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Show World Is Now Engaged in Sharp Struggle for Oil Emile Decn Discusses Situation in Contributions to Recent Issues of the Boston News Bureau. There is much eagerness just now for information that correlates i activities of oil securities with the great world problems prob-lems confronting the petroleum industry, ! says the Boston News Bureau. The views i of Kinilo Ieen should, therefore, be received re-ceived with considerable Interest. Mr. Deen Is a Hollander and a man of large experience. He owns two newspa- per.H In Europe, devoted to the cause of I the allies. All oil men of importance know him, although to the general public pub-lic he is a comparative stranger. He has the oil instinct, which made him an important im-portant factor in creation of the English En-glish Shell rcmpany, based on a great well in Borneo, found on an enormous tract he has secured for it. He also figured fig-ured largely In the prosperity of the Royal Dutch company through its acquisition acqui-sition of steady production in Sumatra. ?Ie was likewise conspicuous in combining combin-ing these two companies In London in 1 !')(. His experience in oil production, refining and marketing has been extensive exten-sive and continuous for many years. Mr. Deen came to America ten years ago and was one of two or three men who formed the prosperous French company com-pany known as the Union des Petroles d'Oklahoma. He waa one of those who early embraced the opportunity of acquiring ac-quiring oil leases fn the famous Glenn pool. Mr. Deen Is a director of the Oklahoma Okla-homa Producing- fc Refining company, which owns a majority Interest in the Union des Petroles d'Oklahoma. Oil a World Problem. "We are on the eve," says Mr. Deen, "of tremendous developments throughout the world regarding petroleum. There have been lively activities in shares of independent oil companies here the last ti or three months. The rise has been caused by the belief that oil is one of the most promising 'peace' stocks, and that demand for petroleum and Us products prod-ucts will at least keep pace with aup-plv. aup-plv. if not keep ahead of it. "Here in the financial district men are too prone merely to think whether this or that stock Is going to increase Its earnings so as to enlarge its dividends so much oil at so much per barrel. At this time wc should think In world terms, and see whether American fields are capable ca-pable of doing much more in the way of output; whether markets of the world are to remain the bone of contention between be-tween just two great corporations trusts, if you will or whether peace is to bring i new factors welded together. Instead of ten or fifteen or twenty scattered independent inde-pendent factors. "We should also consider whether the price of oil. as a commodity, is going up or down; where tiie additional supply America may not be a hie to produce is to tome f rom, ami, above nil, whetner peace will leave the markets of depleted countries open almost exclusively to the Standard Oil and the Royal Uutch-rihell. We should look at these matters not only in the light of supply and demand, but in the Us? lit of possible treaties and tariffs. It will be interesting to know whether the countries impoverlsed by war und crazlly thirsty for sources of revenue will make petroleum a monopoly, as many before the war took many articles as mopopolies. In many of these countries there were state monopolies In sugar, mutches, tobacco, liquor. What makes oil stocks so eagerly sought is the realization realiza-tion that petroleum and Its products are the most necessary commodities outside of foodstuffs and clothing In the world. Cotton once was king; oil has displaced cotton. Coal waa a king: oil has displaced dis-placed coal. Oil is a close second to .steel in a way. It Is a sort of coregent of steel, or dominating the economic world in concert with steel. Before War Situation. "At tiie outbreak of the. war the panio In Kuropo was more or less In the hands of the Royal Dutch-Shell.- The power they had In the Dutch Indies and the British Indies made them the only competitors of the Standard OH, and Standard Oil was arousing some antipathy. Germany was on the verge of creating an oil monopoly as a state concern. The only opposition to the Royal Dutch was the Standard Oil, which then had the greatest imports Into Germany. Germany desired to use petroleum petro-leum of its own origin and manufacture. It wanted to create a source of taxation taxa-tion in petroleum. Germany had not been a developer of oil territories. America Amer-ica and Holland had taken a big lead in development of oil throughout the world, and Roval Dutch-Shell was just a little ahead of Standard Oil. "Galiclan oil was in the hands of the English and Austriane. Germany had a hold on the Rumanian field, and that was almost the only one In which she had an interest. In Rumania Germany had 25 per cent of the production. Royal Dutch 25 per cent. Standard Oil 15 per cent, France and Belgium 15 per cent, and England, En-gland, Austria, Italy and the Swiss 20 per cent. Germany had possessed an intorest in Russia, but two or three years before the war sold it and lt was in the hands of the Rothchllds' Shell and Royal Dutch concerns." |