The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-05-13


ticaIly all Of which was easily pre-
ventable, by a moderate expenditure
for additional casing. When It is re-
membered that one thousand cubic feet
Of natural gas weighs AZ pounds. and
that 5000 cubic feet of it would yield
a AZ gallon barrel of oil when condens-
ed, so that we'll flowing 5000, 600 feet
Of gas is pouring into the air daily
the equivalent of 1000 barrels of oil.
what would our petroleum kings think,
If they could see this river of oil, Cfor
the equivalent Of a billion feet of gas
is more than 100000 barrels of pc
troleum and of practically the same
chemical composition as benSine, or
gasoline) rushing unhindered to the
sea? Would they not spend millions
to check such a frightful waste Of this
golden fluid? And would they not be
the first to appeal to the national gov
eminent for aid in ending such great
destruction of property? And yet be-
cause natural gas is invisible, and its
waste is not SO apparent to the eye
as a stream of oil, or a burning coal
mine, the agents of these Oil magnates
have not only permitted this destruc-
ton of the nations fuel resources to
continue, but they have prevented by
every means in their power the enact
ment of any legislation to stop this
frightful loss of the best and purest
fuel that nature has given to man.
Ten for One.
There can be no doubt that for every
barrel of Oil taken from the earth
there have been wasted more than ten
times it's equivalent in either heating
power, or weight even, of this the best
Of all the fuels, and also that much
more than half of this frightful waste
could have been avoided by proper
care in oil production and slight add
tional expenditures.
In justice to the great oil producing
CORPORATIONS it must be acknowledged
that they have not permitted much
waste of petroleum except what mas
been sprayed into the air by their aw=
full waste Of gas. and also that their
handling Of petroleum has been from
the beginning, model OF business
economy and management. The great
mistake of the oil producing interests
has been in not properly apprehendane
the enormous fuel value OF the natural
gas they were destroying. ana IN not
demanding legislation for Its protec-
ton instead of successfully throttl1ng
and preventing it in every state OF the
Union except one-Indiana. When the
people of that great state aWoke 10
the fact that their richest mineral pos
session was being rapidly wasted, they
rose to the occasion, and although 1t
was largely case Of Locking the sta
BILE door after the horse had been sto-
LEM they effectually prevented any
further useless waste of natural gas.
This Indiana statute which has been
declared constitutional by our highest
courts, says in effect to the oil pro-
ducers,-'fYou cannot take the oil from
the ground where nature has safely
stored 1t, until you provide a methoo
of utilizing the accompanying gas. or
to both the producer and consumer
of natural gas, that it is against
public policy to waste this valuable
fuel and that it will not be permitted
to either party" This Indiana statute
for the conservation Of petroleum and
natural gas should be enacted into law
in every state where these precious
fuels exist: and why has it not been
done? Let the answer be found In the
history of my own state where the
waste of natural gas has been exceed
ed only by that of our sister state OF
Pennsylvania.
He Asks Why.
Why should a few oil producers in
their insane haste to get rich quickly,
or add to fortunes already swollen be-
yond safety to the republic be per-
mitted thus to dispoil the entire coun-
try of it's choicest fuel?
There are many causes for the ex-
istence of the enormous waste In the
extraction of coal.
With SO per cent of our coal left in
the abandoned mines from which it
can never be recovered except at
enormous expense, one would think
that the end had come to wanton
destruction of our coal resources, but
not SO.
The same story Of waste of fuel
comes from every mining center. The
experts of the United States geological
survey report the quantity of fuel left
unmined in the ground all the way
from 40 to 70 per cent of the total
deposits. 1 shall not worry you with
details from all over the country.
The mining of bituminous coal, and
the manufacturing industries de-
pendent thereon originated at Pitts
burg, only about a century ago, ana
her citizens as well as all others may
learn a useful lesson by recalling the
history of this beginning.
Story of the Buffalo.
At that time the American bison,
or buffalo roamed the vast plains of
the middle west In countless millions,
and these animals were 80 abundant
even in the Pittsburg region that their
skins were used for conveying the
coal from the mines to the factories
in the valley below, a few bushels of
coal being sewed UP in each hide
and then rolled down the steep slopes.
To our forefathers the supply of
buffalo appeared "inexhaustibIe," and
yet less than century of wanton
| slaughter has practically exterminated
| this noble animal. This passing of
| the buffalo illustrates In a striking
| way what will just as surely happen
| to vast areas of our fuel resources,
great as they are, even within the
] limits of the present century, unless
/ our people awake to what they are
doing and make determined effort to
| stop their destruction. The people
generally have been so often told OF
their "inexhaustible'' supplies OF
| fuel, that it's waste has not i'm
pressed them as a problem worthy OF
serious thought. They have generally
| believed that its exhaustion was SC
| remote that its consideration even
concerned the present, only in an
| academic way.
1t is not generally known that the
tonnage originating in the Pittsbure
district and passing through it now
| exceeds that of the four greatest sea-