The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-16
Early Oil History Was
 Full or Buisness Romance
How Indians Obtained Oil From Seneca Lake in New York by Soaking Blankets on Oily Surface and
 Squeezing Them Over Stone Jars
By JAMES F. sLATEN.

F. SLATEN.
 oughly soaked his coat with the oil, ap- parently running it.
 Applying to a friend engaged in oil re- fining as to how to restore it to useful ness he learned so much about the large profits in the refining of oil that he decided to engage in it, resulting Tn the formation of the firm of Andrews Rockefeller X Go, from which eventu- ally sprang into existence the organiza- tion known as the Standard Oil com pany.
 Previous to this William Rockefeller was in the employ of a grain milling cc mpany in Cleveland as clerk and treas urer, but upon the advice of John b. started in company with a friend, the oil firm of William Rockefeller x Co, but, which after a short time conson- dated with Rockefeller. Andrews X Clark and which corporation soon became the leading one in the oil business. The drilling of oil wells all over western Pennsylvania developed new fields and in a few years Parker's Landing, Petro- lia and the Butler districts were show ing large wells as also was the case in Clarion county. especially about Fox burg.
 Strong indications of oil in Wood ant Wirt counties in West Virginia, 30 to 50 miles northeast of Parkersburg, resulted III QTluilE pctllS ot1i lSt iit loo- anu oSN eraI good wells were brought in, result ing in an oil Doom" being started in West Virginia, and it's becoming a heavy producer of oil from in 1863 down to the present time, although the territory seems well nigh to exhausted in most lo- calities. and new, large pools a thing of the past.
 Indications of oil in the Tuna valley in McKean county, Pa, attracted some attaptfop Nfr 1269-5 raelltino in the driIl- ing in of a well there by one Job Moses. a manufacturer of pills at 76 Courtlandt street, New York city, with a production of about four barrels per day. Not sat isfied. he drilled in another showing five to six barrels per day, and both requir- ing pumping. There was not much doing in that territory for the next year or two, as McKean county was looked upon as small we'll territory. but some large wells were drilled in during lS67-S, especially about Duke Center and in 1870 the Brad ford district experienced the beginning of lasting "boom." that put it on the map and in print as an extensive ana profitable oil field.
 PROSPECTING IN OHIO
 About this time Ohio had also drilled in some very good producers, and 1t caused extensive development, especially in Han cock and ', ood counties in northwestern part of the state, and down about Ma rietta in Washington county and in Mon roe county adjoining 1t. Of course so extensive production brought about large reduction in prices of crude petroleum, as also of the refined oil and petroleum by products, much to the advantage of the Standard and other refining corporations, and the latter were rapidly formed to build refineries and refine and distribute the products to purchasers.
 It was about this time that the Standard Oil company began it's obtaining of lower rates than its competitors througl the relating to it of certain percentages of the amounts of freight paid by it upon oil it shipped enabling it to sell at lower prices than competitors, doing away with most of the profits of the latter and rais- of the people desired to see fair treat ment and square deal to all those en- gagged In the oil business.
 Public sentiment became so strong against the Standards relating that it installed a corporation called The Great South Improvement Co.," which it utl- ized for the collection of its freight re- bates.
 Of course the Standards competitors gave it wide publicity, resulting in it's dissolution in few months, and the at- tempting of collection by other methods of it's rebates. Antitrust legislation soon became quite general, and 1t was but few years until decision by the supreme court of the United States was rendered under the Sherman antitrust law, order ing the dissolution of the .ctandard oil company of America.
 Freight rebates being criminal act under the federal statutes, there is hardly ever a case ound which give the inde- pendent oil companies an equal show in the shipments of their product agaginst the Standard Oil company, as was learn ed by Birmingham citizens in recent in vestigations of the oil business in Texas Very expensive wells are the rule In Texas, and right now Allen county and several other shallow well counties in Kentucky are paying much larger per centages of profit than the average in Texas are, or so claimed by expert geo. logists and operators to the extent of more than 30 to 35 per cent. We will at a later date (to avoid this article wears.ng the reader by undue length, take UP other interesting points in oil matters both economic. statistical and