Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-08-05

Gorby, presents in the. Engineering,
Magazine the latest conclusions of
science regarding the origin of natural
gas, including the evidences of o limit
cd supply. It's pcrmnnency, he says,
depends largely upon the use made of
It. For the last eight years it has been
extravngantly and, foo1ishly wasted.
For period of nearly one year there
was daily waste in the state of In
diana alone of, moro than 100000, 900
cubic feet. The daily loss to the peo-
pic of Indiana on account of this
enormous waste was moro than $40, 900.
1t is estimated that sc, 900 cubic feet of
gas in the Indiana field is equal to q
ton of the best coal in stoves or fur
naccS., Coal delivered in the Indiana
gas fields is worth S3.25 per ton. 1t is
not!an cXtrnvagant statement to assert
that the caG5 value of natural gas
wasted in Indiana since its discovery
would be more than $4,000, Oo1-an
amount greater by far than. the, total
capital invested in these fields on ac-
count Of cheap fuel The waste is still
going on ut the rate OF $4,000. o9r cubic
feet daily Hundreds of fambeaus,
consuming on an avcrnTc 1000 cubic
TO burn day and night, without. inter-
ruption, ever since the BEGINNING of
DEVELOPMENTS in the gas area. Hun
dreds of unprofftablc wells arc not
plugged. 'out are Lett wide open, and
the gus allowca'to cscap: i'll the air.
This is especially true of r3lc section Of
the field where pctrolcum:iG found in
connection with gas. ScorcT OF isolat-
cd wells that have been drilled. for oil
yield gas in large quantities. but they
are not connected with pipe lines. and
tho oil Is saved but the gas permitted
to escape.
Reckless cxtravagancc also prevails
IN the use OF gas, both in factories and
private houses. Gas in TIC Indiana
field is not sold by mcaGurc. hut it is
supplied for factory Or domestic pur-
poses ut Il fixed price per month. It
makes no difference whether much on.
little is consumed, the price is the
same. 1t costs no moro to continue
the fire twcnty-four hour3 in the day
than IL docs one hour. With this state
Of things existing, the. consumer has
no.. interest in practicinT economy.
Fires arc allowed to burn continually
in:unoccupicl rooms and unused fur
naecs, without regard to the value of
the fucE consumed. If gas were sold
by measure for all purposes consumers
especially woull practice economy
The statement may seem extravaganza,
but 1T is doubtless true, that at least
forty per cent. of tic gas consumed in
the. Indiana field, factories, dwellings,,
etc, Is actually wasted.
But ono result can follow thiG cXtrav-
agancc, and thatis a,dnIcIs exhaustion
of the field. A:final exhaustion is in
evitablc under any circumstances, but
the proiligacy that now prevails is de-.
stroying the field at n twofSId ratio.
With economy in it's use natural gas
will bring capital, and prosperity to-
the field for years to come, but the
quick exhaustion thaSeis sure to follow
the. extreme prodigality of The last few
years will necessarily result in the
abandonment of tho field to certain
extent for manufacturing purposes.
Gas is most beneficial when con-
sumed for domestic purposes. In this
way 1t benefits n much larger proper
ton of the population, and there is
a1k0 more profit to the producer in sell
ing it for domestic use, AS tie volume
OF Che supply gradually decreases it
wills necessarily be withdrawn from
use in tho factories and the supply
confined exclusively todomcstic use.
It is we'll to note that Mt this time
there is It united action on the part of
the various companies producing natu-
raj gas throughout the various fields
looking to it's preservation and cndeav-
oring to secure rigid economy in it's
use. If these efforts arcrsuccessful the
period of prosperity now prevailing
throughout the gas areas will be ma-
tqrially heightened.
Peculiar ,PantfS