The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, January 5, 1920, Page 6

OIL WILDGATTING » AS A FINE ART How ‘the. Swindler Plays the | Game in Texas, LAW CANNOT REACH THEM “Blue Sky” Legislation Falls to Pro vide Way of Bringing Offenders to. : dustice—With an Initial Capital of. | 25,000 Many Easily Make Profit of “$100,000 to $200,000 Within a Few ‘. Monthe, » Notwithstanding the accumulating evidence that’ systematic oll well swin- gles are’ being perpetrated on an exe tensive scale in Texas, no way has'as yet been discovered for bringing offend- ers within the renches of the law. thas: heen found that the so-called “blue-sky” law of Texas is :praetically worthless, so. far as -preventing the organization of irresponsible oll com- panies and the sale of stock which has no value. ‘ It is in the. wildcat well-drilling game that the biggest: swindles are pulled off. It has been proved time + after time that tt is possible for a man or set of men with an initial capital of $25,000 to .ensily make a profit: of $100,000 to $200,000. within a period of | ?% a few months at the game of drilling wells in wildcat territory. The money in most instances comes from the peo- ple of the community in which the fake well is\drilled. . There is hardly a coune ty in ‘Texas that has not been. the scene of one or more well-drilling oper ations. of this kind. Of course, there are a great many legitimate companies that are drilling or have drilled wild- cat wells, and in many instances theso holes have had to be abandoned, for one reason or another, before they Were completed, It is the professional swindler of whom the land owners and people generally are beginning to com: plain loudly. Enormous blocks of stocks of these swindling companies have been sold to people outside of Texas, | How ft Is Worked. ' J. Q Burkett of Taylor county de scribes how the wildcat oil well men operate: “All at once there will appear upon the streets of the town two or three strangers, and in a few days they will ,let It out in some way that they are making Investigations to know if there are men in the section who will lease their land for oil purposes. They walk about among, the farmers and ranch- men and soon secure 15,000 or 20,00 \.acres fora dollar an acre or less, “Then they send for an ‘expert’ .geole ogist to go over the land and locate 9 place to ‘put in a well. He makes an examination and gives a favorable report. In a short time a man is em ployed to put down a well, and in a few weeks the derrick is put up, and the owners of thedeases begin to make arrangements to sell leases at §igh prices, After the well is down 400 feet, the owners of the leases make it, known that the ‘log’ of the well is first class—just like the wells at Ranger, Caddo, or some other bil field. This. creates a little more excitement, and some of the leases that ¢ost 50 cents or a dollar now sell for $5 or $10 per acre. But the greatest excitement has not come yet. Wait uritil they: get down about 1,500 feet and‘ then see what will take place. c “All at once the report goes out lke wildfire over the town and the coun- try where the well is located that they have struck a ‘showing of gas,’ and the excitement runs ‘a little higher and ‘leases go ap again. “If you. are not careful a bit wil get hung about. this time, but it may be a little later on, Then Comes the Cleanup. “When they get down about 100 feet farther, then the thing comes off just right; they strike a showing of; oll By. this time the oil dealers are wild) with excitement and the leases go up again, “Now they get ready and put a guard about’ the well and allow no one ex- cept some oil ‘expert’ to go about it.. Soon afterward a bit gets hung or a chsing Is pulled apart, and there is a six-weeks’ delay, and during this de- Jay the owners get busy and sell at several thousand dollars per acre near the well, ’ “Just as soon as the excitement be- gins to die down’ they-send out a ré port that the bit Is hung and: it is {m- possible to pull it, and they take down the derrick and leaye the country with a fine bag. of money and the commu nity in wonder as to why they did not get: more than a ‘showing’. of: oll.” The fakers got,just what they went after—the people’s: money, 2nd when they got that they pulled up and left. Once in a hundred times ‘it may be that such men really find oil-and the neighbors make money, but in most cases the well is a fake and poor men and women ‘are. stripped oz. thelr money. Dying :Act Saves Passengers, * A dying motorman’s last act was to apply the brakes to his car to prevent it from going over the pretipitous ix- cline on the Hudson: palisades a? Edgewater, N. J. . Thrown from their seats.by the sudden stopping of the car, the 30 passengers found the mo- torman, Alexander: Rabb, dead from heart discdse. The car had stopped en the edge of the precipice. hi 2, Many Try, but Few:Succeed, After a man has learned: to: dance, and play-golf his great trouble In life to get TM days work betwe 10 ‘a. m. and noon.—Washington- Sta’ ‘Melbeve Want Ads bring rest Hiram Dempsey. of Salt Lake. City, is a “spiled’. man, And it's all the fault of his son, Jack Dempsey, heavy- weight champion. “That kid of -min ois .spilin’ his old dad, sure as shootin’ “was the way the. father ofthe’ champ: put it. “Them there cigats he sént me may be allright for him and Jack Kearns and them: movie’ folks ‘he’s coltin’ round with now, but I'll: stick to ‘the ol’ cob\ pipe.” Hiram Dempsey: is. certainly a changed “man. -. Besides carrying, two- arter ‘cigars in his upper. coat et, he wears a coat with) a belt in the back, a gaudy-striped: silk shirt and has.a.“roll” of spending money. He's visiting some of his old cronies in Kermit, W. Va. Jagk is paying the bills. Its‘ Hiram Dempsey's Christmas present, “When my boy, ‘Harry—Gosh «all DON'T BE IN A HURRY, Don't be in a hurry with little Jim. ew 'twould take years fur a man He knew the job woull be very slow, So don't you be in a hurry with Jim. Perhaps Jim is wastetul, perhaps he Is slow, Perhaps doesn’t think that his elders kno Well, that’s the way God grows a man. If it'can be done better (you know God can), He ‘would have tried some other plan. Yes, but he didn't; so dont’ you fret, dim’ stumbles to but he'll come right vet. God know ‘twould take years to grow a man, \ He knew the job tvould be stow and long, * To grow a man with a, will strong, A will that will break every stone In his way, A will that will climb to God's moun- tain height, that Is A will that will bend every force to the rig A will that will bring a new, glorious day; if an wait for littl inal vith him, Then don't you y urples in the Philadel- -Eleanor Scott + Phila Ledger, WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT IT tir, Jones Giyen Opportunity to Learn From Experience the Benefits of: Fresh Air. Mr. Tones was in the habit of at- fF} tending meetings which often detained him after the usual hour of re- urement. One , night ha was exceedingly B and his wife, after fretting her- self into a tem- per, went to bed, determined to give her husband n lesson he might long remember. When she had been upstairs about ten minutes she heard a knock. Put- ting her head out of the, window, she sald: that you, Tom?” “Yes, Kate. Come and door," “What has kept_you so late? asked his wife, “We have been discussing the great benefits of. fresh air,” was the reply. “Well.” said his better half, “you ean lecture temorrow night from experi- ence.” And down the window went with a bang. ‘¢ open . the Survivor of Fronticr Guard. Gordon, retired, for the only survivor of ard, celebrated in ‘Washington recently the eighty- seventh anniversary of his -birth. General Gordon, the Detroit “News states, was born on an estate in Frank- lin county, “Pennsylvania, whichshad belonged: to his’ grandfather ona’ pat- ent .issued to “him> by William) Penn, He_later moved. to Kansas, wliere he SAY- ARE YOU LOOKIN'AT THOSE Guys Reo. Hiram Dempsey and Jack Dempsey fish hooks! | I’m always a-callin’ him ‘Harry’ like me and his maw used ‘to when he was # kid, but, as [ was a-sayin,’ when my boy Jack ‘and this Frenchman Carpentier geét together you're going to see the greatest fight in the history of the world. “This Frenchman ain't no ‘Willard. He's better’n that. “Him and my ‘boy is goin’ in that! there ring to do some. real fightin’ like | you ain't seon’ since John L, Sulli-: van's day. “This Frenchman knows a lot -abou boxin,’ \He’s going to! try to run m: boy to death for about 10 rounds oy |All ‘ko because he thinks-my.boy can’t go} that long. sail in. knock him out: before that long, be- c¢ I think this.Carpentier is too But when he thinks he's got my boy wore out ni 10 rounds Jack will-get him!” Then he's golng to try and 3 received his first’ commission In, the regular army. ‘The frontier guard was organized in Washington as the result of rumors of war and sedition which, arose. in 1861. The company was first assem- bled In the east room of the White House April 18, 1861, and. it occupied those quarters until relieved by regu- lar troops, who guarded the White House and other government buildings. The Frontier guard received no pay. Calcutta Takes to the Auto. There-are more motor. carga on the streets of Calcutta thdn any other kind of vehicle, The number of privately owned cars is said tobe about 4,000, and there are approximately ‘500 taxi- cabs. While this number of automo- biles seems very small for a city of a million, the novelty of automobiles and the purchasing power of the peo- ple must be taken into account. It is thought that American cars; will soon predominate on the streets “of India, ‘end it is interesting to note that all the motor cars imported into the city, of Calcutta since the signing of the armis- tice and the removal of the import embargo have been of American man- ufacture. PSST Aha ae 2 The Floral Salute. On the outer edge of the crowd which awaited the coming of Edith Cavell at Victoria station, Londén: stood a tall, elderly lady in deep, quiet black, Aloft in her hand she raised a bunch of tall white lilies, holding them as high as an officer salutes with his sword. Vive, ten, fifteen minutes,.through half an hour of waiting the lilles were held unfalteringly aloft in expectant homage. It was only at-the last mo- ! ment as the cortege came into view. that civilians bared their heads and soldiers came to the salute, but throughout the long, slow waiting the white lilies were upborne without rest or faltering by that fragile hand. In the Wedding Procession. This incident. occurred . in, a little country town. ‘There was & farmhouse near the church and. the pigs and hens were around the house. It happened that a nerveus young man was getting marriel, Just as the procession was passing. down the aisle two pigs, at- tracted by the music, came walking down the aisle after the couple, All the guests were looking at the pigs, se the bridegroom turned and looked. At last, after silence was restored, the ceremony continued, We Made Good. “In the Spanish war we spent two million dollars for blankets.” “Well?” “You:can get some Iden of-the maz nitude of this war when you learn that more thar that was spent for ribbons to. reward distinguished © services alone.” : i ‘Now. I don’t think my boy can; After personally reviewing William Russell’s Jatest photoplay, ‘‘Six sonally recom- mend and guaran- tee it to be the best Western produc- tion released in the past three years. ‘A.J. BAUER; - Mgr. and Prop., Orpheum Theatre, Bismarck, N. D. THO 5,000 REDS ARE ROUNDED UP, RAIDS CONTINUE Department of Justice Still En- gaged in Ferreting Out Communists Washington, Jan. . — Although nearly 5.000° persons’ have been ar- rested in the last: radical. raid whien started last. Friday night, department seeking out members of the com- and communist labor organiza- tions who had, escaped the _gencral drag net. Apparently New York and ‘Chileaed were ‘the chief ‘centers of activity be served, Nearly 8,000 of:those arrested have been held fot deportation proceedings. Hundreds of citizens were taken In the raids Friday and Saturday. aad these must be turned oyer to: the state authorities for tr ee TO FIGHT DEPORTATION Washington, Jan. 5.—Radicals tak- en: in the government raid on the communist and communist labor party have all machinery set for fighting desr\rately senor tions nounced today at):the- department of justice. ‘Lawyers ‘have been engaged’ in virtually every. city .where raids were made-and officials predicted they would take advantage ‘of ‘every tech- nicality® until their. ¢lients .actually ’| were aboard vesseb bound for their na- tive land. RAILWAYS ASK" ‘ABATEMENT OF PART OF TAXES Feet Four,” I per- BREATH-TAKING! of justice. agents over the country still! ) Several hundred warrants were yet | s ft was an-|-. (Continned From Page One) We are willing to compromise and set- tle at thig time. “Will you ‘kindly'present. this ap- plication to the board-atits next meez- ing, explain the matter to them and sk thatiimmediate attention be given to it?” Tn bls formal application Mr.-Sturte- vant says’ that he is the tax agent of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Maire Railway Co. ‘That ‘in the year 1917 the state bourd of equalization of North Dakota assessed the operating property of said company in the said state at the sum of $13,014,573; That said compiny) ims that said a ive and dis- ritninatory in that “it is at Teast ¢ percent of the actual valiie: of i railroad. property, whereas other pro- f the state was assesssed in the 17 at not more than 20 percent of ith actual valye. That said com- pany’ has. bronght “suit in’ the: United gourt to annul said discrimina- esxment and tht the suit is pending. undertermined in that now court, That. simil wijust diseriininatory re mide against: the ireat Northern. Railway. company, the AR GETTA DATE WITH THAT. DAME 0 “SIX FEET FOUR” | A Real Classic of the Screen A Play of the Open Spaces, where men. love strongly, -hate deeply, shoot quickly, face deadly peril, ride like the - wind, and cherish a. friendship as they do their honor. JOY-MAKING! oa EYE- ‘In Six Acts—With 1 “PWO-REEL SUNSHINE COMEDY - Northern . Pacific’. Railway company, the Minneapolis, ‘St. Paul and Sault Ste.> Marie Railway company and Farmers n and Shipping company, | and that suits are, pendi in said court en behalf of each of said com- 5} panies to annul said assessments, That in Burleigh county the taxes as extended agaimst the operating pro- perty of this company | for 1917 amounted to s appli- cant contends sient of the state board of equal ion -had been just and legal said assessment would not have been more than $14,- $17.45' and this amount, which appli- nt concedes was cquitable has already been: paid. TWO APPLICATIONS FILED An application similar in most re- spects and requesting a like abatement ot taxe s for the year 1918 is filed by anders, tax commissioner for y, with General Walker D. in signing the petition, Hined jo Mr. Sanders shows that in 1918 the Northern Pacific v assessed §74- 6, leaving in §: the company wishes to pay $12,480.96 and to have abated an equal amount. The Soo line in 191$ was ass d $24,232.25 in taxes; it/conceded $16,- 154.82 of this amount, leaving in suit $8,077.42, of which it would pay $4- 038.71 if the county would abate a like, amount.’ - The Burleigh county board of com- mals ioners will meet in regular mouth. ly session Tuesday, when it is expected that this jnatter wil be taken up. TAXES WERE PROTESTED All of the larger railways operating in North Dakota exeept the Chicago, Milwaukee & St: Paul, and, in part, the Soo line, protested against payment of their 1917 taxes, alleging that their valuation, as compared with other Property, was one-third too high. The carriers tendered approximately two thirds of ‘the: taxes assessed against them, and which they held to be just and equitable, to thé county treasurers, and in‘a majority of instances these tenders were accepted. At the same time the carriers ap- plied to the federal courts for a tem- porary writ of injunction restraining the tax commission and other revenue officers of the state from enforeing the collection of tlie unpaid balance. ‘his temporary order was issued, and Judge ©. F. Amidon of the North Da- kota. distriet named his stenographer a Special] examiner to conduct the tak- ing of evidence to determine whether the contention of the railway compa- nies was substantiated, Hearings were held in all of the lar- ger North. Dakota cities; hundreds of witnesses, farmers, business men and professional men, were examined, and a mass of testimony filling many large volumnes wag procured. The hearings concluded with a_ general summing up in Bismarck last fall, but the railways’ action aginst the state has not yet been advanced for hearing and argument. The whole amount of taxes ass for the two years agninst the principal The com- earriers was $6.709,399.02. panies voluntarily paid $ leaving a balance of $2. 3 which they ask that half, or §1,076- 07: be abated. This would be equivalent to the abatement of onc- sixth of the taxes levied against: the railway companies fer the last, two years- In Burleigh county the whole Amount assessed was $191 3 ;~ the amount already. paid'$127,439.22; the amount in suit, $68.719.61, and. the one- half of that amount whose abatement is asked, $31,859.80, REASON FOR OFFER As a reason for his offer of settle- ment the, director general says that it is “twice quite essential that the ac- count of the United States railroas administration be closed and balanc- edsas quickly as possible’. and for that reason “the several raflroads ana the director general have agreed to offer'a compromise of all suits on the basis of paying one-half of the amount fn‘ controversy. BUY. GOOD COAL; IT IS THE CHEAPEST Get acquainted with our Black Diamond Coal —the coal without. a fault. We have a good: supply on hand in lump and egg sizes, and will make deliveries prompt- ly. Phone 115... F.H. = Big Ball Russell —IN— FILLING! 00 Thrills Vet, Part. TWO-HOUR SHOW ALL SEATS 25 CENTS “BIG BILL” RUSSEL As “Buck” Thornton in “Six Feet Four” the ‘biggest photodrama Bill ever made. Tonight and tomorrow at the Orpheum. Try to get in! STATE TREASURER DI- RECTED TO SHOW CAUSE FOR HOLDING. UP PAY (Continued From Page One) . ments of the secretary of state, at- torney general and state auditor and various other departments. and offi- ces. are being curtailed and held in abeyance pending a decision; that the personnel of.the state board of equalization and fhe membership of the state auditing board are affect: ed by legislation passed by the spe- cial session, and more’ particularly by House Bill 60, as to the date when changes in membership decreed by legislature shall take effect, and that all of these matters depend. upon a decision by the court of the ques- tions presented in the petition of the state. The petitioners therefore. pray an alternative writ directing the state treasurer to pay Miss Morris’s salary. warrant as drawn orto appear be- fore the court and’ show cause. Question of Jurisdiction. - There was a question ‘as to wheth- er the supreme court will assume Jurisdiction: In a somewhat similar case affecting the payment of Tax Commissioner . Wallace's salary last fall. the majority members of: the court assumed jurisdiction and di- rected payment as prayed. In a re- cent appeal by Senator J. I. Cahill for a writ compelling the state audi- tor to pay the salary, mileage and per diem for the special session the supreme court declined’ to accept jurisdiction. If the court should hold in. this instance that it has no jurisdiction, the deadlock between the insurgents and the administratiom would continue until some of. the boards as newly constituted by the special ‘session should attempt to function, or there t|be taken’ some other act which would bring the question squarely to the no- tice of ‘the supreme court. i tgs oo LETTS BREAK RED FRONT ON DVINA RIVER \ > Copenhagen, Jan. 5-—Dispatch- es from Riga today declare that the ‘Lettish troops have broken the Bolshevik’s front along the Dvina. Numerous prisoners have been taken together with much booty. it is asserted. , Two divisions.of Letts support- the ‘Bolsheviki on a wide front, the dispatches say. Heavy fight- ing followed, resulting in a Den- etration of- the Eolshevik posi- tions on the first day. The attack was presseg, the red lines, pierced and the Dvina crossed. The ad- i vence continues the \Bolsheviki retreating 4 rapidly, Let's” go to to JOHNSON'S for Hosiery. URIN! at Morning ~ Use | ed by Baltic Lahdwehr attacked | ORPHEUM Tonight: and: Tomorrow: GREAT BRITAIN'’S COALITION CREW SUFFERS DEFEAT John Simon, Liberal, Defeated By Tom Myers, Laborite, Yesterday ‘London, Jan. 5.—Great_ Britain's coalition government suffered the worst blow yet dealt it from the elec- tion of Pom Myers, laborite, over Sir John Simon, liberal, in the parliamen- tary bye-election in the Spen valley district of Yorkshire according to newspapers opposing the c&binet. (Even the Daily News, although it supports official liberals like Sir John Simon, urges that liberal candidates be eliminated in contests where. la- perils, success scems' probable, add+ ing: “The principal task of the electors is to et rid of ‘the spoalition: Bae 2,000 MIN ERS : Columbus, O., Jan. 5.—More tb: 2,000 delegates representing the 40u;- 000 soft coal miners of the United States were assembled here today for the convention which is discussing the settlement of the nation-wide strike. Plans are also to be formulated for presenting to the commission of three men appointed by the president to con- sider all matters in disputes and re- port within 60 days final terms of set- tlement. a NEW EVIDENCE IN MT.. CLEMENS MURDER MAY CAUSE SECOND ARREST Mount Clemens, Mich., Jan. 5.—The authorities announced today that new evidence brought out at the special..in- vestigation into the death:of:J. Stanley Brown might result in ‘the issuance during the day of a/warrant-charging murder. It had been established, it was said, that the man who is under. sur- " we was Seen to leaye a Mount ens hotel with Brown yit a Tate / t dpi the the latter's death. B Cle hour on the ni BUY GOOD OD COAL; / IT IS THE CHEAPEST ~Get acquainted / /with our Black Diamond Coal —the coal without a fault. We have a good supply on hand in lump and egg sizes, and will make deliveries prompt- ——4]ly. Phone 115. F.. H.. Carpenter Lumber Co. Consumers Black- smith Shop just opened for business. Horseshoeing Our Specialty eee E. H. Ryder lf’ Blacksmith At Consumers Barn eep Your Eyes [Car penter Lumber Co. Clean = Clear 4 Health Write Fer free Bye Care Book Muring Co, Chitago.US if 216 Eighth St.. Phone 270 ‘DELEGATES TO isa SETTLE STRIK **