAusta
Anpther consideration OF prime In
portance from the investors viswpoiut
IL the adaptability Of the oil lndmtry n
the complex development Of industrial
and social needs, ' In the early stasss
Of Its development the industry was
concerned chiefly with the production OF
Illuminating and lubrieating OLE. Stop
bv stsp Q wider use was found for ".
rious by.produe,s. bat ics more than
fifty years illuminating oil remained the
basic staple Of the industry. A alreadv
stated. the development Of the Internal
combustion engine, with gasoline % Z
motive power, ersatsd . new stsgs oi
development A newer and possibly q
more radical development may be seen
following the conclusion Of the war.
when liquid fuel 10 expected TO largely
supplant coal ~ Z source Of motive
power In marine transportation.
One consideration which hes more oe
less governed ke course OF investments
toward oil securities has been the poe.
ability Of . slump In oil prices at some
time In the future. The price oi crude
oil will always be subjected to eonsld-
erable fluctuatioa. n for M otker reason
than that this industry, unlike any other
Of 10 magnituds, opsrltss with hardly
more than half years supply Of raw
material ln reserve. But there sppesss
to be good reason to declare that the
day Of cheap oil 10 . thing Of the past.
The level Of pricss In the period pre-
vious 10 TIE great development iu saso-
line consumption has no bearing whas-
ever upon the cruds.oii markets Of the
present day. The demand for high
Nsde oil has reached such proportions
that only through improvements In r.