New-York tribune., 1919-11-09
Oil Wildcatting
As a Fine Art in
The Texas Fields
How the Swindler Plays the
Game and Keeps Within
the Law, Despite Passage
of "Blue-Sky" Legislation
speriaI corvs.pc~d-noe

Special Corvespo~dence
AUSTIN. Tex. Nov. s-Notwith-
standing the accumulating evidence
that systematic oil we'll swindles are
being perpetrated on an extensive
scale in Texas. no way has as yet been
discovered for bringing offenders
within the reaches OF the law. Il has
been found that the so-called blue
sky" .aw Of this state IS practically
worthless. so far As preventing the
organization Or irresponsible oll com
panies and the sale of stock which has
no value.
It is in the wildcat well-drillng game
that the biggest swindles are pulled
off. II has been proved time after
time that IT IS possible for man or
set OF men with MI initial capital OF
S25 900 10 easily make profit os
si00, 600 TO 5000 900 within a period Of
q few months at the game Of drilling
wells IN wildcat territory. The money
n most instances comes from the
people OF the community in which the
fake we'll : drilled There Is hardly
county IN Texas that has not been
the scene OF one or more well-driit-
ing operations Of thls kind. OF course.
there are great many legitimate
companies that are drilling or have
drilled wildcat wells, and in many in
stances these holes have had TO be
abs ndoned. for one reason or another,
before they were corr pieted. IL is the
professional swindier Of whom the
land owners and people generally are
beginning 20 complain loudly Enor-
nous blocks of stocks OF these swim
ding companies have been sold 20 peo-
pie outside Of Texas.
J. c. Burke,t. of Taylor County.
describes how the wildcat oil well men
operate:
"All at once there will appear upon
the streets of the town tao or three
strangers, and in a few days they will
let it out in some way that they are
making investigation 30 know II there
are men in the section who will lease.
,heir land for oil purposes. They walS
about among the farmers ard ranch
men and soon secure $1,000 or 10000
acres tor a dollar an acre or less.
Then thcy send fer an expert geo.
osist To 30 over the land and locate a
place 20 put down a we'll He makes
an examination and gives favorable
report In short time a man is en-
p.oyed to put down Wei. and in a
few weeks the derrick Is put up, and
the owners Of TIE eases begin 70 make
ARRANGEMENTS 20 sel leases at high
prices After the well ia down three
or four hundred fac-. ;he owners OF
the leases make - known tnat the
log of the Wei IS first class Just like
the wells AT Ranger. 'adao or some
other oil neld Tins creates a little
more excitement. and soMs of the
leases that cost dfty cents or a dollar
now soil for i've or teH dollars per
acre. Bat the greatest excitement has
not come Yet. Wait until they get
down about SOC feet and then see
what Will take place.
"All at once the report goes out like
wlidhre over the town and the coun-
.rv where the Well Is located that they
have struck showing Of gas. and
the excitement runs little highc r
and leases 90 up again.
"lf you are not careful bit will
get hung about tAis time, but It may
be n little later on.
when they set down about ssss s.,
further. then the thing comes off jusi
right. they strike a showing Of oil
By this time the OIL dealers are wild
with excitement and the leases go ul
again.
Now they get ready and put a guard
about the we'll and allow no one ex.
cept some OIL expert To 20 about II
Soon afterward bit gets hung or a
casing Is pulled apart. and there is a
siX-wceks' lay, and during this de
lay the owners ee' busy and sell a.
severai thousand dollars per acre near
the we'll.
Just as soen as the excitement be-
gins 70 die down they send out re
port that the olt - hung and II Is i'm
possible - pa.l r and they take down
tne derric. aad ieare the country with
a me bag OF money and me commu-
nifty in wonder as to why they did not
get more than "a 'sno~inE OF oil"
The taker, gui just what they went
after the people money. and when
tney co. tAAt they pulled Up and eft.
One. ti a hundred times IL may b.
tr4t suea men really and OIL and the
neighhors make money, but IN mos,
cases Tie WEI is axe and poor meu
and women are stripped OF theis
money