The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-02-04
ALosINo GAVE.

the thrOes Of city ownership cam
paign the Derrick published o number
of letters from men who were familiar
with the experiments that had been
tried by eastern cities. One of the
strongest and most convincing of
those letters was written by Messrs
Guney a. Galley, firm well known
here by reputation, and we reproduce
it here, commencing IL To the careful
attention of the Taxpayers Of Lola:
Pittsburg, Pa, Oct q, 1907,
The HON J. s. SCuDDER, MAYOR, AND
THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL,
Neodesha, Kansas.
conference.-the have been inform
ed that your citizens have petitiOhed
for the opportunity to vote on the
question of bonding your city to put
in natural gas plant.
Now, we have no interest whatever
in the oil or gas business in your state
at the present time, and therefore our
advice to you Is entirely disinterested;
but as we have formed some very
pleasant acquaintances In your city,
and believe they are making mistake
in proposing to bond Neodesha to put
in natural gas plant, we take the
liberty to offer you some advice.
Now, as to bonding your city for
this purpose, we think you would
only be placing your citizens under
the burden of increased taxation,
without giving them the benefitsrof
that for which they are taxed. Our
experience in the gas business has
been fully as large as 1t has been in
the oil business, and we Will say that
there is no business in the world which
requires such careful and economical
management. The history OF it here,
where gas was first discovered and
utilized, is that there have been humid
reds of gas companies organized, pipe
purchased and lines laid, but never
enough money made to pay for the
pipe.
The larye companies which have
combined the oil and gas business
have made better showing; but, in
the case of the largest gas company in
this state, which has millions of CAPT
tai, and was quite successful in the oil
business, the two have not made suffi-
cient return to pay six per cent on the
money invested in their plant. For a
number of years, while gas was found
near the city, they paid dividends, but
have not been able to do so for four or
five years. Not from lack of pas to
supply the city, but from the fact that
it costs so much to reach ont ntolr
places, it requires their entire income
to pay the expenses of running the
plant, drilling new wells to keep up
the production, and buying pipe to
reach these supplies when found.
The only state in the east. of which
we are aware, that permitted towns to
issue bonds for the furnishing of nat
ural gas, is our neigh boring one, Ohio.
Their experience has been fatal to
municipal ownership of gas plants.
The city of Toledo has large indebt-
edness created by the search for gas
and the laying of pipe lines to the
city. The experiment was not sue
cess, and at the present time, the citi-
zens are paying thirty-five cents per
thousand, aud yet do not get as much
gas as they want. We believe, had
the city not established its own plant
the citizens would now be getting
their gas at a lower rate, as the orig
inal company furnished it for low
price until the city company's gas was
exhausted, and then they had to ad
vance the price to avoid loss; and the
citizens are glad to pay the thirty-fivC
cent rate as 1t Is cheaper than coal.
We think Findlay, Ohio, is even In
worse condition than Toledo. 1t IL
much smaller, and was doomed by
realestate companies. The town pu
/ in plant and offered the inducemen
of cheap gas to manufactures TO 10
cate there, and today the city is bank
IupL. The concerns which were in
duced to go there for cheap gas haNt
lett and the outskirts of the town o
Findlay show empty buildings which
could not be sold for the amount o
the taxes the city has against them.
There are other cities in Ohio which
have been equally injured by bonding
themselves for natural gas. and W,
trust that the citizens of Neodeshi
will consider everything CAREFUL!
before they bond their city for, as VI
have said, there can only be one out
come: Increased taxation to pay tn
interest and principal of the bond
issued to install natural gas plant
AS you are perhaps aware, it woul'
hardly pay to remove gas pipe one
laid in town, as it would then b
secondhand pipe, and would not sci
for anything better than junk.
. Another reason for advising agains
plant is that companies here ar
sucking gas from wells with larg
pumps, and while this machinery /
very expensive, unless you did like
wise, an opposition company coul'
place one of these pumps at distanc
of several miles and suck all the ga
, from your wells.
] We give you this information volun
tarily, with the hope that it may b
made as public as possible, so that
the people there feel that they mus
; have a gas plant, they will be In
formed of some of the towns in tn
east which have ihad municipal ga
plants, and will hesitate to go into
scheme with the knowledge that faiI
l. 4. Of q