Welcome Speech at IADC's 1st Annual General Meeting in Dallas, Texas (1941)

Welcome Address by John Edward ("J.E.") Brantly, 1st President of IADC.

This welcome speech was presented at IADC's 1st Annual General Meeting on 13 November 1941 in the historic Baker Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

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One year ago, almost to the day, a very small group of contractors met around a table in one end of a very large ballroom at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago, borrowing a few minutes of time from the American Petroleum Institute meetings. We had, as guests, representatives of several trade journals & of several organizations with which we do business.

This small group of oil & gas well drilling contractors concluded, after a brief period of open discussion, that the welfare and prosperity of our industry could only be reasonably well assured through the organized efforts of those within it. By-laws were there-upon adopted and officers were chosen and the American Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors came into being.

We realized our shortcomings then and we realize them now. We were conscious of our many errors of commission & of our many errors of omission, and also of the misfortune of having failed, over these many years, to have established definite objectives toward the improvement of our services & of the value of our labor, but we were proud withal, of our accomplishments, and we are still proud of them.

It was to be the purpose of our organization to correct our errors & to recover what we could from our failures and provide for their avoidance in the future. We were to strive for the improvement of our operating practices & of the tools with which we work. It was to be our purpose to enhance the status of all those engaged with us from the roustabout to the heads of the organizations. It was to be our purpose to improve the relations with those for whom we work & to create a better understanding with them, we of their problems and they of ours.

Finally, we proposed to work for the improvement of the services which we render in our highly important & responsible part in the producing of oil. Only these purposes could justify our efforts or, in fact, could justify our existence.

From this beginning & with these thoughts in mind and—important too—a definite enthusiasm, we returned to our respective scenes of operation. It was our plan to hold meetings in the various sections that have been designated & to organize the members to be acquired into working committees.

For various reasons only two of these meetings were held and we found it difficult to acquire members. We did not urge, we made no attempt to present forceful arguments as to why contractors should join with us. Only the objectives of the association were outlined and we expected the contractors to lend us their assistance, support, & encouragement by becoming members. We were disappointed, sorely, for only a few came with us. Those of us who are formal members concluded that it would be necessary to select some individual who could give all his efforts to the association & the perfection of its organization. This, we did, selecting Dallas the headquarters for the Association, it being the most centrally located geographically and, probably, in contractor density.

In the late spring, it became apparent that the Wages and Hours Administration planned to investigate the contract drilling industry in its relation to and with his employee personnel. It was found by many contractors, to their dismay, that they have been operating unknowingly or otherwise in violation of the laws of the nation.

The small group actively engaged in organizing the Association & carrying on its work, took the matter under advisement, studied it thoroughly, and circularized the contractors, informing them of the situation. We received signed authorizations from 310 contracting organizations authorizing the Association to represent them before the Administrator in Washington. Only handful of these contractors were members of the Association, lending your support and advice to it.

Armed with these signed slips, a fair knowledge of the situation, and—most important of all—courage & strong hearts, a small committee made the pilgrimage to Washington to lay the case of the contractors before the Administrator & to pray his consideration and leniency. By no means all of us were at fault, but many were. The battles of those who were remiss in their actions were made the battles of those who had abided by the law.

If we were to be a useful organization, if we were to justify our existence, we must have started with our house in order & its members in good standing. This we proposed to do.

I need not relate the results of the efforts of this committee, for they are well-known. They were, in fact, magnificent and rendered it possible for each contractor to correct those deficiencies in the conduct of his affairs which were in violation of the laws of the land. The success of this work has of itself amply justified the existence of this organization.

That small group of us had ambitious plans in the beginning—and we still have them—and propose to put them into effect, but we have been slow. We have been delayed by the reluctance of drilling contractors to join with us in the promotion of their welfare & the welfare of our industry. I do not believe that those who have not joined us intend to profit selfishly through the efforts of the small group of loyal members, but that they have been thoughtless and have procrastinated in lending us their support while they have enjoyed our accomplishments.

Within the past two months a new regulation has been suggested by the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that will destroy our industry if it comes effective. Those organizations & the works that have been the primary interests and efforts of our lives will be wiped out. This Association has informed not only its members, but contractors in general of the importance in danger to us that lies in the ruling as handed down. Meetings have been held among ourselves & with representatives of oil-producing companies. Plans were laid to state our case before the proper authorities in Washington and the assistance of other governmental organizations was enlisted. Our Association of Drilling Contractors was chosen to present the case for the industry in Washington.

It was not the intention of these governmental authorities to destroy us, to hamper the oil-producing companies, or to impair the production of oil, but they did intend to correct what to them appeared to be an abuse of a liberal interpretation of the law. We were instructed to file briefs with the Commissioner’s office within 10 days. This has been done.

A second conference may follow. We believe a solution will be found that is fair and acceptable to the producers & to ourselves and that will allow us to continue the intensive operations necessary to that production of oil so essential to the welfare into the very existence of our nation at this time.

Again it has been demonstrated the need for & the effectiveness of a legitimate and well-intentioned association for drilling contractors. Those two efforts were in protection of this existence and I believe, of the welfare of the nation. Our plans & program for the future call for similar efforts should the need arise, but more importantly for constructive improvement in our works & in our services. We shall ever be alert to dangers from without and we shall always endeavor to improve ourselves from within.

We, the contract drilling industry, are an important link in the economy, particularly at this time of great national emergency and we proposed to justify our continuance. Through this Association we can work most effectively to that end.