Evening star., 1924-09-01
OIL REGION STREWN
WITH LOST WEALTH
Millikan's Storage Tank One
Instance of Money Lost
in "BIack Gold"
Special Dispatch to The Star.


CLEVELAND, Okla, September l.
Oklahoma's oil region is strewn with
the wrecks of fortunes won but never
realized. They go to account for the
$500 which statistics show is sunk in
the earth for every dollar wrested from
1t In net oil profits.
For instance. there is the story of
Bill Millikan built II or Is years
ago when he brought in several
big wells on the southwestern part
of the townsite of Cleveland. This
tank covered half block, was of
great depth and at one time was roof
ed. 1t was a forerunner-spectacul
for its time-of the vast concrete and
steel reservoirs now in use for oil stor-
age in the new California fields.
When Millikan struck oil the Standard
was paying So cents barrel for crude
tn this field as against the $3.50 and
even more that certain grades have
commanded in recent years. Millikan
Swore the Standard nor any other con-
Germ should force him to give his oil
away - he would store his production
and wait for better prices, which he be-
lieved were on the way.
Hard to Stop the Flow.
If Millikan could have shut down his
wells he would have been happy. But
tt was as hard to curtan production
once established then as it has been
found in recent years, when demorali-
Zation has more than once threatened
the oil industry because of rapidly
shifting price scales. 1t was as danger
Gus to the well as to the owners
pocket
If other producers on adjoining leases
kept their wells running, they would
soon be able to drain all the oil and
the owner of the capped wells would
find them dry in time. That was why
Milikan was compelled, he thought, to
build the big earthen tanks.
Millikan emptied 1G0.0 600 barrels of oil
into his tank. Much of it remained
there for good-or rather bad If all
that Millikan put int othat tank had re-
manned in prime condition and been
sold advantageously it might have be-
come worth 100000
1t is doubtful however, if as much as
$4,000 was ever salvaged from the
wreck Mllikan forgot his tank, as oil
men generally are accustomed to forget
such things, and proceeded to build up
fortune in other parts of Oklahoma.
The Cleveland oil was of high
grade, but continuous exposure to the
atmosphere caused the gasoline con-
tent to evaporate quickly and the oil
to deteriorate much in quality. In two or
three years the oil in Millikans big
tank had congealed and hardened
until it reSembled badly Scorched
fried mush or blackberry jam. 1t was
hardly good fuel oil and scarcely
worth 10 cents a barrel.
Sold for Axle Grease.
Then, in 1912, the Flat Rock Oil
Company dared Millikan to set price
on his big tank of black axle grease,
with the result that the owner un-
loaded his property at poor fire
sale price. The Flat Rock Company
cut canals in the embankments and
recovered such oil as would flow
down the side of the hill. When this
exhausted, pumps were thrust down
below the flow line at various places
in the reservoir and more oil taken
out.
BY this time the roof and the heavy
girders that spanned the reservoir
had collapsed and fallen in, and the
black sea on which no boat could sail
was filled with the debris of broken
timbers. The Flat Rock Company
reached the conclusion that nothing
remained but axle grease material
Axle grease, however, was one of
the cheapest commodities salable-
then little boxes in which the grease
was sold were worth more than their
contents. The Flat Rock Company
was lucky when an employe stuck d
hose down in the hard muck and
turned on the steam, to see if he
could soften and loosen up the mess.
The steam turned part of the muck
into fuel oil and formed little wells
that gradually filled and We're pumped
out. The steam process was contin-
ued and hundreds of barrels of oil OBJ
tanned.
But after a while even steam made
little headway and the old reservoir
with 10 or Is feet Of black much
was abandoned. 1t wouldn't burn, it
was too slippery to be hauled away
and, besides, no one would provide a
dumping ground even if it could be
removed.