Bisbee daily review., 1918-02-07
DEPARTMENT OF
 NAVY WILL TAKE
 OVER OI WELLS
Plans of the Navy Department to Take Over Certain Oil and Gas Wells Explained to Senate Naval Committee.

WASHINGTON. Feb. 6.-Plans of the navy department to take over by presidential proclamation and to op- crate all oil and gas wells on naval petroleum reserves numbers one and two in California. were explained to- day to the senate naval committee.
 Senator Swanson. acting chairman. explained that he had drawn a bill after conference with Secretary Dani- eis and Attorney General Gregory and that its purpose was to settle all dis putes with private claimants which have tied up the lands for several years. It was desired. he said. to give the president power to offer a price even to claimants who presumably had no legal title to their wells Should they refuse that Pfice, they could have recourse to the courts If they lost there they would receive 75 per cent of the original offer
 Officer Is Witness.
 Lieutenant Comm nder N. H. Wright. in charge of oil reserves for the department was the chief witness He said that if the navy took over anu Isal MCAlN Ou number two. existing contracts with various California municipalities would he carried out If necessary addition al gas wells would be drilled. The present wells. he said. would produce sufficient oil to last the navy for two years of war and eight or nine subse- quenI years of peace and in addition WOuli furnish a reserve of 25O.O00 900 barrels
 It developed that the stock of oil in California Is declining so rapidly that a serious situation is threatened Com mander Wright said passage of the proposed bill would enable the navy 10 develop its oil field to meet the sit ustiOn if the extensions by the private owners failed to overcome the short age The navy intended. he said. to keep up the California oil supply and to trade it's oil al the pipe lines for refined products at suitable delivery points for the fleet
 Wants Leases
 While the senate committee was in session the house public lands com mittes held a hearing on the Ferris oil land leasing bill Benjamin J. Rice. representing the ROxana Petro- leum company. a fOreisn-Owned con cern. testified that his company favor ed legislation as to leases and royal ties that would enable il and other independents to compete successfully with the Standard Oil company.
 Rice emphaticaliy denied that there is any German holding in the interests of which the Roxana company is a Dart. the Shell Transportation and Trading company of England and the Royal Dutch Development company of Holland The Dutch government he said. Is a partner in the combination. The Roxana company. he said. owns 10000 or l5.000 acres of oil lands in Oklahoma, 20.000 or S0.000 acres in Texas, 5000 or 4.0OO acres in Kansas: 1.50O or 1000 acres of patented lands in Wyoming. and has an investment of more than S20,OO0.0O0 in California, with pipe lines in that state. one in Oklahoma and another under eOnstruc- tion- The witness said all of the ROxans oOmpany's products not sold in Jhis country are shipped 10 the allies
 Mir Rice said if the government turned oil lands over to private com panies internationally II could not control the waste oil resources Waste could be avoided, he insisted by a graduated lease system Concerning the Osage field in Wy Oming. Commander Wright said it was tied up under trust agreement. but added that oil from that field as well as California were needed because Oi the possibility of -an Atlantic wal and a Pacific war"