OCR Text |
Show IGDAST OIL MAN 1 ! HITS NAVY CHIEF Policy of Withdrawals for Naval Reserve Attacked at Convention WASHINGTON' Nv. 19, An attack at-tack on Secretary baniols because of' his Insistence that thr oil reserve in I 'ahfornia bo withhold from public j exploitation, was made tbdaj before ihe American Petroleum Institute by Thomas A. O'Donnell. ftfesldenl of t ae . ot-ga niratlon. ' The oil producers of the Pacific coast." said Mi. O'Donitell, "feel thaj iljc nny department has not -i fair with the prodin its of the Wh believe thia to he duo to the ex-i trerne prejudice of th'' head of the nay department While an armistice hns been signed with the German,! nil' armistice has been offered to the ell producers bj the navy depart-: I MUCH LA VI) W ITIIDB V Mr, O'Donnell said Ihgl in th- face i the oil shortage op I'.ie Pacific nasi -the most serious anywhere m ihe country- the producers there hail lo contend with a "mos! dcplorabio situation." the withdrawal of public lands, with active drilling in progress. :md many millions of dollar :i I read v invested, which brought about years "f expensive and exhaustive llllgatloiii "A naval reserve was created on LbqSO lands two years nfn. after tne ii.'V elopnient bad started," continued ir. O'Donnell. "and unjust public opinion creuted by constant publicity, promoted a general belief that tne plutocratic oil producer of the west ns trying to steal something from our.navy." in it pi cl to wear? .Mr. O'Donnell asserted that Ktt-tlon Ktt-tlon by gocrnme:U officials and politician poli-tician wan as dangerous as govern-rnent govern-rnent regulations and Interference. It destroys noddy, credit uhd confidence 1 as to the future, he declnrea. Discussing the seizure by the nivy t 'department of oil stocks on the Pa-1 clflc const, the speaker declared that this action, together with plans of the J government to Investigate the po:ri-r leum Industry has had a destructive influence on the dewdopment of oil resources in the west. , oo I |