The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-31
\, ohioi which cured almost 3S PEE
cent of its gas 4 from the Mountain

III sRiss n
lE N, Witch secured almost aS per
Iisssnt of its gas from the Mountain
State
Pennsyl yania proc uced I'd: 1908 gas
valued sats sle, 1s2, 1854 and consumed
gas 70 the value 81 $3.50. 100, DIS
placing coal and wood to the value it
Of. $40, o75,s4 ~, showing that BY tho
use Of natural gas Pennsylvania con 4
saumers saved Id 1908 alone! 81 OBS,
.2is, supplying 214,4s7s consumers. In
1902 Pennsylvania consumed sl3.
s9c42,7S3 Of gas, produced $14,S52, 1851
and displaced coal To- the value Of
a7,9l2,G2s, supplying 1855. con-
s.umers, The large increasc in the
value of Pennsylvania production
In 1908 over that Of 1902 amounting
70 81, sac, c5l, is considered B remark:
able in view Of the fact; that tho State
is | the oldest producer. i,s;s v.
Glenn 4. Braden, president Of the
Hope Natural Gas Company, sub.
sidiary Of the Standard OH Company
In speaking Of tho proposed law;
said "If such a bill becomes a law
It will be very hard on the West Viz.
Elnia farmer, as he receives 81 an
acre rental per year on thousands Of
acres Of land on which wells have not
yet been drilled, and when q. gas we'll
is secured he receives $500 for every
well. w ~ 3,
Millions For Farmers. III II
Our companies alone pay annually
to West Virginia farmers In rentals
sl,oO0,0OO and the rentals paid by
other companies will swell the an,
nual total to- over s2,0oO,OOO.5 II tho;
gas companies are compelled to use
natural pressure only in sending the
gas out OF the State these gus lands
will be Of no value. MS TO enlarge the
pipes would mean triple Investment
and this could not be done.
THEY cannot stop the gas CON.
panles from taking the gus out of the
State, as natural gas Is personal
property Just as much as coal md
timber and oil. No objection has
ever been raised to the exporting Of
coal and lumber. If West Virginia
was 10 have I'LL Of Its gus TO itself
what would It do with It? 1t Is alb.
surd. The pressure Of gas In the
mains Is not more than 300 or 400,
pounds, but to deny the use Of pumps
would prevent its distribution, as taea
natural pressure is insufficient The
Hope Company has Just completed at
a cost Of $500,00OSa pumping station,
atPine Grove about IL miles from the
State line. No gasSis being wasted in
West Virginia or anywhere else
where 1t Gun possibly be saved. e i
cannot see what possible benefit,
would accrue to West Virginia by It's
proposed law. 1t will simply tend tG5
annoy the gas companies,
Say It is Unconstitutional.
J. c. Mcdowell. vice president OF
the Union Natural Gas Corporation;
and long considered an authority on
natural gas. said 1T seems to me
that the proposed law Is a disguised
movement to keep the gas within the
State. Plttsburg secures a large por,
ton Of its supply from West Virginia
and eventually will obtain the bulk
Of It from that State. But the new
law cannot prevent the gas com.
panies from taking the gas beyond
the boundaries Of West Virginia us
natural gas is personal property and
can be removed the same as coal and
timber. That has been decided jby&th
courts. It has also been decided lin
the United States courts In Indiana
that the State cannot prevent the use
OF pumps, although 1t has a right TO
limit the pressure Ito q reasonable
amount as a police regulation, Il
1.-THE = pressure suggested, 800
pounds. is not unreasonable. but, II!
would be impossible to send the gas
through the long pipe lines at its
natural pressure. The Maxwell bill
is patterned after the Indiana law
which was declared unconstitutional
in 1892, and lfsthe measure Is passed
there will be sufficient precedent To
render 1t void. The decision Is very
clear. The Maxwell bill Isl impracti;
cable. Even though It should 8bc
passed and become a law II would be.
possible for the gas companies to
maintain pumping stations just out
sldesof the state2limits, as the pump
ing&station OF the Philadelphia Com.
pany Is just ten miles within the
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