Martial law was matched against economic law in Oklahoma last week. The State's oil industry was the object of a dramatic experiment to see if rifles and machine guns can replace supply and demand as price fixers. Conductor of the experiment was Governor William Henry ("Cocklebur Bill") Murray, fresh from his Red River bridge war with Texas (TIME, Aug. 3).
Last month when crude oil prices melted down to 22ยข per bbl. and independent operators clamored for a voluntary shutdown, Governor Murray dug up a half-forgotten Oklahoma law passed in 1915 which prohibited...
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