The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-10-03
ARE THE PURCHASING AGENTS
TRYING TO REPEAL THE LAWS
OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND?
Are They Not Misleading Employers as to the
Real Tubular Situation?

wanted This IN done without OBJ
'lL1GATION on the part OF the needy
oil Companies and often enough
market conditions change and the
: broker In "hung up" with n lot OF
material on hand that he cannot sci
unless at an actual loss. II cost him
more than n bought at Supply Com
pany prices and yet he makes less.
For energy, ability. brains and
money--he Is rewarded with an evil
| reputation and money loss. Io is
called "Bootlegger and Robbcr."
Is This Misrepresentation
The purchasing agent says TO his
employer; "The mills are bootleg
EinR' their pipe 10 brokers Instead
OF giving II TO supply companies and
we cannot get anything in spite Of
eKer,ing every effort" II sounds
plausible 10 the employer--so the
purchasing agent retains his Job.
There IL. however, another side 10
this story
There is n natural shortage OF ma
teriai at the mill. due to lack OF
cars TO obtain material for manufac-
turing the pipe and AZ u result most
mills are running but so per cont.
Tho shortage of cars TO ship the
manufn ctured pipe has been 30 great
that whilst the mills were running
their yards OF the material manufac-
tured Then again the mills In
good faith have made contracts with
many Oil companies who have or !
dered and paid for material for
which they have no use. owing to
dry holes" and other conditions.
The owners OF these mill contracts
can and do dispose or these useless
contracts to save themselves
the mill must deliver the material 10 |
the new purchaser. II they made Il |
a practice 20 cancel orders at OPP
tion Of purchaser an impossible and |
risky business situation would exist |
for them.
Natural Tubular Shortage.
A natural shortage OF tubular ma
tcrial results-snd on top OF this
many big oil companies, fearful OF |
the future. order material far In eN- /
cess OF their immediate needs, and as
the material comes I'm unload n In |
their private yards. The supply com |
pany often fHvors the big producer /
with the result tho small producer |
must go out OF business or buy from |
a broker who has cut In on the Pur- |
chasing Agents ring. Were every |
carload sold by the broker sent to |
the supply companies, 90 per cent Of |
the material would be IN the yards /
OF per cent Of the Big OH Com |
panies within a few days and the /
same Tubular shortage exist for tho |
small producer who represents s5
per cent Of the oil companies.
Now 1t is the business OF the |
broker 90 find OH companies who |
have an excess OF material for sale |
and who will sell this excess material !
To needy companies. The broker |
earns his commission and tho needy |
producer gets his material at fair
market price. A five-barrel well
more than offsets the price paid
and II II IL a thousand barrel well, |
the broker gets no more, II 1t Is a
dry hole" tho needy producer sal
wages about so per cent OF his tub
ulAr loss.
Brokers business. ..
II is further the business OF the
broker to hustle around TO locate this
material, whether It il In the mill
yards through buying a mill con-
tract making u mill contract months
In advance on a "hunch" that It will
be saleable finding perhaps. another
broker who has some In another
Hcinity--because tho average pur-
chasing Agent does not do II himself.
II his typewriter or telephone is out
OF order and II requires initiative,
energy. knowledge OF sources, money
and abilty--the broker beats him t.