Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-09-15
DOCTOR EXAMINER
 TO MAKE SURVEY
 STATE OIL FIELDS
Former Arkansas Man Will Return to Determine Possi-
 blllties of Oil Developmnt

l Little Rock, Sept. -- One of tn
 most important announcements mad since the discovery of oil in Ark
 ansas, is that Dr. John C. Branne, i of California, former state peolo
 glst of Arkansas, will make a thor ] ough survey of the state for th purpose of determining it's possibili
 ties for the development of oil ant gas.
 In communication addressed t,
 Commissioner of Agriculture. Jim G
 Ferguson, June IT, 1920. specifyins
 ten subjects demanding attention i, the development of the states re
 sources, Dr. Branner places that o1 report on petroleum and natura gas as second on the list. He was apolnted state geologist of Arkansas oy Governor Hughes thirty-two years ago, mad during the next six wears
 made surveys at an expense to the
 state of $1O0,000, producing eighteen
 volumes of reports which have been conservatlvely estimated worth mil.
 lions of dollars to the state.
 The prospect of again securing the dlstlgulshed services of Dr. Hranner IS due in a large part to the enter, prlse of Governor Charles Ii. Brough who called upon him in San Fran cisco during the recent National Democratic Convention. It had long been the ardent hope of all citizens ot Arkansas that some means might be found whereby Dr. Branner could De induced to return and complete the survey which he was compelled to abandon in 1892 on account of the failure of the legislature to appro- priate funds to defray the expenses of the work
 Dr. Branner assured Governor Brough that he is much interested in the State of Arkansas and its pos abilities, and intimated that he would be willing to forego several attractive offers which he now has under con- slderation, some of them being from foreign governments, and consider a reasonable offer to make an oil, gas and mineral survey of Arkansas.
 Doctor Consents.
 Upon his return to Little Rock, Governor Brough conferred with Fulk & Riffel, prominent oil oper- ators of Little Rock, and urged them to enter into negotiations with Dr. Branner. As a result of cores pondencc covering several weeks, they received telegram last week mak- ing specific proposition. Neces- sarily, Dr. Branner's services come high and Fulk's & Riffel have set themselves the task of raising ade- quate funds, by enlisting the coop eration of individuals and corpora tions who are interested in the de- velopment of Arkansas oil and min eral resources. They expect to have little difficulty in perfecting ar Dr. Branner intimates that his services will be available within two weeks, so that it seems probable he can enter upon the sur vey within the very near future.
 There is a promise, therefore, that the long expected oil boom in Ark ansas will not be much further de- layed. It is the consensus of opin- ion of experts that somewhere in Arkansas there is an abundance of oil and it is universally recognized that Dr. Branner is the man best qualified to locate it. It is said that every important mineral develop ment in the state has confirmed his early reports, including the world famed beauxite fields near Little Rock which furnishes 60 per cent of the aluminium products of the world. pr. Branner also pointed out the pos abilities of the diamond fields of southwest Arkansas, which $10,000,- poo company is now engaged in de- veloping.
 Biologists inform us that all of Louisiana and that part of Arkansas south of the Arkansas river and the has 2 the same general structure as the great American coastal plain, of which it forms a ! oart and in which some of the worlds greatest oil fields have been devel- ,ped. The geological conditions have been pronounced by all experts to be favorable for oil and gas wherever structural conditions exist to catch | md hold these products.