IN THE LAND OIL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 80, 21 August 1912, Page 7

IN THE LAND OIL.

A NEW ZEALANDER [N CALIFORNIA. ■ Mr. W. McLean,'of Wellington,; WhWiS interested in the-Bottith'on Oiltoropan} 1 , New Plymouth, weht'.bvea - ,t'q ('aUforiiih some weeks ago to inspect' tile os'lfi'6m* in the south round Los Angeles and enquire into the latest machinery and methods for petroleum exploration wfifk and oil boring. ' From' Los .Angeles'ho ■writes'to a. friend in Wellington of soihe of his experiences and impressions. ' He notes the practical supersession of. foal, which is dear, by crude oil, .which is, cheap. The locomotives all use. oil, which is found to give much greater economy. Huge oil trains are a feature on the. Californian railways.. The centre of the oil district is Lo* Angeles, in the fat" south, which has made extraordinary progress in recent years. With its sur-, rounding suburbs, it. haR a population; of over half a million,.and so confident is? it of the future that.it is carrying- to., completion the greatest water supply • scheme in the world. The city is situated in what is practically an arid re- : gion, and to get water its enterprising citizens have gone over two hundred miles away into the foothills of th» Rocky Mountains, and have there dam-' med up a reservoir for the use of the city. The water is brought by an aqueduct over 200 miles long, up hill and down dale, and across the rainless Mograve Desert. The extraordinary wealth of the city is shown, according to Mr. McLean, in its hosts of motor ears, motor cycles and electric cars. The cars are numbered up to 77,689, but Mr. McLean says he will make more exact enquiries on this matter. The climate of Los Angeles is warm but beautifully clear, and all around it are thousands of acres of gardens and orchards, which flourish under irrigation. There ig another side to it.. "It appears to me," says Mr. McLean, "that the bounty of Nature to this district is unlimited, but the privileges of the people are few. The cost of living is very high, what with rents, travelling, and tipping. The method of 'tipping' seems to me to have attained a scientific degree of bare-faced legal imposition. I feel safe in saying that one could live comfortably in New Zealand on the tips the traveller has to pay in this country. Land for building purposes appears excesively high, running from £SOO to £IOOO an acre at I distances seven, eight or nine miles out of the city. The valuation for city purposes has increased by 1,000,000 dol- | lars; the building permits for June came i to over ,1.000,000 dollars." I Mr. McLean, by urgent request, €en- ( sented to give an address on New Zealand and its progressive legislation. He had an audience of over 800 people at Pasadena and met with a splendid reception. He had many other requests, j but had to decline on account of business j engagements.