St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-04-10
GAS MEETING In
OPELOUSAS 4 SUCCESS.
CONFINED from page onel

belief: but as time went on the teeth
Of the saw-mill and The woodsmans
ak invaded their almost lm~penetrabie
fastnssess, and then we were con-
fronted with the inevitable day when
we could no longer depend upon this
provision Of nature, SO ruthlessly and
~nnbindered had the hand Of CONNER
cialism snatched it from us. just
when this condition began to menace
our development and progress, and
when it seemed certain that we would
soon fall into the clutches Of the coal
barons Of the North and Northwest.
the great oil fields Of Louisiana and
Texas were discovered and soon were
belching forth millions of gallons Of
LIQUID fuel. Here we thought has
nature again provided for her waste
fnl children, and would give up to
them from mother earth d bounteous
supply Of fuel; but, alas, it was not
80 decreed; for to-day these fields are
nracticably exhausted, others are not
being discovered and the price q
fuel oil far exceeds that at which We
are permitted to purchase coal. The
time had not yet arrived. Nature in
her own mysterious way had stored
ID the bowels of the earth here, an
other agency, to create power where
weakness existed, to light where dark
ness reigned, and to substitute clean
illness and comfort for uncleanliness
and discomfort. The great Caddo Gas
Field was discovered, and if We are
to accept the opinion Of those app
parensly qualified to know, we have a
supply Of gas for light and fuel that
time will not diminish; and, so much
am / impressed with the enormous
possibilities for development and pro-
gress involved IN this discovery and
The utilization Of It, that I conceive
ii to be the duty Of every city and
individual along the proposed pipe
line route to lend their unstInted
energy to the movement inaugarated
49,
here today.
Il shall not dwell in detail upon the
uses to which this agency can be put,
nor upon The economy ii the matter
De fuel that will ensue. For myself l
am content in the knowledge thaC
other sections that are using natural
gas have abandoned all other fuels;
that manufacturing industries are en-
couraged BY its use, and that the citi-
zen not only has more cleanliness and
conYeniences, but has in a large mea-
sure solved the vexed servant ques-
ton; for | am informed that the
housewife who uses natural gas in
her kitchen, is able to preside over
that department. Of her household il
the same delicate lingerie ii which
she graces her parlor.
Nov, I see ne reason Why this
syndicate could not be induced to
take the route proposed By us, and |
believe with proper and concerted of
fort the desired end could be attained.
AS / understand it, the preliminary
or tentative route is from the field to
alexandria, thence along The line of
the Valley Railway 10 New Orleans.
The distance from Alexandra to New
Orleans on this route is I84 miles,
while the distance from Alexandra
along our proposed route the South
ern Pacific Railway IS 229 miles, thus
making q difference ID favor of che
former route Of B miles. The popu.
lation of all the cities, towns and viii.
ages along the first or tentative route,
some seven in number, is approximate
B $4,000, while the population of all
the cities, towns and villages, some
tWenty-four IN number, along the Sc.
cond, or our, route is approximately
72,O00, thus making q difference il
our favor Of $4,000, possible custom.
ers Of the syndicate, not TO say any
thing of the greater number of towns
that could be induced TO put in public
service lights. Besides | can safely
assert that there are along our route
10 manufacturing plants to one OF
I the other route, SO that, If the state.
ment made by MI. Haws in his letter
j to our Mayor that consumption is
greater disideratum than mere dis
lance, it would seem that we are fair
~ - khn lad aIraadu
"0f course, we shall not 20 init
this matter without q full knowledge
Of the subject and until our present
view Of the benefits to be derived il
, fortified by Investigation and study
, but I again repeat my belief, tina
under proper conditions and restric
lions no greater impetus could b
given our material and industrial de-
yelopment thanito BE able to advertise
to the world, that We have fuel ant
light without end, and to be had d
rates commensurate with the cost d
production.
A general discussion following MI
Lewis speech resulted ID an inVesti
eating and executive committee
COMPOSED Of officers, being appointed
whose duties will be the gathering D.
| statistics, such as coal consumption
population of towns and cities, dis
lance, the number Of factories liable
- ,,ra ~an 6ka a. nroeo1k ~ ~,