Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-18
and Corn Crops Suffer When Oil Boom Hits Southwest

boom which followed its discovery.
But for every town where the big
Doom breaks there are dozens that take
theirs out in excitement lasting q few
weeks or a few months, and then have
to watch the old cat die. There's oil
perhaps, but ii isn't near enough to the
surface, isn't found I'm paying guam
titles. Maybe it'll be found some day.
and then perhaps there will be another
boom.
But meanwhile there's all that
money sunk in the we'll that didn't
produce. And sunk is right. There's
nothing quite so worthless as a hole
in the ground. even If it's a nice round
hole three or four thousand feet ceep.
if there's no oil at the bottom of It..
Big oil companies drill wells as
business. They expect to strike a
certain percentage of dry holes; for
all anybody really knows about the
whereabouts of oil is what the old
drillers say-"Oil is where you And
it," The big company can afford to
miss it now and then.
But the little company--composed
of local capitalists who dig down into
their socks to finance one well-has
to strike oil or so broke.
They don't all have Mike Cohen's
luck. Mike Cohen-this isn't his real
name, but the one he used wasn't.
either-made a business of promoting
oil wells for which Mike himself cher.
ished no great expectations. Mike was
promoter, not a geologist; and
Mikes methods were such that his
own profits did not depend upon an oil
strike. Nevertheless, through sheer
bull-headed luck. he brought in well
after well; the climax coming on the
occasion when he had an airplane
waiting for his getaway, and the well
being drilled for stock selling purposes
turned out 4O.000-barrel gusher.
Oil men still speak enviously of
Mikes uncanny knack, and regret
that other qualities made it necessary
| for Uncle Sam to send him to Leaven-
worth. Mike regretted this. too-he
told the judge he'd sold stock to the
| warden at Leavenworth and would
much prefer trip to Atlanta. IN
which he had never operated.
Digging oil wells and playing with
| leases are among the widest known
| forms of gambling-for the amateur.
| And having a taste for easy money
when you lease your land-seeing a
| glittering vision of prosperity for your
town-isn't enough to transform the
average farmer or small-town banker
into a John d. Rockefeller or even
competent rock hound"
Men who hunt oil as a regular occu-
pation-not the promoters, but the ge-
ologists and drillers-seldom suffer
from the gambling fever. They are
satisfied with regular money. One
driller. in the oil business for IA years
in 4 different States, remembered
famous field with satisfaction because
when they brought in the biggest
gusher the company gave him q S75
Of oil
special reward for his work. which was
worth many thousands to them.
Farmers can make nice round sums
out of leasing their acreage: lease
money is a godsend to poor farming
| community in poor crop year, and
should be accepted with gratitude. AS
| for spending it. that's the farmers
own business. And if he wants to buy
an eight-cylinder car he doesn't need.
at least he has the car. Something
tangible to show for the money he has
spent.
The really foolish way to spend your
oil money is to spend it trying to make
more money in oil.
This goes not only for individuals
but for the whole communities which
| hope to arrive at sudden wealth by a
shorter route than growing and ship
ping prosaic commodities like cotton
| and tomatoes. Temporary oil excite
ment can put quantity of loose
change into circulation. but to make
whole town rich you've got to have a
real honest-to-goodness producing well.
Several wells. A field. Not Just a n.y.
by-night boom.
Booms have bought cars and phono
graphs and diamonds, necessities and
luxuries and thrills. beauty and speed
and many other things. 80
And also
! Boom bought rat trap
Bigger than a gnat trap,
Bigger than a bat trap,
Bigger than a cat trap!
What are you going to buy when
they discover oil-bearing rock under
your back yard?
Promoters more innocent, much
more innocent, than Mike have SUI
fered. too.