The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1918-03-28
OIL INTERESTS MERGE

Oil investors throughout the state
are deeply interested in the an
nOuncement that comes from New
Orleans telling of the consolidation
OF the Louisiana Southern Oil and
Gas Corporation and the Southern
States Oil and Gas Company. 1t
was affected this week and the new
concern is now doing business at
$50 Gravier street. II will be known
for the time as the Southern States
Oil and Gas Company.
In many respects this merger will
mean a great deal to the man who
expects to put few dollars in oil.
In the first place the new company
vii have the advantage of a nearly
doubled capitalization and the adj
dition of several strong and promi-
nent officers and directors. DR..
Thomas Stark, a pioneer oil man
of this state who lives at ThidOdauX
is president of the Southern States
Company.
By far the most important item
in Connection with the amalgamation
is the fact that drilling will begin
in the Anse lie Butte field within
ten days. The derrick is up and the
rig is in place to start the first test
we'll. Oil already has been found
there in paying quantities and is
now selling at SO barrel. This is
considered a high price for Gulf oil,
heretofore regarded as a low grade
of petroleum.
Not only in Anse lie Butte, but in
TerrebOnne will drilling begin right
away. Not later than April Is will
see the first well going down in a
territory that promises to uncover
the largest pool in the United
States. Charles Dickensheets, man
aging the field operations for the
Southern States Company, believes
the Terrebonne field is the most
promising in the United States.
Don Farnsworth who was manag-
ing director of the old Southern
States will be general manager of
the new concern. He has been con-
nected in a financial way with the
Democratic National Committee for
number of years, was formerly
secretary of the Chicago Association
OF Commerce and interested in Red
Cross and government financial en-
terprises.
IF the people of New Orleans
thought they were in the oil business
| fifteen years ago when they bought
stock in a 100000 company that
held one acre in the Beaumont
field they were badly mistaken"
Mr.. Dickensheets declared the other
day They were only playing into
the hands of shrewd Wall street
stock manipulators. However, 1 do
not mean to infer that stock selling
il is. Look at the holders of the
original Standard Oil stock today;
they are the richest peple in the
world. Many of the small producers
who wanted to sell their holdings
to the Standard and who had to
take stock for them were greatly
surprised to find that the stock
brought them more revenue than
the actual money they would have
gotten.
There is a homely saying that
there is nothing certain except
death and taxes. We should re-
member, however, that figures have
been published to prove that 95 per
cent of all commercial enterprises
fail. This high percentage of fail
ures is found in the merchandising
business and in various other lines
of commercial endeavor which we
are too apt to consider as consera-
tive, while we characterize oil in
vestment as speculative.
"The fact that statisticians tell
US that 95 per cent Of commercial
enterprises fail does not interfere
with the continuation Of commerce
and industry. People go right on
starting new stores and new mer-
chandising enterprises of all kinds,
whereas the same people, because
they may have at some time bought
an oil stock that did not pay, will
denounce oil investments as wildcat
speculations, and even worse. The
fact is that under modern methods
of Oil development in the hands Of
practical operators approximately
IS per cent of the oil wells are
producers.