Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-08-29
Twenty Years Is a Long Time

There is a tremendous advantage in know
ing the PAST, but all fortunes are depend
ent on the coming events of the FUTURE.
In our business we are concerned about the
future.
But this week finds us thinking in terms
of the PAST for we are looking forward to
the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY Of this
organization, during the coming week.
Twenty years is a long time, in terms of
the life Of an adult man, and we are
bit startled when we think how long it
has been since we engaged In the first roy
atty transaction as Landowners Royalties
Co.
The royalty business belongs to the man
who thinks in terms of the FUTURE and
not Of the past yet we cannot help becom-
ing reminiscent when we glance over two
score years of dealings. When we started
buying royalties for cooperative group in
1922 we were not positive that we were go
ing to make any money All we knew was
that money had been made in Cat Creek.
We knew that the greatest rhOney-maker
for investors in Cat Greek was ROYALTIES.
So we decided that we would capitalize that
knowledge in the new Kevin-Sunburst field
which came into being in the spring of 1922.
AS we look back at those years we know
the Lord must have had his arms around
us for we stumbled into highly profitable
royalties at the start We were dependent
on the Judgment Of the operators around
us. We didn't even know the value of their
judgment. But when we found that a well
was to be drilled on a certain farm, we
bought royalty on that farm We didn't
know whether we were paying too much,
because none knew how much oil Kelvin
acres might produce. We knew little about
geology and had only general idea Of titles
We plunged into the purchase of royalties
with every chance of loss but, eddy enough
everything we touched seemed to turn to
gold
The writer was in close contact with the
industry, in the business of gathering news
and we had opportunity to get much infOr-
nation which were allowed to capitalize,
but when the writer had invested all the
money he had, plus all the money he could
get on his life insurance plus all he could
borrow from his dad, it was impossible to
go on "capitaIizing" the opportunities.
The organization of LORCO resulted from
an opportunity to buy 1 percent royalty for
$500 and the writer had only S1O0 to invest.
Thus he invited four others to share in
the purchase. The royalty was divided in
units of 1s of / percent for 500; three men
took two units each and two Of us took one
unit each, making a total of the / percent.
II happened that title was good. Also the
royalty was good. We began selling part Of
our purchases, re-investing the profits.
When one Of our members bIOssomed out
with q new car the news of our success
spread around and others wanted to join
is The membership grew steadily and it
suddenly dawned upon that there was
power in cooperative buying: that we could
BUY royalty cheaper by having large sums
VI money available. So we opened our mem
1ership to any who wanted to join. One Of
he prime movers was a Sunburst merchant
Who had many accounts past due among
landowners Of the region.
why not have them pay their bills with
Oyalties?" was asked-and he followed out
hat idea, with the result that this new
'Orn organization found buyers for the roy
lilies and the merchant collected his ac-
cunts and occasionally kept little royalty
or himself One of these royalties he has
ept until this day. 1t paid him as high
s S375 month and has for the. past 10
ears provided him with sufficient revenue
o pay household expenses.
Our business grew beyond the ability Of
ne writer to care for it and the organizers
Ormed common law trust and rented an
ffice, employed "field man" and an adj
ertising manager, adding percent for
harges on all royalties handled, to meet
his expense. Those were boom days when
bookkeeping was none too good and the re-
HIt was that the new organization was
ing steadily behind-Only to pIOp back in