Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-30
William ). Parish Dies;
Standard Oil Chief
Pioneered Texas Pool
Spent Much Time Here
As Member Of War
Council Of Industry

AS Member OF War
Council Of Industry
Ry the Associated Press.
MILLBROOK, N. Y, Nov. 3d.
William S. Parish, Standard Oil Co.
of New Jersey president who pio-
neered in developing Texas first
oil pool of Importance, is dead.
A heart attack yesterday claimed
! the 61-year-old native of Mayors
vile, Miss, who taught school to
pay his way through college and
became one of Americas leading
petroleum men.
Mr.. Parish, who helped organize
and was president of the American
Petroleum Institute, formed and led
the National Petroleum War Service
Committee which during the last
war handled all oil supplies for the
Allies, Recently, he had spent much
time in Washington as member
of the Petroleum Industry War
Council.
Told of Patent Contracts.
Mr.. Parish drew public attention
this year when a Senate commit
tee held hearings on Standard Oils
patent contracts with I. G. Farben-
industrie. Mr.. Parish detailed a
story of the firms beginning in the
oil chemical industry which made
possible the oil indusrty's ability to
turn out synthetic rubber and other
essential products of war.
There had been minor oil produc-
ton in Texas, but biologists had.
turned thumbs down on prospects
for extensive petroleum development
in that region before Mr.. Parish en-
tered the oil industry. Spindletop
opened their eyes and startled the
Nation. The first we'll, drilled on
the small elevation of Spindletop,
near Beaumont, Tex, by Capt. A. F.
Lucas, blew the drill pipe out of the
hole and ran wild for 10 days. 1t
was the first great gusher we'll, and
excursion trains were run to Spin
dletop so that the curious might
see the sight.
Mr.. Parish, with the paint hardly
dry on his shingle, gave up the
practice of law and Went to Spin
dletop, where he put on a flannel
shirt and overalls and went to work
as laborer.
Fought for Conservation.
AS an producing field Spindle
top was largely failure, since there
were no facilities for handling the
great rush of oil. Petroleum flowed
away down the gullies and was
wasted, and wells drilled on every
square foot Of space exhausted the
pressure and left treasure Of oil
in the earth. Mr.. Parish observed
the waste, and thereafter was a be-
lever in conservation. In later years
he was able to take a part in the
fight for conservation in the Mid
Continent field
However, Spindletop gave a start
to Mr.. Parish and to other men
who later formed the large pro-
ducing companies in Texas. Mr..
Parish became a friend of the late
r, L, Blaffer, who had followed the
rush to Spindletop and taken a Job
as a railway clerk. They began to
buy and sell leases in partnership,
END when the Spindletop boom sub
sided they moved on to other fields.
The partnership was informal.
The partners kept no books and
signed no partnership agreement.
They bought and sold leases, and
operated as contract drillers-pro-
Viding drilling equipment and drill
ing wells on a contract basis. Their
interests expanded and their Joint
enterprise assumed proportions that
demanded a formal organization.
In 1917 they Joined in founding
the Humble Oil and Refining Co.,
which became one of the leading
production companies of the Mid
Continent field. Ross S. Sterling.
later Governor of Texas, who had
also entered the oil business at
Spindletop, had formed the Humble
Oh Co. with Frank and Walter
Foudren. The three pooled their
resources with Mr.. Parish and Mr..
Bleffer to form the successor COM
pany.
Chosen to Committee.
When the United States entered
the war Mr.. Parish was chosen to
serve on the Petroleum Committee,
formed to assure on adequate supply
of gasoline and bunker oil to the
Allies.
On the suggestion of w. C. Teaele.
then president of the Standard Oil
Co. of New Jersey, Mr.. Parish was
named as spokesman for Texas pro-
ducers on the committee. The sue
cess of the committees effort may be
summed up by the words of Lord
Curzon, who said that the Allies
'f1oated to victory on a sea of OIL
Mr.. Parish served on the commit
tee throughout the war. and after
the armistice he and Mr.. league
agreed to plan for the Standard
company to take over Humble.
Standard Oil thereby provided the
capital for Humble to expand it's
drilling program in the boom years
of postwar production, when great
new fields were opened in the mid
continent area.
In 1898 Mr.. Parish yielded to the
inslstence of Mr.. Teagle that he be-
come chairman of the board of Jer-
gov Standard 10 r,o,,ll