The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1918-02-07
AN OIL MEETING
TUESDAY NIGHT
Business Men Discuss
Plan to Boost the
Leasing.
WANT 80 QUARTERS
A Drilling Contract Can Be Secured
If Sufficient Acreage Can Be
Blocked.-Work Started to
Secure Leases.
Shall we help?


Shall we help?
That was the question discussed at
"a called meeting of the Liberal Cham
ber of Commerce held at the Office Of
J. w. Baughman Tuesday evening.
The meeting was called to order
by Ed. Kindschi, vice president of
the Chamber of Commerce.
]. C. Mahoney explained that he
had been for over a year working to
block a bunch Of acreage north of
town. He had succeeded in getting
leases on something like thirty-two
quarters, gut lacked thirty quarters
in getting the necessary acreage to
induce a drilling company to put
down a hole. He said that he had
an agreement with company to put
down a $500 foot hole if he could
block his acreage, but that unless the
business men of the town should get
back of the proposition and assist
him he could go no further and would
have to abandon the project. He said
further that it would be easy to get
a contract for 1000 foot well, but
explained that such we'll would not
be test as the oil, according to his
observations, was further down and
that it would take hole from 5000
to $500 feet to find it.
At the close of his talk Mr.. Ma
honey produced a letter which was
read by E. D. Cooper, as follows:
"Wichita, Kans., Jan. "a, 1918.
<'Mr. Geo. M. Hunter and Others,
Liberal, Kansas.
s'Dear Sir: In reply to your re-
cent letters and concerning conversa-
tion recently had with you, will say
that your proposition to hage a we'll
drilled north Of Liberal is very in
teresting to US and we would be very
glad to drill a well in that locality if
the lay Of the land is favorably re-
ported on by our geologists. Unfor-
tunately number of land owners in
The locality where you have taken
some of your leases have not leased,
leaving large gaps in the block Of
territory which would have to be
closed before any work was done.
"Now if these gentlemen will sign
a contract or option that they will
lease their land on condition that we
will commence work on the we'll with
in 80 days from the date favorable
geological report is received by US,
we will have our men get on to the
ground as soon as possible, depending
upon the condition of the weather.
We cannot afford to spend any time
-t1nt, YSv.nvnosfsnxa ,,v,Ia
we know that this territory can be
had in the solid block. On the other
hand these men are not tied up at all
unless we'll is drilled in their neigh
borhood, which we understand is
what they all want.
"It will probably be two weeks be-
fore our men could get to Seward
county, as the serious weather here
has delayed the men doing work
which is all under way. But if the
land owners will do their part, we see
no reason why we'll should not be
drilled in your neighborhood, and let
me add that no reliable company or
group of men will take hold of this
proposition until they know that ev-
cry piece of territory in that district
will be leased to the people doing the
developing.
"Yours truly,
"E. E. WALKER"
Following the reading of this letter
Mr.. Hunter, who has been associated
with Mr.. Mahoney in getting the leas-
es, made short talk. He said that he
had conference with the president
of the company represented by Mr..
Walker and that when he showed him
the map Of the leases he was told
that he had no block, that it was
joke; that it would cost a lot of
money to drill hole the depth that
t-ould be necessary here and that if
they could get their territory blocked
they would drill the we'll when the
territory had been favorably passed
upon by their geologists. This gen.
tleman said further, according to Mr..
Hunter, that he believed there was oil
in Western Kansas and that with
favorable conditions he would like
to drill here.
e. C. Warfel, who has won much
recognition as a geologist, made a
short talk, and explained the gelogi-
cal conditions here, which he said
made the outlook favorable for big
find Of oil or gas. He said that the
structures here were better than in
the Eldorado and Augusta fields. He
said further that history of the oil
business would reveal that nine out
of ten anticlines produced oil, and
that both himself and other we'll
known gologists had discovered a
very pronounced anticline here. He
predicted that if oil was found here
that this would be the largest field in
the whole country. What Mr.. Warfel
wants is to see an actual test made,
and if Walker drills it will be made
and the people know what it found.
Attorney Clyde R. Commons was
the next speaker. Mr.. Commons said
he did not claim to know anything
about anticlines or geology, but he