A record of the oil industry from 1890 to 1950 as shown in the development of the Benedum oil interests and the experiences of Michael Late Benedum (1869-1959) and his associates, notably Joseph Clifton Trees (1869-1943). The material consists of interviews with people having special knowledge of leasing, financing, geology, oil and gas production, legal and tax problems. The interviews contain several accounts of Benedum and Trees as wildcatters, going into virgin territory and finding new sources of oil and gas in the United States (Illinois, 1905; Caddo, Louisiana, 1908; Central Texas, 1918; Big Lake and Yates fields in West Texas, 1923-1926); problems in oil exploration outside the U.S. (Mexico, 1911-1916; Columbia, 1915; Rumania, 1918-1919; the Philippines, 1920; and China, 1936); development of companies and corporate holdings including Transcontinental Oil Co. (1919), Plymouth Oil Co. (1923), Hiawatha Oil and Gas Co. (1926), and Bentex Oil Corp. (1936); storage, transportation, marketing, and refining; conservation and proration practices leading to Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 1933; United States income tax claim against Michael Benedum and Foster B. Parriott for $79,000,000, 1925, Supreme Court decision in their favor, 1937; extensive biographical material on Michael Benedum, including early life and political activities.

Incidental material of interest includes: impressions of Woodrow Wilson at Princeton (McClintock interview); E. L. Doheny, Senator Joseph Joseph Guffey, John Archbold (M. L. Benedum interview); John W. Davis (Johnson interview); Texas General Land Office (Giles interview); and Slick Research Foundation (Slick interview).