The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1944-04-14
By E. B. COOLIDGE

by II. d. COOLiO0G
WHAT BEARING DOES THE PRICE
OF CRUDE OIL HAVE ON OUR RE-
SERVES AND THE NECESSITY OF
GOING INTO FOREIGN COUNTRIES
no DEVELOP ADDITIONAL RE-
SERVES?
The price of crude oil has a direct
bearing on the amount of reserves
that exist in these United States. At
the present time it is estimated that
oil, or $3.50 of the total worlds reserve
in these United States. My conten-
ton is that if the price of crude oil
had been raised on our entrance into
/ the war (Which at that time was at
least 35c per barrel too low and
placed at $1.50 per barrel for 80 gray
| ity crude with an addition or reduc-
ton of 21ac per point in gravity above
or below the 80 point base, it would
have brought about an extra incentive
to produce more oil. Then, as oil is
the most essential commodity in the
war effort because there is no substi
tute, and if we had been given enough
steel and equipment to drill these
wells, we would now have available
40 billion barrels of reserve in this |
country instead of 20 billion which |
has already been mentioned as we
have millions of acres of undeveloped /
oil lands in these United States.
A itu off |
would have easily solved the reserve
oil problem in the United States if an
adequate price had been given.
1t must be remembered that the his
tory of the oil business shows that
the independent wildcatter has devel-
oped the new fields and brought in
most of the new reserves. New re-
serves and fields have been brought
in in the most unexpected places, but
now we have scientific devices that
help to develop additional reserves on
structure. In other words, the scien-
fist or the geologist has more chance
to tell you where the oil is not than
where it is to be found, but the final
answer to the development of crude
oil and additional reserves is the six
inch bit or the rotary tools, and this
work cannot be done without an ade-
luate price for crude oil.
The Army and the Navy are I'M
promoting and helping the
major oil companies to go into for
.ign lands to develop additional re-
serves. The administration has spent
md is now planning to spend addi-
ional large sums of taxpayers money
o substitute the major oil companies
o produce additional production that
viii come in competition with oil pro- 1
uced in these United States If these I
major oil companies insist on going :
nto foreign lands as an investment !
D further their own interests, the peo-
lie of these United States should not /
e forced to substitute this work when Z
n adequate reserve can be obtained !
t home, where taxes will be paid on
arnings to support our government
lstead of taxing the home boys to
clip produce oil for the benefit of !
lese majors to be sold in foreign
lnds. Congress should certainly stop
lis wasting of public funds. Il
That BEARING DOES THE PRICE
F CRUDE OIL HAVE ON RATION
lG WHICH CAUSES UNNEcES- !!
AIRY HARDSHIP AND DISTRESS
o ALL AUTOMOBILE OWNERS
ND CONSUMERS OF ALL RE- II
lNED PRODUCTS?
The price of crude oil has a direct |
'aring on the rationing of gasoline /
ID all refined products because if we
ID an increase in price there would
more oil available, and if we had
arted in 1871 to drill additional wells
} would today be producing six mil
IN barrels of oil day, without seri-
sly depicting our known reserves,
stead of the four million four hun
ed thousand barrels that we are T..