Evening star., 1924-11-20
sees OIL INDUSTRY
/ IN SERIOUS PLIGHT
poherty Denounces Waste,
Says Public "WilI Pay for
All Eternity"
~ the Associated Press.
isI lsy-r . .

Hs the Associated Press
4 LEV ELAND. Ohio, November 90
Etcnry l.. Doherty of New York pub
ff utility operator, addressing the
fauonal Petroleum Marketers' Asso-
ftation's annual convention here yes
sefday. said the whole oil industry is
IN bad way and the public. not
kho"ing enough about il to insist on
correction. will pay for all eternity"
fht rric" Of the industrys wasted
zatur2l resources, it's decentralization
fho its increasing competition.
{ lf our industry" Mr. Doherty said
sis on proper basis and is being
fr"perly conducted cannot see why
! should be constantly in trouble and
ply ii does not enjoy greater public
eoniiderce and better financial credit.
~" scarcely emerge from one Gov
erhm"nt investigation before another
On" is inauaurated Our chief occu-
patton is answering missionaries
sent out by some branch of the
Government. We are not criminals.
hut If We cannot change these condi-
fIons, then | think we ought to admit
that We are just plain boobs
Sees Basic Error.
ITO my mind our business is
DaStcally wrong. and |, can never be
made right until we can provide q
dependable supply of oil. To do this
f" must change the laws under
Which We work. The only other prop
ertN or product from property which
Is under laws similar to the laws
governing the production of oil is
Wild birds and wild animals, and
what has happened to them is rapidly
happening to our oil
oii and gas belongs to the man
who can capture it, ana this means
that we have absolutely no control
over our production. Discovery of an
oil pool results in a frenzied effort
to exhaust it as rapidly as possible.
without regard 10 this market
IF We do not get our own house in
order sooner or later some one else
dynamite or an ak.
According to the United States
Geological Survey, the remaining pc
tro'tum reserves i'll this country
ar" approximately nine billion bar
rriS Last year we took from the
ground approximately I50.000.00o bar
r"iS We are Devastating the re-
serves in this country at "A rate
which would exhaust them in about
l. years.
This country has endeayored for
years practically to supply the
worlds needs for oil cheaper than it
could be supplied from any other
source. We must raise the price of
oil and prevent the exhaustion of our
American pools by supplementing our
domestic supply with foreign oil.
We have now had an uninterrupt-
ed overproduction of OIL for four
years. OF course. ii cannot keep up
forever. but even i | We're sure to-
morrow that conditions would right
themselves from the present Situa-
tiCn | would not be wiIlin, to allow
the business to he base on mere
matter OF chance. When overpro-
durtiOn ceases u1y Y Immediately
face more serious condition of not
having sufficient American oil to sup
port our inNeStmt ntS or to amortize
them.
Mr.. DoherE explained that much
OF the excess production and waste
of petroleum in late years was due
to the efforts of each small owner
of q property to set the oil out from
under his land a, soon as it is dis
covered there. and to remedy this
he proposed the following program
Oh legislation:
First-That no one should be al
lowed to drill for oil without first
Receiving Il State permit to do so.
Second-That nobody be given Il
permit to drill until an exploration
district had been established.
Third-That drilling operations be
restricted and required TO conform
to an approved plan.
Fourth-That royalties be paid to
trustees OF the district and by them
to the individual land holders. ac
cording to the calculated amount of
oil and gas underlying each mans
land