The First Oil Man

Recent exercises in Titusville, Pa., commemorated the discovery of petroleum by drilling there in 1859, by Edward L. Drake, "Founder of the American Petroleum Industry." Mr. Drake did not live long enough to realize the momentous consequences of his achievement, or its far reaching effects on industry. Indeed, it was a serious question with him whether the contents of his first " 20-barrel well" were not too large to ever be sold. Until the popular adoption of the automobile, petroleum was desired chiefly for its derivative, kerosene-- such was the situation in 1906, when the American petroleum industry had combined assets of about $750,000,000. In 1922, however, the industry's assets were ten times this figure, and its leading product had become gasoline consumed primarily by motor vehicles. A. C. Bedford, Chairman of the Board of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, made the principal address at Titusville. He emphasized the difficulty at present of purchasing and storing the abnormal petroleum output; he nevertheless expressed confidence in the future of the industry. Mr. Bedford stated that during his 40 years' experience in the oil business he could not recall a single year which could be called normal, in the sense that production and consumption exactly balanced. "We are now," he concluded, "in the midst of a crisis in the industry, and I have no desire to minimize the serious aspects of the situation, but I must confess that if the petroleum industry ever ceased to be abnormal I think I should find it very dull indeed! "