PAGE SIX1
HERALD AND NEWS. KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON
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1. Th avarags oil well, drilled by Union Oil
Company in California, costs $65,888. If you
were to divide that expense between two men,
it would cost them $32,944 apiece. But if you
divide it among 31,652 people, as we do, the
average cost to each person is only $2.08.
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9. Today, because we go so much deeper and
, use such expensive equipment, it costs almost 26
times as much. There aren't very many men who
can finance that kind of drilling single-handed.
For out of 169 exploratory wells drilled by the
industry in California last year, only 3 proved of
any important' '
2 For the Union Oil Company is owned not
by one man, or two, but by 31,652 Western
men and women. In this principle of multiplt
ownership you have the secret of America's
amazing ability to produce more goods (at
lower prices) than any other nation on earth.
6 But under our i yitem of Free Enterprise
we Americans have been able to pool the money
and the talents of a lot of people under a legal
agreement known as a corporation. That way,
we can tackle a job collectively that we could
never handle alone.
3. Multiple ownership has made our kind of
peacetime living, and our kind of war produc
tion, possible. Here's why.In the old days, when
' everything from shoes to rifles was made by
hand, almost any business could be financed ,
and operated by one man.
7. If we're going to start a farm or a drug
store, or a machine shop we still do it single
handed. But if we're going to make something
like steel, gasoline, light bulbs, automobiles,
refrigerators, house paint, window panes,
bathroom fixtures, etc., we get other people to
go in with us.
4. But with the advent of the machine age,
many businesses began to require more money
(for plants, machinery, research, etc.) than any
one man could put up. In the early 1890's, for
example, you could drill an oil well in the
California fields for about $2,500.
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8. As a result, we've been able to achieve the
highest standard of living, and the greatest war
production in the world. Multiple ownership is
not the only phase of our Free Enterprise sys
tem that has made this possible. But it's so
important, that without it, our American way
of life could never have been.
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AMERICA'S FIFTH FREEDOM IS FREE ENT E R P R I 8 I
The company that became Union Oil
was founded in 1SS6 out of the per
sonal savings of nine Santa Paula,
California business men.
Today, it is owned by 31,652 people,
most of whom live right here in the
West-3, 628 in San Francisco, 434 in
Seattle, 7 in Grant's Pass, Oregon,
274 in San Diego, etc
TheCompany's profits which, In 1942,
amounted to J.S on capital invested,
are shared among these people.
Last year this net profit amounted to
$1 74.94 per stockholder. Of this sum,
$147.42 was paid out in dividends
$27.52 was left in the business.
In return for these profits, the 31, 652
owners have financed the tank ships,
oil wells, refineries and service stations
that make Union Oil's operations pos
sible. This is the story of most American
corporations. By pooling the money
and talents of a lot of people, we are
able to do a job collectively that we
could never do alone.
This series, sponsored by the people of
. Union Oil Company, is dedicated to a :
discussion of Aewand wjyAmcri.can busi
ness functions. We hope you'll feci free
to send in any suggestions or criticisms
you have to offer, Write: The President,
Union Oil Company.Union Oil Building,
-Los Angeles, California.
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