The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-31
FARMER / N I S'L.lOSE
I. \ \ |! 1. | J
BL / PASSED.
STARTLING POSSIBILITIES OF.
MOVE OF CHARLESTON POL. u
lTlclANs.;
,PlTTsBuRG VITALITY INTEREST.
ED IN PROPOSED LAWSSFoR
WEsTsvlRGlNlA. MI
tPittsburg Dispatch.)

tttEf s@4ff W lesoaiS sbtopalCl.J
Farmers of West Virginia will be
deprived Of over 100000 annual,
rentals and the gas supply Of Pitts.
burg will be temporarily placed In
jeopardy II the political efforts at
Charleston to, conhne the distribution
Of natural gas to the State are sue.
cessfnls Plttsburg operators do not
believe that Che Maxwell bill viii
pass, but they believe that II It does
they can prove to the United States
courts that the measure is unconsu.
tutional. They say that law passed
in Indiana in 1891, from which the
West Virginia measure Is patterned,
was rendered void by United States
decision. X q
| Natural gas and oil operators OF
Pittsburg have been considerably OK.
ercised over the attempt to pass the
Maxwell measure. They declare that
the bill Is merely a disguised move.
ment to confine the sale Of natural.
gas to West Virginia but they say
that this cannot be done, as natural
gas is personal property as much as
coal and timber, and can be removed
from the State at will by the owner.
They also insist that the attempt to
prevent pumping Of natural gas is
impracticable and that the only re.
straint which the State can legally.
place upon the companies Is that of
police regulation. They contend that
they cannot stop the pumping Of tho
supply. 81
Pittsburg vitality Interested.
lnasmuch as Pittsbnrg receives
fully three.fourths Of It's natural gas
at present from West Virginia the
Importance to 1t Of the actions Of the
politicians at Charleston is great. 1t
is beyond question that in the future
Pittsburg will receive all Of Its gas
from the Mountain State, and that it
will do SO for many years, as the OPP.
orators say. that the supply Is great.
er at present than It has ever been.
For many years oil operators have
been saving the gas in every possible
way, and all agree to the wisdom OF
plugging the wells to prevent useless.
waste. They say, however that not
a particle Of natural gas reaches
Pittsburg without the aid Of pumps
5 The value Of natural gas produced
in West Virginia in 1903, the fastest
figures obtainablc, was $685., $3.50, an
increase Of s1492,17s, orr nearly 2s
per cent. over 1902. The value Of the
natural gas sold within the State in
1903 was s3.125,OG1, which shows that
only 45.5 per cent. OF the total pro.
duction was consumed within the
State and that 54.5 per cent. was
exported. The total number Of wells
drilled in the State in 1903 was
2S5, OF which AZ were dry holes and
242 productive wells. At the close
Of 1903 there were i 900 productive
wells and Of this number ten were
shut in or not in use. There were
3,451 miles Of natural gas pipe In
use, varying in size from two inches
up to 20 inches in diameter. In
1893 the value Of the gas production
was only $4,000. .sg
Some Interesting Figures.
In 1903 the value of fuel dis.
placed in West Virginia by the gas
was s4,S75,ooo compared with $1,712,-
462 in 1000, and 3G,179 consumers are
being supplied in 1903 compared with
29,S57 in 1902. Strange to say, a
small amount of gas consumed in
West Virginia in 1903 was produced
in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, but.
Pennsylvania was large purchaser
of the West Virginia product as was
. ! ~