4. The fact that the _Royal Dutch_ had not a market close at hand to absorb its production, in the Dutch Indies, as the _Standard_ had in the United States. 5. The readiness of the Dutch and British to prospect over-seas. It is a combination of these forces--personal, political, and economic--which has resulted in the formation of the _Royal Dutch-Shell_ group, now a world-power. Under the laws of the United States, a similar group would be impossible. "Deterding is a plunger," said an American oil-man, who has often been a competitor of his in various parts of the world. "He plunges with other people's money, not his own; that is why he takes such risks. For instance, he paid five times what any one else would have paid to gain a footing in Egypt, and he has lost a great deal there. However, he pays in shares for the properties he buys, and this gives him an advantage over the _Standard_, which has always paid in cash. In spite of everything, he merits great praise for having started from nothing and having built up the great organization which he directs." Deterding's profession of faith, so to speak, is summarized in a memorable declaration which he made to the Committee of Imperial Defence in March 1913:-- "Oil is the most extraordinary article in the commercial world, and the only thing which retards its sale is its production. There is no other article in the world of which you can guarantee the consumption as long as you can produce it. _In the case of oil, begin by guaranteeing the production and consumption will look after itself._ There is no need to bother about consumption, and as a seller, it is useless to make contracts in advance, because oil sells itself. All that you need is a well-filled purse, so that you are dependent upon no one, and can say to the people who will not buy to-day, 'Very well. I am going to spend £1,000,000 in building reservoirs, and in future you will have to pay much more!' _The great point for the Navy is to make certain of oil from a group which can draw its supplies from many different geographical points_, because one cannot count on any particular oil-field. My experience is that districts which have regularly produced 18,000 barrels a day, have dropped to 3,000 without any previous warning." Since its alliance with the _Shell_, the _Royal Dutch_ has undergone a world-wide expansion. Deterding concluded long-term contracts with the famous British State-subsidized company, the _Anglo-Persian Oil_, guaranteeing it the greater part of the Persian output until 1922. But his cleverest stroke was certainly to acquire an interest in the management of the _Mexican Eagle_. Owing to this, the output of the _Royal Dutch-Shell_ group increased by more than 50 per cent., rising from thirty to more than fifty million barrels a year. The purchase of shares from Lord Cowdray cost Deterding a thousand million francs.