The sun., 1919-07-14
TEXAS FARM GREW
OIL AS ELI stocked
And Perkins Of the Imperator
Is Navy's Only Millionaire
81 Coal Passer. ,.a ,...,
NO CHANCE TO SPEND ri
Must Serve 4 Years More as
His Texas Gushers Spout,
$4,000 q Month.

." Lieut. Commands peterson, III
charge of the hreroom force Of the
transport Imperator, from Brest, In
troduced reporters last night, when the
next biggest ship aioat warped into tho
dock in Hoboken, Just vacated by the
sailing Of the biggest ship. the Levta-
than, to Eli Perkins, stokehold mIlliol-
aire. Movie camera men were taxing
pictures Of the two giantesses OF the
sea, coming and departing. out they did
not attempt to immortalize Ell, chietly
because they did not know anything
about his coming and his distinction
as the richest coal-passer in the Ameri-
can or any other navy.
Eli Perkins recalled to the veteran
reporters his namesake, the greatest
ronancer in the newspaper game a
score or more years ago. and there was
n tendency to smile. but this youth,
stalwart and frank. is no romancer. He
came up from his grimy cavern IN q
= mask of coal dust and n sleeveless cot
ton shirt that revealed sooty arms that
bulgeJ with muscle. Only his wavy
blond hair, which had been protected
by a cap before he took It OF to greet
his interviewers. indicated that MS
natural complexion is light.
No Apology for Crime.
Ell did not apologize for his appear
ance, as some millionaires might, and
for moment he was quite shy. He
preferred at first to say nothing more
than that II was true that he was
millionaire or about to become one, or
even, eventually, multimillionaire.
without which no modern realistic ro-
nance seems to be quite complete.
He loosened up under the pleasant sug-
gestion of his superior officer, smiled
several times through the falseface murk
and told how he happened TO be rich.
He was farmer down in Eastland.
Tex, when the war came. growing corn
mostly on eighty acres that he had
bought in 1918 with his own money
earned as a farmer. He installed his
parents, Mr.. and Mrs. C. L. Perkins.
with him on the farm, and when Uncle
Sam asked for men, for the navy in
1917 Eli was on hand. His strength and
bigness made him a fine candidate for
the stokehold and he became a coal
passer chiefly on transports.
Had No Adventures.
His ships did not get blown up and
he had no adventures worth while until
he learned when the Imperator came to
Hoboken on her preceding trip. when a
letter from his father and mother. with
inclosed legal documents for him to sign.
told him their eighty acre farm that he
had hoped to grow corn on indefinitely
was just overlooking with oil: that the
father and mother had on the advice
of friends employed experts to bore for
oil and that they had struck a 5000
barrel gushed that was turning out for
Ell Perkins, sole proprietor Of THOSE
eighty oleaginous acres, about $4,000 a
month.
or course Eli could not get leave OF
absence to look at the gusher and see
his happy old folks. as coal passers are
needed in the naval transport business
and the navy itself very much srst now.
They heard swiftly about the luck Of
the coal passer. and his shipmates all
said they were mighty glad, because ELL
is a real man. observation-disclosures
Peterson added TO this that he also was
n mighty efficient coal passer. After he
had told In simple language his brief
yarn they asked him what he was going
to do with the oil field. Would he sell
It? He said he knew that II was worth
a million, but that inside of year he
would be worth two millions.
He VIII Not Sell.
'.No," he said. with decision. 1T will
not sell II. You know 1 am a Christian.
benefit OF the people of the world and
Christianity"
That is Ell Perkins's vision OF the
future. But at present he has to serve
Uncle Sam, having enlisted for four
years and not for the period OF the war.
which shows that he was willing TO
offcr himself to the limit for his coun-
try. But he is not a bit vexed, as a
good Christian might say, about his
inability to go down and see his parents
and the fact that he has to serve two
more years in the navy.
As nt-Commander Peterson
said: There Is no chance for him to
get out. The first released are those
who have dependents. and he does not
come under that head, and the next
class takes in those who want to resume
their studies at college. Perkins hasn't
n chance in the world"
Eli Perkins, sole millionaire coal
passer ahoat or ashore or up In the air
or anywhere else, will sail this week for
Brest, at ten week or whatever he
gets. and his board to walt patiently
for the passing of coal passing days