The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-02
FUTURE OF KANSAS
Requisites for Development
of Industrial Possibilities. :
NATURAL GAS FIELDS
Kansas Is Proud of Her School
Institutions.

The gas fields of Kansas cover a tract
Of eighty square miles in the southeastern
corner of the state, just where cheap fuel
is most needed, and furnish a remarkable
Illustration of the wisdom of nature. The
inc mines of Kansas and Missouri, of al
most unlimited deposits, are so near that
the flames at the gas wells may almost be
seen from the shafts. In Indian Territory,
a few miles to the south, are coal and
petroleum in practically ineXhausti5le
quantities, and all around the gas fields
are beds of clay which make the best brick
in the world. Sooner of later soma one
is going to find sand for glassmaking and
iron ore, which viii make southeastern
Kansas a center Of industry similar 10 the
gas fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio and In
diana.
Here, in a little area not much larger
than Rhode Island, have been assembled
by the hand of the Creator al the neces-
sary materials for several of the most
important mechanical industries. To the
north and west and south is an Agricultu-
raj country that produces the best and
cheapest food in the world. To the cast
are the great forests of Arkansas, which
will furnish timber in abundance within
easy distance. A little farther south are
the cotton fields of Texas, and it Will not
be many years before a large part of their
crop will be consumed here by factories
fed by natural gas, the cheapest, the most
convenient and the best fuel in the world
In yesterdays letter l mentioned the
first
Il is n the nature of an experiment, but
no enc who has studied the situation has
any doubt Of is success. The same condi-
tiCns that made the manufacture of cot
ton fabrics profitable in the southern states
exist here, with the addition of two very
important considerations. One is the fuel
I have mentioned: the other is the exist
ence of a market of 10000, 600 people with
in transportation distance of twenty
four hours. The railroads are already con-
structed. Unconscious and involuntary
preparation. has been going on for years,
and the discovery of natural gas in Nan
sas found the transportation companies
ready to do their share of the work.
There has been no boom in the gas dis
trict. People out in this country have a
horror of "booms'-the result of expert
ence-and nothing has been done to create
an excitement on bring in money or labor
that is not needed. The gas wells are now
utilized chiefly for smelling, brickmaking,
flour and paper mills and for domestic
purposes. A man pays 81 a month during
the winter and 50 cents during the sum-
mer for heating and an equal amount for
lighting his house, including fuel for the
cook stove. There are no ashes, no dust
and no kindlings are needed. When he gets
up in the morning he strikes a match and
lights the kitchen fire. He sets the fur
mace going in the same way and can
start a fire in the CRATE easier than one
can light an oil lamp. Companies are
being organized to pipe the gas for manu-
featuring and domestic purposes to To-
peka, Kansas City and other large towns.
There are now about twenty wells IN
the lola district, varying in depth from
SO to 937 feet, giving a daily flow of from
8 100000 TO 100000 cubic feet and a press
IRE varying from 80 to $50 pounds Sew
eral experts have pronounced one Of the
wells at lola the best in the world. Tt is
perfectly dry. No water has ever flowed
from it. The pressure gauge stands at
80 pounds day after day. and there IS an
open flow of 10000 cubic feet of gas every
twenty-four hours, which is equivalent in
heat units to 235 tons of btuminous coal.
This would be sufficient to run a 1900
horsepower engine and furnish enough
light and fuel for tiwn of 5000 inhabit-
ants
Prof. Grimsley, the state geologist OF
Kansas, tells me that 1.-The lola gas oc-
ours in a porous sand rock, and when the
wells are drilled about fifteen feet into
it the pressure is so great that it throws
out the tools. The gas is held in this rock
by a cap Of hard shale from one to eight
feet in thickness. The total volume Of
the twenty wells at present is about 1S5.-
100000 cubic feet day. but the most OF
them are not used. The wells lie about
10 feet above the sea level With regard
to the duration of this supply" he says,
there IS very little data. because of the
newness of the field, and the fact that
most Of the wells are shut in 10 prevent
leakage. The life of any gas field is linn
tied, but I believe from my studies that
the lola field will outlive all the others.
The Robert Lanyon smeIter has used gas
from the same well for two years and the
pressure has fallen but five pounds. When
they shut off the gas for a short time the
original pressure was restored. They have
a pressure of go pounds, but use only
about eight ounces"
It is estimated that $4,000 cubic feet
of gas has the energy OF fifty tons Of
coal. hence the weNs already drilled at Ioal
have a capacity Of 1850 tons Of coal daily.
Experiments are now being made IN the
manufacture Of white lead, sewer pipe.
glass and other articles A Detroit COM
pany is getting ready for the manufacture
of sewer pipe and the representatives Of
several other industries are nov on the
ground making Inquiries and looking over
the field
Like many other important discoveries.
the knowledge Of this great source Of
wealth came by accident They fed Kan
sas gas 10 invalds for twenty years before
they knew what it vas, and many remark
able cures were effected. The ce-tfca -
Z grateful patients ar now Sill on file vith
IN archives 0f Acer's sanitarium- Away
back in 1873 party Of coal Qr1s7sctors
struck what they believed - be q n n
s~aI spring. The water had peculiar
ats.e and was fun of Bubbles. Ii was bot
tied and sod in large quantities Tor medic
tnaI purposes. and a saa.tsriu-n was built
at the spot 81 shat suffering humanity
could 80 70 tae fountain head for relief
do not say that the cures e wrouzt,
we're entirely imaginary, although some
people down here Ike 10 oke about them,
while Others think such Jokes are very
much on; of taste. A. any rake the peo-
Die who vere benefited by using The water
have nothing - complain Of and tasy are