Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-01-11
OIL GAS.
BRINGING GAS ESQ MILES.
Capiralists' Scheme for IIiuni mating I
Cities OF the East.


\. Y. sun.
care you the man who proposes to
bring gas from the Pennsylvania coal
regions to New York city," Mr.. John
Hoey, of the Adams express company, was
asked.
"Well, don't propose to do it all by
myself" he replied. sit takes about
S25 900, 600 capital and 1 do not always
carry that amount of money about my
clothes. There has been good deal of
talk about the scheme, but could not tell
you much about the details. Mr.. J. w.
Baker is the man you ought to see.
Mr.. Baker was found willing to give in
formation on the new project. He said !:
1.-The idea Of bringing gas from the Penn
sylvania coal fields to this city is by no
means new. have been thinking it over
for twenty years. 1t was favorite project
with the venerable Simon Cameron. We
have organized a company under the laws
of New Jersey, called The Gas Light
Transportation Company The capital is
$25, 600, 600, but tho stock is not yet on
the market. The officers are j. Nelson
Tappen. city chamberlain. President j.
G. Lucas. vice president of the Keystone
national bank of Philadelphia Vice Presi-
dent Isaiah G.. Babcock, treasurer Of the
Adams express company, treasurer. The
directors are John Hoey, Senator John X.
Mcpherson, Henry ID. Moore of Philadel-
phia, and Frederick Z. Gilbert.
"We are at present selecting appropri-
ate coal lands on which to fix our works.
The idea is to make gas in the same way
that it is made in ordinary gas works out
of bituminous coal. \ false report has
been circulated that we intend to make
gas from anthracite coal. We never haG
any such idea. A very large amount of
property has been offered to us, and a
competent committee is now engaged in
making the requisite investigations. We
wish to put our gas works i'll region
where the coal is not likely to be exhausted
within seventy five ycarc. We propose to
erect gas works that will manufacture
40, 000, 900 feet of gas per day. This would
require l, AGO, 900 tons of coal annually.
The coal can be bought at the mines for So
cents per ton, but the gas companies pay
81 62 per ton for it. They save something
by the sale OF coke, tar, and ammoniacal
liquor, SO that their coai costs them SO. IA
per ton, or 32 cents thousand cubic feet
OF gas manufactured, One great saving
will be in the cost of coal and in the trans
portatiOn."
"What do you estimate will be the
saving?'
"We calculate the saving in cost of coal
at $40, 600 per day, OF S., S69, 900 per year.
In the purifying VIC save STAG, 900 per year.
1t is we'll known that coal freshly mined
will prodnce better gas than coal that has
been long mined. Getting and using our
coal fresh from tho mines saves us 81 ,SGS, =
600 per year. Our receipts for tar and
ammoniacal liquors would amount to
1854, 900 year, SO that the grand total Of
our savings will be 81, 300, 900 a year,
"What capital would be required to put
up the requisite wOrks?'
"We will estimate the entire plan at
sd, 900, ,O00-twenty-tive millions in stock
and twenty millions in bonds. If VIC pay
six per cent. interest on the bonds, we
We have balance which would pay q
dividend on the capital stock of 14.17 per
cent
How about the cost of pumping
gas ?''
We make no allowance for that, rs
the cost will be nominal. AS we have not
credited ourselves with estimates for the
sale of coke, We may allow the coke to Off
set the pumping
"Will there be any difficulty in pump
ing gas through such long pipe 20
We do not see how there can be. 1t
is we'll known that oil is pumped through
hundreds of mics Of pipes, The furthest
point proposed for our works is nearer
than the furthest point from which oil is
pumped. Our pipes need not be stronger
than oil pipes. We shall be simply ex-
tending the method Of serving gas already
in use everywhere. Ii VIC can make ar
ranscments with existing companies to
supply them at wholesale cheaper than
they can make gas themselves, we shall
do so. II they oppose us We may be COM
PEELED to enter into competition with
them to supply retail customers. OF
course VIC shall find no difficulty in pro
curing customers if We can bring cheap
gas into the city,
"Will the gas be as good vixen it gets
there as when it is freshly made 81
I" 1t is admitted that the quality of gas
is dcteriorated by transmission. This,
however, will be counterbalanced by the
ability to make the gas better out of fresh
coal. The first third of gas freshly made
is generally SO rich that it smokes badly.
and must be mixed with poor gas before
it can be used. We can easily, therefore,
make gas rich enough to counteract the
loss by transportation. We do not expect
to be obliged to carry the gas more than
24O miles. We have the right of condem-
nation Of property in Pennsylvania for the
purpose of laying our pipes. We have the
right to carry our pipes across the Hudson
river, secured by the act of the New
York Legislature. We have further con-
sidered the deterioration of gas by COM
preston. Some experiments conducted
10y Thomas K. Lees, president of one of
the gas companies, showed that under a
pressure Of 1, go pounds to the inch the
gas lost one candle power. Some expert
ments We're made by the Pennsylvania
railroad company that used COMPRISING
machine to get the gas into the reservoirs
of their cars. In some cases there was a
deterioration of twenty per cent. by the
squeezing out of hydro. carbon. All these
points have been considered in our esti.
mates. We may cross the Hudson in the
new tunnel. Engineer Smith says it is
practicable for us to do So"
sit will take pretty big pipe to bring
SO much gas %
eyes. Our pipe will be made of iron.
six feet in diameter, laid in hydrulic
cement"
"Suppose the pipe gets clogged?"
no danger of that. know of no reason
why such a pipe should get clogged. That
reminds me of an experiment made with
natural gas taken from one of the Penn
sylvania oil wells. a factory, eighteen
miles distant, was to be lighted with the
gas. The owner of the factory, not know
ing whether the thing would be success,
did not care to gOto the expense of dur