Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-09
WORLD OIL FARLEY
| ISSUES ARE VITAL
Curb on Production Among
Questions Likely to Come
/ Up at Tulsa.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

About the time the presidential cam
paign is tapering to its thrilling finish
the United States Government will be
hest to the worlds first international
Petroleum Exposition 1t will be held
at Tulsa, Okla, which claims to be the
coil capital" of the universe, and VIII
last from October 20 to 90 Fifty-one
different nations were invited to par
ulcipaSe in the exposition the Depart
nent Of State having approached them
through diplomatic channels In pur-
suance of an act of Congress introduced
by Senator Eorah of Idaho.
Although the principal purpose OF the
exposition is to exhibit the mechanical
progress achieved in the production OF
oil, it is hoped and expected that issues
of vastly greater Importance to the IN
dustry will develop at Tulsa. These
issues chiefly concern ways and means
for "stabilizing" the business Of ex-
tracing oil from the earth and market
ing it throughout the world.
Production Curb Seen.
American experts are at one with the
oil authorities of Europe and Asia in
believing that the output must be curbed
by international agreement unless
mother earth is not to wake up some
fine day and find herself face to face
with a shortage of the product now SO
vital to her existence.
Walter G. Teagle, president of the
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, re-
Gently returned from Scotland, where
he conferred with Sir Henri Deterding,
the hsad of the Royal Dutch Shell Oil
Co., and Sir John Cadman, head of the
Anglo-Persian Oil Co. These two Euro
pean-Asiatic combines, together with the
Standard Oil Co., practically control
the international oil situation, though
there are important independents like
the Sinclair and Doheny interests
which have extensive holdings in vari-
Gus parts of the globe. Mr.. Teagle an
nounced on his arrival in New York
that 1t was agreed at the conference that
uneconomic production of crude oil the
world over "is progressively Injurious
to the entire petroleum industry" The
Standard nagnate added that "in the
end the consumer of OIL" by which
nova days the automobile owner Is prin-
cipally meant, would be adversely af-
fected."
Board Makes Survey.
The Federal OH Conservation Board,
which came into existence early in the
Coolidge administra ton, has been Crap
ping With plans for stabiliz!ng the oil
industry. It appointed committee of
nine" to survey the petroleum industry
in all of its far-fung ran1ifcation ct
home and abroad, and make recomnen-
oations Abram F. Myers, who is
member of the Federal Trade Commits
sion, is one of the committee of nine"
and has recently published a summary
of its findings to date. Mr.. Myers says
1T would seem safe to predict
that sentiment is crystallizing in the
industry and in governmental and
legal circles in favor of the program
our committee has recommended. That
program appears to constitute a fair
compromise between the extreme of
classification and naturalization, which
have been advocated in recent years.
The matter is one of paramount i'm
portance Its correct solution will be
of Immense public benefit, both from
the standpoint of conservation and
sterilization. The measures proposed
probably go as far toward those goals
as public policy will permit From
any point of view. it is not merely de-
sirable, but vitality necessary, that the