THE OREGON JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 20, 1804.
F4iii3fflssa' :QS -a: Facte, fa- die Poiticsvof Utohi' mi .' 4her Stofes
Second la the series of lx ar-
tlclM on "Mormonism The Peo-
pie and the Religion," written
for The Sunday Journal by an
unprejudiced and well-informed
observer. .
By Eugene Boylan Palmer
Salt Lake City. Utah. March 18. Tam
many is prattling child In politics be
side the Mormon church. , The great
New York political organization is
closely affiliated with one party. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints can deliver Its vote to either side.
The object of the leaders of this power
- ful organization is to maintain a. posi
tion whereby it can control the balance
- of power1. This Is true not only in Utah,
but In Idaho as an accomplished fact
, In close contests. In such states as
Wyomlrjj, Colorado and Utah, it Js able
to exert: some Influence, with the possl-'
billty in the future of being able to die
,'tate In crises... .:
Tammany Is thoroughly organized
compared with many other political as
sociations. At the best, however. It can
control only the votes of those who owe
It loyalty, through party, affiliation or
the cohesive power of graft." The
Mormon church Is strengthened by both
these Influences, but. In addition, It ap
peals to the religious fervor and the
trust In Divine revelation in modern
. times, which makes Its devout members
- believe that a word from the controlling
' hierarchy J a direct message from God
himself. In other words, it appeals.
, not only to the reason, but to the. heart
and soul, and long habit makes this ap
peal all-powerful to .those who have not
learned to break away, through the In
fluences of broader education and the
contact with Gentiles who. have taught
them the spirit of independent. American
. action, outside of control by any per
son, corporation or, religious . aggrega-
; tlon. i . ' -s .'- . - :.' - 'P;v
X Church Organisation. .'
The . organization of the Mormon
. church Is most thorough. At the head
Mb . the president . His two ' counselors.
forming his "cabinet," constitute; with
. him, the first presidency. .Nominally
. co-ordinate in authority, but In reality
subordinate, is the quorum of 11 apos-
. ties. Beneath this are branches In the
so-called priesthood. On one side Is the
Melchisedek priesthood, which Is sup
posed to deal purely with spiritual af
fairs. This Is composed of the seven
ties and the elders. On the other side.
really of far greater importance, is
the ' Aaronlo priesthood, which is de
signed td deal especially with the tem
poral affairs of the church and Kb mem
bers. - In this line, next below the quo
rum of apostles, rank the presidents of
stakes. . The stake corresponds to a
diocese in- other religious organizations.
The president of the stake has a cabi
net of . two counselors, and under him
are the bishops of the various wards
Into which his Jurisdiction Is divided.
Acting under the direct eye of the bish
ops are the block teachers. It is their
duty to visit, at least once a week, each
Mormon in their several districts, keep
ing in close touch with the domestic and
temporal affairs, making sure that the
tithing is paid according to the Income,
advising as to spiritual , and material
matters, and reporting regularly to the
bishops all that is learned. Thus the
president of the church the pope -Is In
directly in touch with every member.
This makes it possible to send a mes
sage with the utmost dispatch and pri
vacy to all Mormons.- ; As the president
of , the church is supposed to be . the
mouthpiece of the 'Lord, any .message
from him has a weight amounting prac
tically to a command. It can be trans
mitted almost instantaneously. Sup
pose the presidenUof the church has a
"revelation." . He tells it to the apostles.
Une.lS apostles Immediately become ac
tive in spreading It to the presidents of
the stakes, by mall, telegraph, telephone
or personal visitation. The presidents
of the stakes summon the bishops; the
bishop summons the block teachers, and
the block .teachers immediately visit
the. people and tell them what purports
ko be the word of the Lord. ' ' '
Accormng to the Mormon idea, God is
especially interested Jn politics, and he
has a vote dependent upon bis word,
which can be bartered to either political
party, according to the material) consid
erations which there may be. This fact
has had much to do with preserving
the political power of the church, for
practical politicians among the Gentiles
all too frequently are willing to make
sweeping concessions to secure . the
Mormon vote. -
Not all Mormons in this present day
consent to be guided by their superiors
In the church. In iact the majority of
the lay members insist upon thinking
and acting lor themselves. Granted this,
if
J
C7
"FIRST PRESIDENCY," GUIDING POWER OF THE ! MORMON CHURCH.
President Joseph F. Smith in Center.. First Counsellor, John HL Winder, on
, His Right . Second Counsellor, Anthon H. Lund, on His Left.
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UTAH STATE HOUSE. SALT LAKE CITY.
however, there are a large number who
look to the churoh authorities for their
guidance as to how they may vote. It
is said by political leaders in both par
ties that about 20 per cent of the Mor
mon votes in the state of Utah are ab
solutely controlled by the church lead
ers, to be delivered as they may see fit
Where there is an overwhelming senti
ment this is not sufficient to turn an
election; but it amounts to over an
eighth of the total vote, and, under all
ordinary circumstances, constitutes the
balance of power. . ,
: In the days of Brjghau Young there
was no separation of church and state.
Civil officers were chosen by President
Young and announced, at church meet
ings. ;
Voting la Elections.
"Before Utah was admitted to the
Union, the church made a solemn prom
ise to the people of the nation, as rep
resented by congress, that the hierarchy
would -cease all attempts to influence
the votes of the church members. Al
ready the non-Mormons had been able
to control the large cities. The church,
through its influence in politics and its
upholding of polygamy, had caused its
property to be escheated, and it. was
willing to make terms. The object of
gaining the admission Of. Utah ..was
achieved. The Gentiles. : who now are
almost half the population of the tate,
believing that the .church leaders were
acting in good faith, lent their influence
and congress consented.. ,
The result, was that Utah was ' ad
mitted, but. that the church never re
laxed its grip over political affairs. Hav
ing given this pledge, it was inadvisable
to work as openly as had been done in
the past. The principal difference was
that the influence was subtle and insid
ious, rather than public. Messages were
conveyed, but in secret The word was
passed along through the various church
officials, until at last the devout Mormon
who had a vote was told that It was the
"will of the Lord" for him to cast his
ballot in . favor of . certain . candidates.
This has .been done in every election
since Utah was admitted to the Union
inlS95.
. . Since statehood and the division on
party lines, instead of church and anti
church; almost' the only occasions oh
which Mormons are arrayed against
non-Mormons are at the school elec
tions. This is especially true in Silt
Lake. The Gentiles constitute 75 per
cent of the population, doing 80 per cent
of the business. They have the cus
tomary American spirit Of intense inter
est In the public schools. , At first the
Mormons fought this system bitterly,
i i. I. ii 1 1 1 i .I.
In 1890, ' when the : Gentiles gained by
a large majority oontrol of verjr branch
of the municipal government of Salt
Lake, they established a splendid school
system, with fine buildings. One of the
most conspicuous examples of the Influ
ence this system has exerted is the
abandonment of the Mormon opposition
to the schools, i which has been sup
planted by a desire to exercise a potent
influence in their government In al
most every - school election there has
been a contest between the Mormons
and the non-Mormons. In such cases the
church' has frequently abandoned its
regular procedure and has worked
through the Young Men's' Mutual Im
provement, association. .This organiza
tion is made up of young men, co-operating
with the church proper. Instances
are frequent where, at the secret meet
ings of this organization, church leaders
have spoken, have told the desire of the
authorities, and have sent out in active
political work, the whole strength of the
society. - A common trick is to spring
a candidate. In . previously uncontested
elections, about An hour before the polls
open, thus hoping to win by default
In school elections and in others the
principal factor In Mormon success in
Gentile cities, , such as Salt Lake aud
Ogden, has been the apathy of the Gen
tiles, or non-Mormons. A movement is
now taking shape, however, to organize
the Gentiles to combat the church lnflu
ienoev:,;t 'v''': v;' -. .fv y
: Its Promise to Set Statehood.
Scarcely had - the church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints promised
solemnly that all . attempts to in
fluence the . votes of its members
would be abandoned when It became ex
tremely active In an election. - In fact
the first opportunity was seised. Utah
was admitted to : the union in 1896.
Taking the ground that the old con
trol over political affairs had been re
linquished. Apostle Moses Thatcher be
came a candidate for the United States
senate without securing the consent of
the authorities, and in the same , way
Brigham H. Roberts, another leading
church official, aocepted the nomi
nation for - member of congress.
Owing tp the fact; that under the Re
publican : national admlnletratlSns had
come the greatest trouble to the Mor
mon people, i Utah was Democratic by
an overwhelming majority. A canvass
showed . that under ordinary circum
stances victory for the Democrats was
beyond question. There was a meeting
of the priesthood about the middle of
the campaign', however. Following this
the word came that the Mormon hier
archy had determined to defeat Rob
erts and Thatcher because they had not J
sought the consent of the church lead
ers before entering into a political cam
paign. The fight was hot The church,
acting through the usual, channels, suc
ceeded. - Arthur Brown and Frank X
Cannon, Republicans, were . elected to
the United ' States senate.
Apostle Thatcher was undaunted. He
took the ground that no church should
assume to dictate his political course.
He was a candidate for the senate be
fore the legislature of 1897. For days,
through ballot after ballot he was able
to maintain the support of a large num
ber of fearless Mormons, as well as
many Gentiles. At last, the church
threw Its vote to Joseph L. Rawlins, an
apostate from the faith and an oppo
nent of the church in politics, father
than to let the principle of action in
temporal affairs by a prominent church
man, with its consequent Influence on
the lay members, prevail. Rawlins was
elected over Thatcher by one vote.
Thatcher was deprived of his position
as. an apostle, and saved himself from
excommunication only. by an apology.
Brigham H. Roberts, defeated for con
gress, saw the light and made his peace.
His reward was the election to congress
in 1898. Although he is conceded to be
a man of great ability, profound thought
and 'commanding eloquence, his marital
relations deprived him of his seat
Moses Thatcher was made a victim of
an example of Mormons throughout -the
world. It was notice that Independence
in action; contrary to the mandates of
the priesthood, would be severely pun
ished. Thus did the hierarchy seek to
exhibit its power to make and unmake
men. - ' . ' ; '
Ever since that time the church has
continued to exercise all the control
possible over its members. , It took an
active hand in the senatorial campaign
Of 1899, but failed in its purpose by a
narrow margin. There was no election
at all that year.
In 1900, under an agreement it exer
cised its Influence in the national cam
paign. In the winter of 1901 Mormon
members of the legislature were sum
moned to' the office of the president
of the church and were directed to
cast their votes for a Qentile, Thomas
K earns. .. Enough , did so to insure his
election.
1 . The Eleotlon of Smoot.
1 In 1901 this same power was exerted
in behalf of . Reed Smoot Apostles,
stake presidents, bishops, block teachers
and elders labored zealously, at religious
meetings and by personal interviews.
to win over the good Mormons to the
cause of the candidates for the leg.
islature who favored Reed Smoot apos
tle. Church leaders were prominent in
conventions all over the state. -They
worked vigorously with, the members
before election. Success crowned their
efforts. Smoot was elected.
Smoot has been "set aoart" by the
Mormon chiefs, not only as an apostle,
but as one of the two men whos duty
it is to give personal attention to the
political moves, of the church. The
other is Apostle John Henry Smith.
It has happened that in a bare ma
jority of instances this control has been
exercised . In. behalf of the Republican
party. This occurs' merely because the
Republican party has been in national
ascendancy., and it is the general pol
icy of the church to maintain as much
influence as possible with the party in
power. In -: the latest municipal cam
paign In Salt Lake the Mormons as a
rule voted for, the Democratic candi
date. V ' ;;-1 :.- ,,. '
Woman suffrage has increased ' the
power of the church in politics,
women have been found more willing
to take the advice of the priesthood In
such matters. i
Any large corporation, railroad or
other, desires to have a strong rep
resentation in the leslalative bodies
.which pass on matters directly affecting
it The Church of Jesus Christ of Lat
ter-Day Saints occupies the same po
sition. '' Every state legislature since
the beginning has had its secret lobby
representing this organization. A com
mlttee is "set apart" to scrutinize every
measure Which is introduced, study Its
consequences and determine whether
the Mormon members shall vote for It
As the Mormons have in all instances
constituted a majority, and the bulk
of these can be Influenced in any mat
ter in which the church Is vitally in
terested, this attitude means that the
first presidency of the Mormon church
Is able to dictate all legislation.
The control is exercised with con
slderable discretion as a rule. Every
effort is made to conceal the directing
hand and to conciliate the Gentiles,
with their growing power in the state
and their overwhelming control of the
nation.
One of the members of the first com
mittee thus acting was Franklin S.
Richards, now counsel for the Mormon
witnesses before the senate committee
on privileges and elections inquiring
into the Brnoot case.
The same policy has been pursued in
succeeding legislatures. At least one
leader is" selected to handle church af
fairs on the floor. Close observers are
always able to tell how the controlled
vote of the church will go by watch
ing his attitude. , In the legislature
which elected Smoot the committee Is
said to have been composed of Dr. J.
M. Tanner, polygamlst James Shnrp
and J. H. Anderson, the last nanip 1
being selected to carry the messages to
the legislators.
In the city counoila the Mormon mem
bers are supposed to seek the -advice,
of , their-Church leaders In all matters
in which that organisation may . be in
terested. In most instances they act
as directed. It is only fair to say, how
ever, that from year to year there lifts
been a rapidly growing spirit of inde
pendence from hierarchal control, which
is weakening that power so much that
it a revolt in sentiment continues, the
church domination . will eventually be
eliminated. - .
teaching Out to Other States. '
Not content with their strong power
In Utah, the Mormon hierarchy has from
the beginning been reaching out into
other-states. A large number of Mor
mons have '.. settled i: in Southeastern
Idaho. Their vote Is of great value to
political parties in close elections. : This
fact has been turned to advantage time
and time again by the Mormon .leaders,
and many concessions have been ob
tained.- To a lesser extent this is true
in Wyoming, and still less in Colorado,
although in the southwestern part of
the last-named state there are many
Mormons . who are catered to in cam
paign time. Around , La Grande and
other places in Eastern Oregon their
Influence is also being felt In the ter
ritories of Arizona and New Mexico, they
are a power to be reckoned with. In
stances of the manner in which this in
fluence is exercised are. almost"; limit
leSS. ; .!,'... 'i:;-::'- -...,!'-;.'.i..-;'i',v,..'.';'y y V
Looking back even 16 years, people
who have watched the conditions closely
feel optimistic. In spite of the agita
tions which throw light on the polyga
mous and other practices of the hier
archy,' and the religious outbursts
which haye -driven the Mormons closer
together to repel a common enemy, edu
cation and contact with the world at
large have 'caused a great growth in
the spirit of Americanism and independ
ent personal action in politics. This
gives rise to the hope that before a
great while each member of the Mor
mon church will insist on thinking and
acting for himself, instead of following
the dictates of a priesthood assuming to
be inspired.
.Copyrighted, 1904, by E, B. Palmer.)
(The third'artlcla in this aeries will
deal with the much-discussed subject of
polygamy and the "celestial marriage"
system of the Mormons. The history
of the doctrine will be given, together
with - the exact facts relating to the
present practice of taking plural wivea)
: vo; .
-v.-
'A
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JOHN HKNRT SMITH, THE 'POLITICAL APOSTLE."
OIL. AS A GREAT ECONOMICAL FACTOR IN SOUTHERN CALITORNIA
! Lob Angeles, Cat, 'March 16. Water
-irlgatlon has - doubtless been the
prime agent In the maglo growth of
southern California and of ita great
metropolis, converting aAiesert into a
. garden, and a desolate place into ; a
paradise for homes. & , '
But asphaltum oil has been an im
portant factor In development during
the past 10 years, reducing the cost of
motive power for .factories to a mini
mum and giving a great Impetus to the
manufacturing industries here. " Prac
tically every factory in this city is now
using this oil as its motive power. A
large per cent of these factories have
been started within 10 years past as a
result of the oil discoveries and numer
ous eastern factories are looking to this
point for their future operations,
The United States census for 1900
shows the "most rapid growth" here in
manufactures! of any other city In this
atate an increase of 116.8 per cent
from $9,893,83$ in -1890 to 121,297.687
in 1900. There are now 1,415 manu
facturlng establishments here, with 8,600
men employed. The estimated output
for 1903 was $28,000,000 in value of pro
ducts. All hotels . and restaurants use
this cheap fuel.- But the greater por
tlon of the oil output Is . consumed by
the railway and gas companies. It is
also extensively used in making roads
and streets in county and city and is
elving to southern California the finest
public highways in the world a featuro
-that mado ltaly of old the greatest na
tion and that contributes to England's
rnwth and power. When duly mixed
with soil, this oil makes the best of
highways that, witn a lime repairing at
.Mait ,nn prh vear. are practically
imperishable. They are ideal, nefther
' too hard nor too soft In many cftses
of county roads, the oil is simply poured
upon the eoj witnout any special .mix'
ture " and the result is entirely satis
aMnrv. AsDhaltum oil Is rapidly ellm
inating the dust: problem, which is a
great one in a country oi iitue ramiau.
In the ou rieios.
' WifVand I have been out into these
oil fields among the derricks and drillers
and pumpers to ascertain the real, facts
and tfi give to your readers frtsh im
' nresslons and minute details, As oil
"prospects" are now being eagerly
sought in every part of the nation the
details of this situation must prove rf
great and general Interest.
The asphaltum oil nelds of southern
California differ somewhat , from those
of other parts of this state, The oil,
except in two easterly districts, has a
lower specific gravity and la. uniformly
found in veina of loose sand here.
while porous sand rock is generally
the reservoir elsewhere in this state.
There are no hard rock formations found
here in drilling, only tough shales over
lying the oil sands. A Los Angeles map
a few years old : shows It great oil
fields in this county and in Orange and
Ventura counties, but since then other
new fields adjacent thereto Jiave been
found and are being developed. A num
ber of oil wells are also in operation
in San Diego county. In Santa Barbara
county, at Bummerland, these fields ex
tend Into the ocean. At that point
wharves are built out 000 feet into the
sea to the: wells, which spout up. their
oil from the briny deep. A new on
field has Just been discovered at Santa
Maria, north of Santa Barbara. It is
yielding 800 barrels a day per wen
In the Heart of the City. "
The Los Angeles oil district No. 1 is
a fair sample of all the southern Callfor
nia oil fields. It is within the city limits
in the h.llly region, extending from north
east to northwest, xne seepage irom
this, field finds its way to First and
Broadway streets, near the Dally Times
office. It looks sw-angely like a similar
seepage at the custom house yard at
Astoria, Oregon, . at the mouth of the
Columbia river, a region ' suspected of
oil-bearing qualities. A perfect forest
of derricks covers- the lots and blocks
obscuring the houses. Often they are
located In the back yards. They seem
not to embarrass anyone, except through
the presence of so much dark, tarry
stuff. As many as three derricks are at
times on one lot "Why ao many on a
single lot?" queries wife, whose keen
eye never loses a point . "Because it
wss a race between lot owners' to get
all the oil they could." replies a nearby
contractor, who owns many wells and
gets all the city and county contracts
The dip of the olf veins is from north
to southi The vein appears 900 feet
below the surface at the north end of
the . district,, where a volcanic break
seems to have cut it short . It extends
a half a mile south to a point where salt
wafer prevents development The field
is sbout three miles east and west but
after a short break on the west side
it feappears .in the recently '.developed
Salt Lake district. The yield in the Los
Angeles district at first was 8uQ to 800
barrels per well each day. Since then,
it has gradually- decreased - until now
the yield Is only about five barrels a day,
worth TO cents a barrel in the local
1 market which takes the entire product
owners-usually get a royalty or irom
one-eighth, to one-slxth.swlth the priv
ilege of using for domestic purposes the
mineral gas ; that invariably comes up
In each well.- The royalty of one-eighth
was allowed when the first oil well was
developed. After the' field became well
established the royalty rose to one
sixth. Before any strike of oil is made,
the royalty is usually one-tenth on
"prospects. ; The owner at his ' own
expense pipes the gas into his house,
where he uses it for cooking and heat
ing. He also uses It for lighting, though
the ' existence of sulphur in the gas
makes it a dirty light quite inferior to
that found at the mouth of the Colum
bia on Deep river. . , , , ,
.. . . Surface Indications.
This mineral gas, with Us blue flame,
white light and perfect combustion, is
regarded by oil men here as one of the
best surface indications of oil. Many
theorists insist that actual oil seepage
is the only reliable surface indication of
oil. But, experts and practical oil men
here say that when oil Is so near the
surface as to find its way out the pros
pect of any extensive oil field is slim,
since there. will be no ell bearing strata
BALKAN? SOLDIERS WILL NOT FIGHT IN THE
FAR -EAST
From the Chicago Tribune.
It was reported yesterday from St.
Petersburg that "the czar had assented
to the formation of a volunteer corps of
1,000 . men. consisting of Bulgarians,
Montenegrins, and Servians, to go to the
front on condition that they-are thor
oughly qualified in every respect ' for
hard service and that they be seconded
by their own armies." y -, '
If this be true it is the most import
ant event since the declaration of war.
The enlistment Of Bulgarians, Servians,
and Montenegrins is in direct contraven
tion of all principles of neutrality. If
the governments of the three Balkan
states permit the enrollment of their
citizens to fight against Japan they are
committing an act of war against Japan.
The czar is said to have accepted the
services pf these Balkan volunteers on
condition, that "they be seconded by
their ow armies." - What does being
"seconded" mean? That Is a new phrase.
Does It mean that the Bulgarian, Ser
vian and Montenegrin armies shall take
the field against Japan? If so, la Japan
attacked by two or more, powers T -Perhaps,
however, the Balkan states" are not
considered "powers."
The presence of Balkan volunteers at
the front would add new horrors to the
war, These fighters have never de
served Napoleon's complaint that
"nowadays nations make war with rose
water." Montenegrins and Bulgarians
4 fought with Russia "against Turkey in
1877-78, and they perpetrated on the
Turks atrocities comparable only to the
atrocities which the Turks perpetrated
on them. , t:. u -
But there is another angle to this
matter. Bulgaria is nominally th vas
sal of Turkey. . Does Turkey consent to
the Bulgarian army ) "seconding" th
Bulgarian volunteers? If so, Japan
would probably deem Itself attacked by
two powers, for, whether ' or not the
JKU8SXA AITO JAP AS.
From the Winnipeg Tribune. '
Russia has an autocratic government
of the most antique form of despotism,
no religious liberty, no freedom of
speech, no ballot no publlo school sys
tem, no parliament or other legislative
body, no constitution, no tolerance of
progress in any form, and only a thin
veneer of civilization. In Japan there
la constitutional government absolute
freedom of religious belief, freedom of
speech, a . system of common schools
and public education as good as that in
our own land, the ballot a wise and
honest judicial administration, a broad,
well-balanced and modern system of
government snu a high type of civilisation.
Balkans are placed in the ssme category
with Korea as nonpowers, Turkey can
not be dismissed so lightly..
Suppose, then, that this point is got
around by Turkey entering a formal
protest against Bulgarian action. Japan
would then be In an excellent position
to enlist a few Manchurlan volunteers,
if "thoroughly qualified in every, re
spect for hard service." . The "red
bearded Chunchuses," for instance, of
whom Viceroy Alexleff so profoundly
disapproves, are qualified already for
the hardest kind of service. Their
enrollment would supply the greatest
Japanese . military need good cavalry.
Officered by Japs, they would, in the
opinion of so experience an observer
as Bennet Burleigh, surpass the Cos
sacks.. . - ,'
With the Chunchuses on one side and
the Montenegrins, etc., on. Us other the
war would speedily lose even that slight
scent of rosewater which hangs round
it still. With the Chunchuses on the
side of Japan, Russia undoubtedly would
allege that China was not observing its
pledges of neutrality. Then China would
protest that. it bad no cognizance of any
violation of neutrality, and ' would . take
steps to see that none occurred in the
future. Russia wouldn t be apt how
ever, to heed such excuses. Chimamlght
bedragged in. Then the deluge.,
The most hppeful aspect of the""Bal-
kan enlistment story is the strong pos-
.tklltt.. . V. . , I I- ..r. .... '
above the reservoir . to ' supply it with
oil. Some 80 years ago. this gas was
founSl bubbling up in the springs near
Los Angeles, and one capitalist was bold
enough to start a test well. But the
machinery broke after a few hundred
feet of boring and the test well was
abandoned. Twenty years afterwards,
or 10 years ago, a Los Angeles lot
owner, boring for water, struck this uark
fluid some BO feet below the surface and
then a Pennsylvania firm began laboring
with success. Many valuable, oil wens
now exist near the gas springs, where
the first venture failed for want of
pluck. - , : - .
Several Veins.
The first oil sand vein - In the IjOs
Angeles district Is about 150' feet thick
and 900 feet below the surface. A
second one, 80 feet thick, has lately been
developed, about 100 feet lower down
than the first A third vein has been
found l.00 feet belowi the surface.
It costs about $3.50 a foot including'
casing, to bore as deep as 1,000 feet
the casing costing from 25 cents to $1.25
a foot, according to the diameter of the
hole bored. A pumping plant costs
about $1.$00.' One plant can run from
15 to 20 wells. One engine was seen
running two plants. One engineer ran
the entire business. Wif had expected
to. see hundreds of men employed in
these fields and was surprised to find
scarcely one In sight With mineral gaa
for fuel and hardJV any labor hired.
It costs "but little to pump the oil, con
sequently it paya very well on a yield
of five barrels a day for each well at
70 cents a barret With a yield oi 500
to 800 barrels a day the profits are fab
ulous. ' V: .'.. -,
v. A Problem. . ,
No one knows Just haw long it will
be before these oil sands will have
been pumped out Nor does anyone know
whence comes the oil supply.. Yet on
this fact comes the solution of the prob
lem of exhaustion of the oil wells.
Many theories exist- The Russian ex
perts believe both gas and oil are self
generated from correlated gases in the
earth an.i that ths supply is. therefore,
inexhaustible, -Most American scientists
hold to the thenry that oil and gas
both come by pressure from adjacent
coal fields. ' As to the asphaltum base oil
nelds a still different theory prevails.
Prof. J. Owen, geologist for the South
ern Pacific, holds to the view, generally
shared by California geologists, that the
asphaltum oil of California comes from
marine animals left in the geological
shales by recession of the ocean. He
holds that this oil occurs in California
onl in shale and rocks of the miorene
period. He makes a distinction as to
gas flowers as surface indications of oil.
If they occur in rock or shales of the
mlocene period they Indicate oil; if found
In the cretaceous rocks there is no olL
Marine rosails.
. Tme. he says, the Texas oil is found
with gas flowers in cretaceous rock; so
also in Kansas; but he claims different
conditions make a - different status in
California and on this coast Prof.
Owen says that marine fossils also .fur
nish the petroleum, or paraffin base, oil
as well as the asphaltum, the difference
L being only one of gravity. At the mouth
or tne coiumoia ne nnas tne cnaractens
tlo fossils of the oils and rock of the
mlocene period In connection with min
eral gas. Tet at Roseburg. Oregon, lie
flnds cretaceous rock out of which comss
mineral gas.- He deems this is not oil
bearing, he having seen like "prospects" .
fully tested In California. ,
XVorta of Tehsefcapt.
The oil fields of California, north of
Tehachapl mountains, belong to the as
phaltum base, though the gravity Is not
always so great" The reservoirs are
generally in porous rocks. It Is o
lleved the oil found on the Columbia at
the coast will be a finer oil. with a par
affin base. In another letter Wife and I
expect to tell of other California ell
fields and new conditions and the rein
itton of the Standard Oil cornpuny, t'
this great industry. That mm puny h
no hold Jn the southern California-oil
fields, as all the oil product ntnl a
loral market. . '
The opinion prevail on this ont t
the oil-biar!n roc-H r,t ih f;r-.: i
fields extend far up in Al;ik.i, i,f .-.
greatest oil flll of thn vw.f' l ns ,
being developed ry imt t tUm i '
capitalists of H'l
- major JO;;j i Af-U u .
for making oil roads, v.
! " '- -. ' .. V'"'i -': - ' '
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