The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1917-12-13
GOING AFTER OIL
WITH A BIG RIG

The fact that new rig has come to
the city and is soon to be erected to
delve for oil or gas on the John l..
Boles farm, west of the city, has
started more talk regarding the prob
abilities of striking oil or gas.
Twenty-Five years ago, United
States geologists noted lines of anti
clinal structure through this section
E. G. Warfel, attorney Of this city,
came here in 1915 and recognized the
structure. He at once began talking
oil, but the people who had been here
for many years and those who had
only recently become property hold
.ers failed to see the logic of his talk,
and they doubted his knowledge of
what the earth contained in this Sec
ton.
Yet Mr.. Warfel taught geology in
college for eight years, is member
of the Academy of Science of Kansas,
and in 1894 wrote an article which
appeared in the Academy of Science
proceedings on the anticlinal struct-
'Nhre and pointed out the locations IF
the Augusta and Eldorado oil fields
before they were opened.
In order to satisfy local people re-
.garding the findings of Mr.. Warfel in
regard to the formation here, DR.. J..
W. Biede, professor Of the University
of Indiana, and considered one of the
most eminent authorities on gas and
oil geology in the United States, after
thorough examination, verified the
report. DR.. Biede announced that
there is oil here and that is what Mr..
Warfel announces.
A little later Mr.. Warfel organized
a company and succeeded in getting
the following interested: ]. E..
George, C. E. Woods, L. V. Gardner
and ]. B. Craig, of Liberal, and o. E.
Love and j. X. Timmons of Tyrone.
The company holds something like
sixty thousand acres of leases of the
best anticlinal structure in this Sec
ton. During the past year, Mr., War
fel endeavored to interest the Stand
ard Oil company in the project, but
the managers of that company gave
the information that they paid lit
tie attention to geological structures.
The Empire Oil & Fuel company was
sought to become interested, but it
did not care to invest in this territory.
But when the local company began to
pick up few leases the two compan-
les, as we'll as the Sinclair, Gipsy,
i. Garter, Producers, and many other
istandard subsidiaries, got into the
,Meld, and the Standard and Empire
Oil & Fuel companies have today
millions of acres under lease. And it
appears that the findings of Mr.. War
fel may again be verified; and, fur
ther, the well known companies ap-
pear to be somewhat interested.
A few months ago, there was a
small rig planted on the John L. Boles
place and while the well was sunk to
a depth of few hundred feet it was
not the intention, evidently, to do
anything startling in the oil business
and the drilling was abandoned.
But the arrival of this new outfit
looks as though something may be
done, and Mr.. Warfel is sure that if
the field is developed it will be as pro-
ductive as Tampico, Mexico, where
wells producing 250,000 barrels of
oil day are found.
1t is also asserted that the Stand
ard has concluded that this is pretty
good field and has appropriated some
thing like 100000 for geological sur
vey in Stevens county And this is
not all the expense that the Standard
has made in this part of the South
west, and after all it appears that the
Standard has some faith in the geo.
logical surveys.