The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-13
Question of Finances Will Be
the Serious One.
COMPETE WITH COAL.
Believe Natural Gas
Is a Cheap Fuel.
A Price of 40 Cents a Thousand
Is Proposed.

While the proposed system of piping
natural gas to Topeka from the Kansas
gas fields would give Topeka gas at less
than half of the rate charged by the
manufactured gas company, it seems
probable that in order to compete with
soft coal as fuel for heating, the price
would have to be fixed even lower than
40 cents per thousand cubic feet.
G. P. Grimsley, secretary of the Kan
sas Academy of Science, now has in
preparation a report ON the feasibility
of piping gas to this city. in which he
discusses the amount of gas which is
required to be the equivalent of a ton
of coal.
The bretically, the amount of gas re-
quired to equal a ton of the best Pitts
burg, Pa, hard bituminous coal is 10000
cubic feet In actual practice, however,
it is found that the incomplete combus-
ton of coal. and the waste in starting
and stopping a coal fire. makes the
equivalent of a ton of soft coal to be
from 10000 to 1900 cubic feet. At the
rate OF 40 cents per 1,000, this would be
from 81 to $3.50 for enough gas to equal
ton of soft coal. Soft coal is now be-
ing sold for $3.50 ton, but this is much
higher than prices have been usually in
Topeka. Usually the best soft coal can
be bought at from $3.50 to $500 a ton.
Just at the present time, the gas could
compete with coal but if coal should go
back where it was prior to last winter,
the gas would have to depend on its su-
periOr advantages as luel 10 coHtIOl eiAe
market.
In his report, Prof. Grimsley states
that it is entirely feasible to pipe nat
ural gas to Topeka
L would regard the question of money
as the most serious one" said Prof.
Grinsley this morning to a reporter for
the State Journal. 1T will take large
sum to build the pipe line. l should
Judge that the field which this company
proposes to tap is good for 10 or ~
years service yet
r R1lrdge. one of the chief pro-
moters Of the proposed gas company
said today:
I'VE believe that we can compete
with coal for fuel in Topeka. People
will find that there is a great saving
in gas as fuel because they can start
and stop a fire without any waste Inc
only way to really determine now cheap
gas is at 40 cents thousand is 10 use
it at that rate.
The consideration of the proposed gas
franchise will be taken up at the spe-
cial council meeting this evening.
Prof Cfrimsley says that the question
of how much gas is equivalent 70 Ton
terrnine for practical purposes. he
saws that many scientists decline 10
make any estimates on this matter, put
that the weight Of evidence IS thal ~, :
goo feet OF gas IS equal 10 ton o. coal' -.
when both are burned under the pest
possible conditions. His Forthcoming
report will sa=:
sVarious rumors are heard from time
to time of schemes to pipe gas from
sol1t theastern Kansas to cities outside
the gas belt 1t is stated that there are
three or four companies now at work
on projects of this kind. The only one
which has made definite plans, 50 lar
as known, is a company organized to
nine gas to Topeka and towns along the
way This company is now at work
securing a franchise at Topeka and has
leased several thousand acres of gas
land with a number Of good wells.
This line would be about % miles Ions
and will cost about one million dollars.
That such line is practicable IS
proved by the experience IN the eastern
states Buffalo is supplied with gas
piped from Canada and from Elk coun>
ty, Pennsylvania, distance of 80
miles Columbus, Ohio, is supplied
with gas piped 40 to 30 miles, and the
same field is now supplying Toledo
through a 125 mile pipe line West Nlr~
ginia furnishes gas to Ohio and Penn
sv.van5a.
..If a pipe line was built to Topeka
it would be a paying proposition and
would mean mucn Tor Jnat city
"Ohio laboratory experiments showed
that about 10000 cubic feet of natural
gas equalled one ton of best Pittsburg
coal, and these figures are usually given
to show the value of gas for fuel In
such laboratory experiments, both the
coal and gas are burned under most
favora BILE conditions. Practical
experiment in a stove shows the gas
will give a higher temperature in a
given time than coal, and its available
heat supply will be greater.
"A less amount Of gas heat energy
will escape through the pipe and CHM
nev in the form of SCOT and smoke. IN
other words the combustion of gas will
be practically more complete in the
stove or furnace than when coal is used.
Observation on the use of coal in a
stove and under boiler for given
length of time, and also on the use Of
gas for the same length of time shows
that about 10000 or 1900 cubic feet will
be equivalent to a ton of coal used
under favorable conditions by good
fireman. The exact practical equiva-
llent cannot be stated on account of the
many variable factors. but the above
figures are regarded as approximately
correct"