Evening Star Newspaper, July 14, 1929, Page 48

THE . SUNDAY . STAR, WASHINGTON, D. NEW OHIOOIL BOOM | [ GLIMPSING THE FAR EAST STIRS OLD DREAMS Farmers in Northeastern Part of State Hopeful After Gas Appears. BY GEORGE R. REISS, Bpecial Correspondent of The Star. MECCA, Ohio, -July 13.—Oil—that magic word—is bringing dreams of wealth to hundreds of Northeastern Ohio farmers, many of whom had to quit trying to eke a living out of farm- ing years ago and began traveling back and forth daily to work in mills and factories in the Ohio citles. i Already more l‘:l’“nl 50:,000 ml::ld‘e’l" t] rm Ohio lands are !’:gleh;;iwuu and gas drilling rights by a number of big oil and gas companies, and leases for many more acres are ing filed dally. be’l‘h'e first sign of oil—gas—was struck a few days ago at a test well being sunk by the oil companies on the Kiumph Farm, one mile west of here, at a depth A aseiina ressure_of about ‘The gas a P 300,000 feet a day and geologists de- clare that pressure would be increased at least four times in another 18 feet of drilling. Geologists’ Views. The geologists declare the gas vein is undegllld by a vein of oil of unusual quality, and sinking the well a little deeper would hit the oil. But thz drill- ing machinery broke loose immediately after the gas strike and landed at the bottom of the well nearly a mile below the surface, plugging the flow of gas. Then three different sets of “fishing’ tools being used to recover the lost drill broke loose and the well Is plugged completely. Now the oil companies are planning to start work immediately 1o sink five more wells—and oil wells cost big money—for they are satisfied that enough oil and gas exists in this section to make it worth while. Northeastern Ohio once before ‘had an “oil boom”—back in 1859 and 1860 —and there are those hereabouts who still remember the excitement, the speculation, the vice and the financial collapse of those days. Ancient Oil Boom. Parmers those days knew of the ex- jstence of oil, for the water from their wells had an oily taste, and occasionally they found an oily scum on the water of their springs. The farmers didn’t want it to get out at first, as they feared an oll strike would cheapen the value of their land for farming. But it got out and the oil boom came. ‘The first oil was pumped from the farm of william H. Jeffries of West Mecca, in 1859. Land values went sky high, and they had a real, old-fashioned oil boom for a while. But the oil turned out to be very thick and heavy—so thick that it was sluggish—and they had wanted thin ofl for illuminating purposes. They didn’t have automobiles and gaso- 1line engines in those days, so oil wasn't valuable except for lighting—and thin oil was the only kind that would serve e purpose. th'n?eu mnen sold out. Mecca went broke, and homes were sold and moved to other cities. But they need oil for automobiles and gas for heating these days. Perhaps northeastern Ohio will have a better oil or gas boom this time. (Copyright, 1920.) The Stella Clayton W. C. T. U. held fts last meeting before the Summer re- cess July 3 at Montrose Park. The Loyal Temperance Legion accompanied and 49 persons were in attendance. A bus took the group to the park, where a picnic was enjoyed following _the meeting, over which Mrs. Stella Clay- ton, the president, presided. After the opening exercises the secretary and treasurer read their reports and the union voted $2 toward the expenses of the new union and Loyal Temperance Legion that had recently been started at the Gospel Mission. Mrs. Stout, the District director of the Loyal Temper- ance Legion, gave an interesting talk on her work, after which the meeting adjourned. .’u a Tecent meeting Mrs. Balley was present and the president, Mrs. Stella Clayton, introduced her as her W. 7T. U. mother, saying that years ago Mrs. Bailey took her to her first W. C. T. U. meeting and interested her in the work, Mr. and Mrs. Clayton are start- ing on a four-month trip to the East and Canada. o 14 M. P.s in One Family. Maj. Leighton, the new Conservative Member of Parliament for the Oswestry division of Shropshire, England, is & member of a county family which has sent 14 members to Parliament in the Jast 600 vears. The first recorded is Richard de Leighton, Member of Parlia- ment for Shropshire, who in 1324 was summoned to attend a great council at Westminster. Another notable one was Sir Thomas Leighton, Member of Par- Jiament for Shropshire in 1495, who en- gaged in the French wars and at the battle of Tournai was made & Knight | Banneret by Henry VIII | Cat inv Long -Vltll at Grave, After many days’ vigil at the grave of 4ts 98-year-old master and friend, Tabby ‘has given up her watch. Tabby was the black and gray cat of Prebendary Os- mond Dobree, vicar of Colwich, Eng- land, and a great friend of animals. After his funeral Tabby began her vigil. The next day she was seen staring at the grave, and paid no_ attention to any one who approached. For many days afterward Tabby remained motion- less watching the last resting place of her old master, until finally she gave resigned to fate. Our half-year- ly sale of furni- ture and house- furnishings starts Monday, July 15. Catalogs have been distributed in Washington and suburban towns. Phone Betty Lane, Na- tional 5100, if you haven’t re- ceived your copy. Tae Hecur Co. “F Street at Seventh” C. | presumably from May, 1915. Some day, BY GIDEON A. LYON. CHANGCHUN, Manchuria, June 15, 1929. Half an hour ago a strange caravan wound its way through the d1m1¥- lighted streets of this queer new-ol city of Changchun. Twelve rickisha: going two abreast created such a sen- sation as the place probably has rot experienced since the Russo-Japanese War, when the fighting occurred near enough to cause excitement. Twelve Americans occupied the rickishaws, Jouncing about in their unfamiliar seats and clinging desperately to the sides. ‘The late-shopping populace paused in thelr bargaining at the stores and stalls to look upon this strange spectacle of a dozen ‘“pale-faces” joggling along in their evidently unfamiliar vehicles. This is primarily a being an im) shipping pol the South an- churia and the Chinese Eastern Railways and also the’ western termi- nus of the Chinese- owned line to Kirin. It is about the cen- ter of the soy bean trade, enormous quantities of that product being cen- tered here for ship- ment to the ports for foreign trade, My good friend, the little red guide book, says: “Every year more than 1,500,000 koku of beans are collected here and ex- ported. From November to the follow- | ing March, when the rivers of Man- churia are all frozen, caravans may constantly be met with, freighted full | with beans and proceeding toward | Changchun, their drivers filling the air | with the wild din of shouting, cursing and lashings. The caravans go home carrying return freights of cotton cloth and other articles of daily use.” ‘Thought of Riot. | This afternoon, when we arrived, the | air was filled with shoutings just out-| side of the station. At first we thought a riot was in progress. A great mass of people appeared, with some sem- blance of order on the edges. In a few seconds we saw that the edges were comprised of two parallel lines of “runners” for hotels and eating places and resorts of entertainment. They were yelling aloud their respective at-| tractions, each trying to outshout the | others, with the result of a volume of sound greater than any yet heard by us from human voices on this side of the Pacific. And the people streaming from the train seemed to be quite un- moved by the allurements of these vocal offerings, passing on without no- ticing any of the shouters. All day we were on the ralls. with a stop-off at Kunchuling, about 40 miles south of here, to inspect the agricul- tural experiment station conducted there by the South Manchuria Railway for the benefit of the farmers of this part of Manchuria. It was an inter- esting exhibition of Japanese enter- prise and foresight. The effort is to cause a larger and better production of crops and stock. The purpose is to make more business for the railway. At least that is one purpose. Whether there is another, with a political bear- ing, is one of those things that cannot be learned definitely in this land of many complexes. One of the efforts of the agricultural experiment station is to improve the quality of the Manchurian soy bean, which has heretofore been inferior to the Japanese and the Chinese product. After a long series of experiments, the Manchurian bean has been brought up to the Japanese standard. Why should the Japan-government-controlled Soutn Manchuria Railway thus seek to create a rival in Manchuria to a home| product? The answer may lie in that strange spirit of the new Japan, which | is causing her to regard the mainland | of Asia as her own by right of race and contiguity and necessity. | 99-Year Leases. If better soy beans, and better pigs, and better sheep, and better horses | can be produced in South Manchuria, | and the farmers here are in conse- quence made more prosperous, how will | that condition be to the advantage of Japan? She has only a lease from China of certain lands here, and her rallroad holding is likewise under a lease. These leases run for 99 years, rtant t for Mr. Lyon. of course, the leases will expire. But Japan confidently expects their renewal, if ‘meanwhile something has not hap- pened to make them perpetual. One can never tell what another decade will bring forth in this part of . Old as time itself, as it is nevertheless more in a state of change now than almost any other area. Why, even now there are happenings up at Barbin, where we are to go on Tuesday next, that may precipitate a new condition in Man- churia. The Chinese are nagging the Russlans there with ralds on consular offices and an international complica- | tion has arisen. Nobody knows exactly what caused the raids, or what was found of an incriminating or compro- | railroad town, | man: Member of American Journalists' Party Touring Orient as Guest of Carnegie Endowment jor International Peace. mising charecter. But everybody knows, it seems, that the real is to cause the Russians mnmfl; to give up their hold of the management and possibly the half ownership of the Chi- nese Eastern Railway, which is a vitally important link in the transportation of this northeastern section of Asia. ‘The history of the Chinese Eastern Railway is too complicated to be given here, even in outline. Suffice it to say that owing to Bolshevik repudiations there are now no bonds and there are no other stockholders than the two governments, Russia and China. Hence if there are any profits—and usually the profits are heavy—they are divided evenly between the two. The president of the company is a CRinese, the vice president a Russian. The general er is a Russian and the auditor a Chinese. There is a board of 10 directors, five Russian and five Chinese, with a proviso that a quorum consists of seven members, and a further pro- vision that between meetings of the board the general manager shall de- cide policies and conduct all operations. ‘The five Russian directors refuse to attend meetings, and so a quorum is not to be had, leaving the management of the company entirely in Russian hands. This annoys the Chinese, who want to change the terms but cannot effect any amendment. want to go the conditions to which the Chinese sub- scribed. Hence the raids, with the probably perfectly good reason that the Russians at Harbin are conducting a very active political propaganda among the Chinese. Chinese Not Considered Competent. Now here is a strange complication in the case, The Japanese, who have no reason to love the Russians, do not want to see the Chinese Eastern Ralil- way pass out of their management. Because they regard the Russians as by far the better railway operators, they do not want to see that line dis- integrate, as do practically all the rail- ays in China under Chinese control and management. The fact is that the Chinese are not competent railroad executives. They do not keep up their lines. They strip the property of earn- ings, taking out as profits all excess of income over actual operating cost, and 5o leaving little or nothing for replace- ments and repairs and improvements. ‘The Japanese do not want to see this important system break down. For it feeds their own and is almost as important to them as the South Man- churia itself. They feel that this rich region needs the it railroads that can be provided, and therefore it would be better for all concerned if China were to be content with the profits earned by the Chinese Eastern and let the question of nationality in manage- ment slide. Yesterday we went out from Mukden to Pushun, about 40 miles to the east, to see & most remarkable colliery. This is an outcropping of a gigantic seam of high-grade bituminous, setting at an angle of 30 degrees to the surface and at the point of emergence so wide, or thick, that it is possible to conduct open-pit mining on a scale known no- where else in the world, in addition to shaft workings at various points in the stretch of 10 miles constituting the holding of the South Manchuria Rail- way. A Great Output. Not to be statistical, but merely to glve an idea of the magnitude of this operation, I may say that the output of this mine last year was more than 7,000,000 tons, and that this year it is expected to produce 8,000,000. This vein, with an average thickness of 130 GEO. W. SPIER JEWELER 39 Years at 310 9th St. N.W. Now Located at 806 14th St. N.W. New Selection of White Felts All Head Sizes $1.49 ’ Price, $2.00 o : 15 Styles to Choose From CREERON 614 12th St. Bet. F and G Underlying princip Rayon $1.95 les of chic in these Crepe Costume Slips Tailored or lace trimmed with deep hems that are shadowproof, in white a nd flesh only. Slips of sequaix satin, tailored with smart simplicity in soft pastel tones or street shades. Sizes 36 to 44. (Main Ploor. The Hecht G0, Tare Hecat Co. “F Street at Seventh” feet and & maximum of 430 feet, is esti- mated to contain no less than 1,000,- 000,000 tons of coal. But that is not all. The coal vein is overlain by a thick stratum.of brown shale, highly oll bearing, and there is now under construction, to be completed and Thent “capabie. of produsing. annualy n e annually about 70,000 tons of crude ofl, fr which :]I.m tons ol" ft‘.‘hfl obtainable, together large tities of by-products such as sulphuric ammonia and coke. is a highly profitable property. It now gives empl men, practically all Chinese. It makes Japan an important fuel-producing Tare N factor. furnishes a heavy tonnage for shipment has in South Man- C., JULY 14, 1929—PART 3. It supplies the rallroad and certain recent occasion. and export. It increases the “Inter- | TP he: tlons ests” which Ja «huria, which it will not relinquish and | cessf ust protect. . which tlt mt China and Russia are at consular certain of the support of the Manchurian warlord for any extended period. Ji has declared as a permanent pol that it will not tolerate any movement of ent to some 40,000 | troops of tinctly meant Nanking troops But nobody All the matters at issue can be settled otherwise, and that is undoubtedly Japan's present policy. —— e A panel picture, “The Angel of the Annunciation,” measuring 13% by 8% inches, the work of a about 1320, was recently sold in London a | for $32,500. Hrcar Co. “F Street at Seventh” A Mid-Season Fashion Scoop, This Sale of Chiffon Dresses For women who demand the better Floating, lovely lines . . . dipping hems, new princess silhouettes and draperies. Developed in demure flower prints, modernistic and soft plain shades. with cocktail jackets tering lace collars .. . gleaming novelty pins and dainty flower bouquets. Sizes especially for and women who larger sizes patterns Many « v o flat- 3280 WA women take <X > (Mayfalr Shop, Third Floor.) A Dollar Sale Monday for Tots and Sunsuits of novelty printed broadcloths and dimities. Also Carter health suits. Sizes 2 to 6 years. $1 Philippine dresses, hand made and embroidered. Long or short for baby, from 1 to 2 years. Infants’ bonnets and sun bonnets, of organdie and lawn, trimmed with lace or ribbon. For boy or girl. Sizes 12 to 15. $l Bibs, of madeira, hand embroidered, with padded backs. - 4 for $1 Gertrude Petticoats, handmade and embroid- ered. Some scalloped. In- fants’, 1 and 2 years. Drawer Waists, of long wearing muslin with but- ton backs and taped but- tons. Sizes 2 to 6 years. for $1 Rubber Pants, good quality, in bloomer or tri- angle style Small, medium or large. 4 for $1 Crib sheets, extra fine quality muslin, finished with wide hem, Size 4373, $1 Fancy pillowcases, for baby’s little pillow. Solid or eyelet embroidery; scalloped edge. Carter bath towels, soft knitted finished with pink or blue shell stitch. Size 28x40. $1 Baby’s creepers, of baby glattern prints; elastic loomer or French leg styles. Sizes 1 to 3 years. for $1 Pique or lingerie hats, off-the-face or mush-- room styles. White or white and colors. type of clothes Babies ienese master | Hall Mr. BEarnum agreed with the tickets. ah&ulnoverymulutndmm with her views. The letters exc! have recently come into the n of the New York Theatrical Society. oo Exports from the United States to the West Indies last year totaled $278,967,- Jenny Lind Annoyed. Ticket scalpers, as they are today, a problem in the days of Jenny R MK ‘ork_under the manage- Barn m:he lady was o st e 45¢c for slip covers, draperies, McDEVITT 3 5% District 3211 Lunch Tomorrow in Our Downstairs Fountain Room Enjoy a crispy toasted chicken salad sandwich with our delicious frozen fruit salad and iced coffee or tea (La Touraine). The luncheon is 45c. Women’s $1.35 and $1.50 Full-Fashioned Chiffon Silk Hose $1.19 pair 3 prs. for $3.50 All silk with tops and soles interlined with lisle for longer Near...and service chiffon with pointed heels, mercerized soles and silk tops interlined with lisle. In many new shades, mcluding the fash- ionable skin tones. (Main Floor, The Hecht Co.) Semi-Annual I. MILLER SALE By way of clearing out our stock and making room for coming Winter styles. I Miller, Beautiful Shoes, fashioned with that nicety and grace which fashionable women everywhere appreciate. $9.85 For 1. Miller Shoes that Were $12.50 and $14.50 $11.85 For I. Miller Shoes that Were $16.50 and $18.50 $13.85 For 1. Miller Shoes that Were $18.50, $20 and $24.50 (Fifth Ploor, Shoe Salon.) Including Some $10.50 “Grenada” Models $7.85 Women’s Imported Woven Sandals Not only delightfully cool, but Summer’s smartest footwear for sports. In all beige, beige and brown, beige and red and beige and black. Sizes 27 to 6. (Pifth Floor, The Hecht Oo.)