The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-05-06
THE on SITUATION.

THE on SITUATION
rhe conditions in tho petroleum industry are
Tar from satisfactory No ono disputes that
fact Every material interest OF Tulsa and vi.
clniy is vitality effected too, But those two
facts do not. we think. argue that the oil men
In particular, nor the TULSA public in general.
should indulge In unreasonable and grotesquo
gestures as a consequence.
The cause OF the effect being suffered is pre-
oisely ms natural IN the case OF oil as Il In in
tho case OF cotton. wheat livestock and other
basic commodities There is n tremendous sur
plus Of everything at the moment: a surplus
that In ready to move to markctmust movo
to market before It can he changed into legal
tendcr--yet finds market capable OF abb
sorbing It.
II IL merely begging the question for any
man to assert that there is oil surplus.
measured against the worlds ultimate needs.
AZ much be said OF the cotton which rotted
In tho fields or that now clutters up the cot-
ton yards OF the south OF wheat that In bug-
ing tho graInerlcs OF the wheat growing farm
ors. etc. Ultimately, unless production goes on.
tho present plethora will be followed by an era
OF great pauoity. But for the time being tho
surplus does exist. Therefore prices decline
We say the conditions existing are az under
wtandablo and az rational az the simplest phe-
nomcnon OF nature. And we might add. an Inn
mutable. We would still he within the facts
rho perpiexing feature OF the whole Industrial
and commercial situation is this; Where has
the market. az represented by daily demand.
gomez why not people buying'
We don't propose going into that. because In
stantiy we would he In a field OF violent con-
troversy Suffice to say that tho market has
largely disappeared, the people are not buying
and values have dropped sickenngly. II viii
afford no pleasure to anyone TO say 1t, but since
Il is the ruth let It he stated they will con-
tinuo to drop too, until the people begin buy
ing In sufficient volume TO constitute n genuine
market.
But inexplloablc as tho sudden disappear
ance OF a market has been, as dlsconcerting as
the failure Of the people TO purchase Is, neither
in more strange than the condition Immediately
preceding Where few months ago, aid
the demand come from? From whence came
all the money that being expended without
rhyme or reason? The pendulum having
swung TO an impossible angle in one direction
must needs go nearly as far in the opposite di'
rect,on nav that IL has started on the reverse
swing
OH values were the last to feel the shock
And 1t is very debatabe whether they have
depreciatcd yet either TO their fullest extent
or in proportion to the shrinkage that has
taken place in food commodities.
rhore are certain things to be nationally done
that offer some hope for lettering the indus
try, TOO r}yinR to tho state authorities for
laws or edicts grotesaue orders IN not one
OF them II the recoleotions OF Gushing days
and political interference with the oil industry
are not sufficient to discourage oil men from,
undertaking so impossible thing then Of
course they are at liberty to pull down the pill
lar. of the temple But they should under
stand that they have no more right to ask that
the state engage in a campaign for thor eco
nomIc relief than have the farmers and food
producers Those interests are taking their
medicine with remarkable and praiseworthy
fortitude Some way other they seem to ac-
cent tho viewpoint that it in not a part OF the
states proper duties to attempt to control the
iumutable laws Of economies, And IL the state
should undertake TO tell them that they must
stop planting crops growing stock until
starvation forced the populace TO offer war
prices for such commodities they would re-
sent It quite as much and quite as certainly as
would the popuiaoe.
lf the oil man ~ producing oil at loss II
should require no corporation commission "a
tell him he is very, very foolish, He should
stop producing oil for the time being; because
he will last longer by pursuing such policy thar
he possibly hope to II he continues to op
crate at a loss. He may not continue making
money: there may follow a season in whcl
ne will make no money. That seems 10 be tn
painful situation in which most OF the in
dustries OF the country are now, due to tn
fact that most OF them are getting back I