Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-31
OIL ACROSS THE BORDER
Mexican Situation Still Insecure and
Administration Continues to
Fight Shy OF Problem

IN SPITE Of all the efforts Of Secretary
l. Daniels to guarantee an adequate supply
of fuel oil and gasoline for navy use, the
whole petroleum question remains unsettled
and every user of an automobile, q truck
or motorboat, to say nothing Of the big
shipping interests, with their oil-burning
vessels, is likely to feel the effects Of the
growing shortage.
Secretary Daniels, of course has been in
terested only in the navy's supply. An
nouncement is now made that the problem
on the Pacific coast has been solved but
what will now 60 to the navy must be taken
from the general consumer and the general
consumer himself has long been crying for
more.
Ever since the start Of the war American
oil interests in Mexico have been trying to
make the Wilson administration pay more
attention to the great petroleum fields about
Tampico. There is an almost unbelievable
situation there. 1t presents the spectacle Of
a district financed and largely managed by
Americans, capable with the wells already
in operation of supplying every need of the
navy and more besides, and yet being con-
sistently avoided by the authorities Mt
Washington.
Our fellow countrymen have been ruth
lessly robbed, murdered and maltreated down
there with impunity and great glee on the
part of the "greasers" the Stars and
streets; the Mexican rabble has been per-
mitted to parade with big banners urging
the public to all forms of violence against
Americans-and the government at WASH
ington has done practically nothing.
Nowhere in the world is the Wilson ad-
ministration so heartily despse6 as along
the banks of the Panuco and Tamesi rivers
and on down the coast as far as Vera Cruz.
1t has been made very evident in the
,,,sn Af hasa hat thnu
pect no support from the present authori-
ties at Washington because these authori-
ties are seeking to avoid becoming embroiled
in a Mexican quarrel.
WET this stretch Of Mexican coast coun-
L try is the petroleum marvel of the day.
Before the war, the average shipments Of oil
from the Panuco river were 100000 bar
rels month. When we got into the fracas.
tank ships were, for some mysterious rea
son. diverted from this run in spite of the
urgent need of oil. and the shipments fell
to about 100000 barrels monthly.
Yet the wells. which were at that time
in operation. were capable of supplying over
1,00O.OO0 barrels day.
Since then other wells have come in. ~
the great operation at Port Lobos has been
put through and the potential production
OF the district cannot be far short of n mil =
lion and half barrels every day of the year.
But the shipping situation is such that
the wells cannot be allowed to flow at full
capacity. There is probably not valve
in the whole Mexican oil country that is
more than quarter way opened. The oil
could not be shipped and there are not sufi :
cient storage facilities.
These wells cannot be entirely closed.
Mexican oil comes through at such a tre
mendouS pressure that, when the Casiano
No. 7, for instance, was shut off. geysers of
oil spouted up out of the soil for a dis
tance of 100 yards about. This WE'LL by the
way. is one Of the show wells of the dis. d.
trict. 1t "came in in September, 1910.
with a pressure said to have been go
pounds TO the square inch. 1t has been
flowing $4,000 barrels a day ever since.
only partly opened, and the pressure has not
diminished n pound. Over $1,000. 600 was
spent before this we'll was completed. but
it has paid for itself many times over. It's
capacity is probably in excess of 5000
barrels day.
During the time it has been opened
Casiano No. Z has, it is claimed. produced
more oil than any other we'll in the world.
Another great Mexican spoutpr, but a
younger one, is the Cerro Azul. with n
capacity of no less than $50 1000 barrels
of oil daiy-a flow which has not, Of course,
ever been fully utilized.
The Potrero Gel Llano is another great
gusher capable of supplying SO, 900 barrels
a day when fully opened.
TN THE old days oil tankcrs used to run
l. into the Panuco river and take on half a
cargo. Then, being as deep as the shallow
river channel allowed, they took tank barges
down the coast into the protected waters
behind Lobos island, and finished loading
there. 1t was an excellent harbor. brt. of
course, this method was slow and costly.
Later the Panuco channel was dreGged deep
:. Ill ~.
up to the last company dock and the Lobos
island anchorage was abandoned.
New wells brought in farther south, how =
ever, again attracted attention to this good
bit Of deep water. and the big island pro-
iect was put through, carrying the oil by
immense pipe lines from the wells to the
coast and creating a city where before
had been only the scrub sand plants of the
shore.
Still further south. at TrXpan, there Is
another oil port which is ready for greater
development. Here the tank ships have 70
lie off about two miles from shore and make
fast to two mooring buoys, but in such a
way that the hawsers can be Immediately
slipped if one of the characteristic sudden
Mexican northers comes up.
Once moored they pick up another buoy
which is fast to the pipe line, the hose Is
connected, a whistle is blown and the station
on shore commences to pump.
WITH all this tremendous supply of pc
w troleum and probably as much more
not yet tapped, there really shoulG be no
| reason for the United States navy to worry
about its fuel All the Americans down
| there ask is enough ships and decent
| prospect Of not being murdered without a
| chance to fight back or, at least, to arrange
| for their widows to get some compensation.
This chance to fight back is their prnc-
| pal desire. Every American Jackie who
gets shore leave in TampicO is warned that
the slightest sign of trouble will mean the
permanent withdrawal Of all shore leave for
| everybody. Consequently, no American has
| been allowed TO fight, no matter how bitterly
he NAV be insulted And the Mexicans have
| learned to love the sport of batting the
| gringoes, for they know they are safe II
| doing so.
| The result is a deeply rooted contempt fol
America and Americans throughout thu
whole oil district. The poems openly boas
that any Mexican soldier can whip any three
Notwithstanding the Texans. They hav,
| hoIesoue rpsntft for Texans But the,