The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-18

Leaving balance of capital stock
outstanding .-.-.-....-...........--$l 1S, 2yS.56
Careful examination Of the accounts and
vouchers, together with notification of the
bank balances, shows above statement TO
be correct.
THREE DAYS IN GAS FIELDS.
ITO learn what was being done to meet
tie demands of patrons OF this company.
your committee, accompanied by State
Natural Gas Supervisor j. c. Leach, spent
three days in the mud and snow of the gas
fields, visiting first pumping station No. 1,
built in 1896, located in Hamilton county,
twenty miles from indianapolis. The por-
ton of the gas field feeding into this sta
ton had originally a pressure of over 300
pounds per square inch and the wells were
OF large capacity. AT this time many of
the wells have been exhausted and the best
CT those still in service show not over
seventy pounds pressure and a light flow
or gas, so that six large pumping engines,
furnished with steam by sixteen boilers,
running full capacity, have a supply pres
sure or only thirty-eight pounds and q
discharge pressure of 237 pounds, which,
with the temperature at 81 degrees, was
reouced through use by consumers to six
ounces in high pressure lines and one and
Onc-Quarter ounces in the low pressure,
which are the distributing lines in the
city.
VIC HCAl NlSlltu SldllOn ANO.
built in 1899. in Madison county fifty miles
from Indianapolis. Six large pumps, a
total of 5000 horsepower, which is about
30 per cent greater capacity than those in
station No. /, are operated, furnished with
gas from about $50 wells in the upper
Madison. Delaware and Grant county
fields at pressure varying from no to 160
pounds, the latter being the highest OBJ
tainable pressure in the new wells sixty
miles from Indianapolis in the best remain
ing portion OF the gas belt, where the rock
Dl
pounds. At this station fed by three ten
inch lines. the supply pressure is eighty
POUNDS and the discharge pressure 290
pounds. This is within five pounds of the
limit set forth by law. This pressure at d
temperature of 40 degrees yields eleven
pounds at the city limits station, five
ounces in high pressure and one and one
quarter ounces in low pressure or distrib-
uting lines of the city.
Your committee visited wells to within
county, having Mr.. Leach test many wells
in our presence. They have drilled sixty
two wells the past season and laid
twenty-eight miles of mains.
The pumping stations and plant gener-
ally seem well maintained and in first-class
working order.
INFORMATION FURNISHED.
'The directors and officers of the COM
pany furnished your committee with all
books. information and assistance desired
in the examination of the company's affairs
ana state OF gas supply, ana your commit
tee. after investigating the supply in the gas
field, by the aid of Supervisor Leach, be-
lieves that the gas supply shows heavy
failing, and this company has made an
extra effort to hold up their supply by a
| constant drilling of new wells and the Sc
| curing, at great cost, the most desirable
| leases in all the gas belt. We cannot find
| any evidence that there was ever a foot of
gas furnished outside of indianapolis by
| this company.
I'VE beg to further report that the COM
pany does not deny that 1t is refusing to
make new service connections, and offers as
| an excuse that 1t has all the consumers on
/ its lines that IL can possibly serve; that Ii
| has not paid its stockholders in full, as
| charged in the resolution appointing this
committee, since there is still the amount
/ of Sis, 1856 due them.
'ln conclusion this committee would re-
| port that total value of stock held by en-
| tire directors and board of trustees at this
! time is IS. 1885, and each one of them testi-
/ fed under oath that they owned no stock
/ in any other natural gas company, and
| there are at this time 2,0SS stockholders in
| this company. There are 137 wells feeding
| gas into No. pumping station, 103 into No.
/ pumping station, and six gangs driving
1 wells in the field