Evening star., 1924-12-15
.O|L LCH|EFSLAUNcH
FIGHT ON HIGH TAX
See Steady Trend by States
to AssessIevy as Menace
to Industry.
BY Consolidated Press.

By Consolidated Press.
FORT WORTH, December 15.-.As a
result of the informal conferences
held here during the meeting Of the
American Petroleum Institute, the oil
producers and distributors of the
country have decided to make an ag-
gressive fight against a further In
crease of State taxes on gasoline.
Some States already are assessing
tax of 8 cents gallon, and few OF
these are proposing to raise 1t TO 4.
The tax burden is being borne with
out any great complaint at the pres
ent moment, because Of the low price
of gasoline, but the moment the cost
of motor fuel begins to mount, as the
oil men say it must within the next
few years, there is certain to be
great outcry, and the oil companies
feel they will be heavily assailed.
Therefore, while they do not have to
stand the tax which is always passed
on to the consumer, they feel the in
dustry owes II to the motoring public
to do all it can to keep the tax within
reason.
There is a tendency in virtually all
the States to look to a gasoline levy
rs u means of raising additional reve-
nue.. Judge Amos l.. Beatty, head of
the Texas Company, frankly discussed
the -uation with his fellow oil exec
utiNtS.
Trend Toward High Tax.
Nearly all of the States now i'm
pose tax of some amount on each
gallon Of gasoline sold" he said The
tendency is pronounced and continu-
Gus. The States that are lower than
others are inclined to increase their
rates. Each seems afraid that it may
not obtain it's proportion of revenue
compared with other States. What
will be the situation when production
declines and Is less than potential
consumption? Prices will advance
They will advance, and these taxes
will apply nevertheless and be passed
on to the consumers. They VIII De
just that much added to price
already considered high for prod
uct that must be had. The taxes are
not so objectionable when the price
is low, and in most States they serve
an important purpose. But when
prices go high, without the taxes, it
may be found necessary to revise the
rates downward. What the tranc
can stand now 1t may not stand then.
1t is always difficult to reduce taxes,
and we may see the time when tfese
taxes will oppress consumers on the
one hand and cut into our sales on
the other. That will be bad for the
industry, pau lOI lHe PuDiiS ohd Ds'o
for the State"
Going After Frauds.
The oil men Of the country are go
ing to try to protect the public In
another respect-that of Riding the
Industry of fake and fiashy promoters.
This is one case in which the CO.
operation of the Government al
Washington is desired.
There are no actual statistics
available, but the statement has been
made here that the chance OF a
"wild-catter" drilling in hit-or-mlss
fashion bringing in producing well
Is just one in several hundred. Even
where geologiSts have surveyed d
field and reported conditions faNor-
able, chances are enhanced to only.
about one in fifty-certainly not more
than one in twenty. The best advice
given to public that is lured SO
often to invest in oil ventures which
are little understood. is to buy stock
only in a company which is in a con-
tinuous business and capable of drill
ing wells over a number of years.
Such a company should get definite
return, according to the law of aver
ages, but those who back a company
or an individual prepared to drill only
one or two wells, are indulging in
hazardous speculation for high stakes,
like betting on horse in a race of
q hundred entries, and have no Just
cause for complaint if they fail.
Two New Gushers.
Yet the romance of oil is far from
dead. Only this week. in the new
field at Wortham, Tex, two gushers
have been shot" running thousands
of barrels a day and worth millions
of dollars. Here the field has been ex-
plored by the geologists- the students
of rocks and sands of land conforma-
tions and 'domes." and success at Ger
tain points seemed almost guaranteed.
Yet but q short distance away from
the gushers another well has been
drilled deeper and deeper. with the
prospect that at best 1t may be moth
ing more than a "pumper," from
which a few barrels a day may be re-
luctantly extracted at high cost. The
geologist is not infallible; he cannot
tap the rocks and produce oil at will
If his task of finding oil'' was an
exact science, oil would be less valu-
able than it is today. Many dry hole
tragedies have had as their requiem:
1.-The geologist said there was OIL"
But speaking of ''domes" in connec-
tion with oil, the name of a certain
Teapot was not mentioned during the
entire session of the oil men. That
dome does not mean as much in the
industry as the public has imagined
The position of the institute is that
a Fol scandals III not fouob he in