Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-11-18

ly American institution. The industry
was born in America, as the result of
American initiative and enterprise, Oc-
casioned by national NECESSITY. When
there was more kerosene than was nee
essary to light all the lamps of the world,
and a large amount of cheap gasoline
accumulated American genius provided
the internal combustion engine to absorb
all the gasoline. When there was an
excess of low grade fuel, American genius
developed commercial diseI engines.
When there came a war and the nation
needed oil, the American oil industry
responded with the greatest flood of oil
in all history. The reason was that there
was an INCENTIVE for the initiative
necessary to develop new supplies of
crude. It is GAMBLING matter and
the American Independent operator, par
ticularly, is willing to gamble, if pro-
vided an incentive. There is no doubt
in the world that the American oil in-
dustTy could and would arise to any
new emergency of this kind. But this
would not be possible under the Cole
bill, in our opinion.
Look at cOmmunistic Russia, with its
vast resources. We're American Inde-
pendents turned loose in Russia today the
Russian oil industry would FLOOD Ger
many with oil. But under totalitarian
government this iniative, this willing
ness to risk loss, is notably absent, and
Russia is without adequate oil in an
emergency.
Individual initiative unaided by gov
eminent bureaucrats, has taken care of
waste, because every oil operator rec
ognizes oil as VALUABLE. He has de-
velOped methods of increasing the pro-
ductfon per acre-nOt because of any
quasi-patriOtic desire to enrich the fu-
ture generatiOns-but because he wants
the PROFIT therefrOm. He has decreas-
the cost of producing a barrel of oil,
through improved equipment made avail
able by Yankee genius-nOt the genius
of foreign countries. He has trebled the
VALUE of a barrel of crude by get
ting THREE TIMES as much gasoline out
of it and converting the residue into
TWO HUNDRED valuable products. Not
ONLY that, he has made a gasoline of
such perfection that it will drive a car
TWICE as far as formerly. And yet the
COST to the public has been CUT IN
HALF.
Could a muttOn-head politician, i'm
spired by the desire to help 1.-THE pee-pul
and the unborn generations, do much?
We doubt it.
Not only that, the American oil i'm
dustry has become the greatest factor
In the support of American institutions in
all history, through vast tax revenues.
An executive of a great industry would
be very careful about limiting or i'm
hibiting any good customer. Doesn't it
seem that the government should have
equal sense? The fable of the Goose
that Laid the Golden Egg is so familiar
that even the crackpOts should be able
to see its application.
The American oil industry has DEM
onstrated during the last five years
that it can take care of itself with the
tools and weapons provided by present
established forms of American govern
ment II there is man who can M
PROVE the American oil industry and
who has brains enough to administrate
this fourteen billion dollar institution
any better than it is being conducted,
he need not take a peanut political job
in Washington at $4,000 per year. He
can get a dozen jobs at ten times that
figure. The oil industry is willing and
ready to pay more for BRAINS than
any other institution in the world. But
brains and political pull oddly enough
mix no better than gasoline and
ter, and the government is necessarily
made up largely by political pull.
We had some stomach for the theory
of conservation" in the oil industry
until recently when a Washington official
addressed a meeting Of coal producers
and again sounded off on conservation
of coal resources. There was something
strangely reminiscent and slightly
in that statement. When we