The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-12
THEGAS QUESTION
1t Will BE Important One Be-
fore Next Legislature.
Oil Regions Don't Want Pipe
Lines Built.
KEEP 1T ALL AT HOME.
Figure That 1t Will Help in
Development.
Other Towns Want a Chance at
Gas Supply.
-EEP 1T ALL AT HOME.

session of the legislature over the
question of piping natural gas out of
the gas district. The gas towns nat
uraIly are objecting to having their
gas taken away and used by other
towns. Not that they want it all
| hemselves-m of them have more
gas than they can begin to use; they
have gas to burn, in fact. But they
do not want competing towns to get
the advantage of it.
The gas towns naturally believe
that their natural gas ought to be an
attraction which should bring them
large factories and make the gas belt
a great manufacturing region. They
are afraid if gas is piped out to Kan
sas City and other cities the manu-
featuring plants will locate in the
larger centers and utilize the gas
there, rather than build their plants
in the gas belt. Consequently they
propose to fight the piping projects.
AT present they are powerless to do
very much. Rights of way for pipe
| lines can be condemned the same as
| for railroad lines. The gas towns may
| be able to delay things for a time, but
eventually, under the present laws,
| pipe line companies can secure their
rights of way to pipe gas wherever
4 they please. Therefore it is proposed
! to secure legislation prohibiting the
! piping of gas from one county to an
/ other. 1t is said that when a pipe
1 line once reaches the state line no
| state law can prevent its going across
into another state on account of inter-
state regulations, so the only way to
! keep Kansas City from securing
natural gas will be to prohibit piping
1 it into the border counties.
There is no doubt that plans are al
/ ready we'll under way for piping gas
to Kansas City, and the same plans m
clude lines to St. Joseph and st. Louis
eventually, and also lines to Topeka
| Leavenworth and Atchison, but it is the
/ Kansas City line that the gas towns
/ object to chiefly. However, if one is
/ cut off the rest will be also.
+ The campaign is already under way
/ to secure anti-pipe line legislation It
/ entered into the defeat of Colonel John
! G. Carpenter for representative in Ne0-
shO county recently. One of Carpen-
ter's chief supporters was e-torney for
/ a pipe line company. and the people
were afraid of Carpenter on the pipe
| line question. Other gas counties will
! pay special attention to this question
in electing members of the legislature.
Gas has already built up great manu-
featuring industries in Allen and Mont
gomery counties and they propose to
add to them.
Many of the leading politicians of the
state are interested in either gas or
| oil projects in the gas belt, and this
| fact will doubtless have a strong bear
ing on legislation affecting that region.
| 1t is as likely to work one way as an
| other, however. Many of the politicians
are interested in companies which have
gas wells for which they have no mar
ket and probably will not have for
years unless they sell the product to
| pipe line companies. These might work
/ against any anti-pipe line legislation.
| Others have financial interests in the
gas belt which make them anxious to
/ bring manufacturing industries into the
| gas region. The pipe line question is
! likely to cause one of the big fights in
/ the next legislature, and it will not be
/ along party lines
The body of the late Judge Matthew
P. Simpson, who was killed in au-
| tomobfle accident near Newton Tues
| day evening, was taken home to Nc
Pherson last evening, and the funeral
viii probably be held tomorrow. The
! Harvey county bar will attend in
| body.
Additional details of the sad acci-
dent which resulted in the dis
| tinguished judges death state that S.
Lehman, president of the First Ma
| tional bank of Newton, was driving
the car at the time of the accident.
Mr.. Lehman started out for ride in
his automobile Tuesday evening and
| invited Judge and Mrs. Simpson and
Miss Anna Lees, a teacher in the New
ton schools, to accompany him. At a
point several miles west of Newton
Mr.. Lehman proposed to turn to the
north and then run back to town.
Just north of the turn was a bridge.
| The machine gained too much mo-
mentum in going down a grade be-
| fore the turn was reached and after
the turn was made it was about to
run off the west side of the bridge.
| Mr. Lehman turned it to the east but
evidently turned it too much consid-
ering the momentum of the machine
and it plunged off the east side. The
/ two men were on the front seat. The
car turned completely upside down
pinning them under it. The two
| ladies, on the back seat, were thrown
entirely free of the machine, landing
| in some willows and escaping with
l'only few scratches. People living a
! short distance away heard the fall
| and rushed to the assistance of the
! injured people Mr.. Lehman was
pinned down and severely but not
was lying with his body under the
car. He was seen to raise his head
and groan once or twice Immediately
after the accident Then his head
| dropped, and it is supposed death
came to him then. When he was re-
moved it was found that a broken
willow stump had penetrated the
! lower part of the abdomen
4 Judge Simpson was a prominent
member of the Methodist church and
well known in G. A. R. circles
The successor of Judge Simpson will
probably come from Harvey or Reno
county. Harvey and Mcpherson are
4 in the same senatorial district and the
sequently Mcpherson cannot consist
emily ask for the judgeship. If a Nc
1 Pherson man were to be chosen it is
quite likely that John D. MillIken
would be the leading candidate of that
county.