The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-03
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
Some Consuming Gas Facts.


To the Editor OF the INDIANAPOLIS Journas
The News. in commenting upon my commu-
nication in Saturdays Journal, charges me with
making RECKLESS statements" etc. and says,
amongst other things, that
I'm alluding to the fact that the Cooper COM
pany offered at one time to sell out to the trust
(gas company for $4,000, and that the trust
afterward bought for 1000. he is insincere
enough to try to make the impression that
interval of time elapsed and that no material
purchased To the News this morning Mr..
Cooper said that when they made their offer to
the trust, their territory was undeveloped and
their first well was being sunk At the time of
the sale to the trust they had two completed
wells-one of which WAS the Waddeu well-and
large amount of valuable leases in addition.
$50. 900 when they sold as it was worth 1000
when they first offered. In other words, the
$4,000 offer was for a pig in the poke, while
the 1000 was for whole drove of hogs"
Now, my information, which I get from what
1 believe to be thoroughly reliable source, is
that the first offer of the Cooper company to the
indianapolis company was for well and
certain leases for the of $1,000. After
wards, and after the second well had come in,
and after they had secured all the leases and all
the property it had at the time of the sale to
the trust, that company raised the price to
$4,000 which offer was declined as stated, and
that within few days thereafter. and without
further development. sale was made to the
trust for SIS O00-so it not so big drove
of hogs" after all. Now, do not propose to
get into any controversy in regard to this
matter with the News, or any other newspaper
or person, but at the same time, before paying
further assessments want to know what has
been done with the money already paid in. and
that have a right to know. at the same time.
if the News thinks the trust stock so good an
investment, several of my neighbors who have
paid in 90 per cent, the first assessment would
like to surrender their stock to the News, or any
other responsible person or company who VIII
take it off their hands and agree to pay out their
subscriptions The effort of the trust seems
not much to bring in gas itself as it is to keep
anyone else from bringing it in. What the peo-
pie of the city want is gas at the very earliest
day possible, and not the promise of 1t In the
dim and far-distant future. Ii the trust peo-
pie are really in earnest why do they not give
the bond required by the ordinance as an evil
dence of their sincerity2 Mr.. Claypool, the
treasurer of the trust and its principal man
ager is reliably quoted as saying that he will
DOT himself sign the bond, nor would he advise
his friends to do it." Yet the News says the
ordinance is perfect and must not be changed.
If the treasurer of the company will not sign
the bond is it reasonable to suppose that any
one else willa / am in favor of the bond from
whatever company furnishes the gas, yet am
not prepared to say that the ordinance is the
perfection of reason, that it might not be
amended in some respects. CONSUMER