The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-02-10

and o1e-haff cents 3 tlcIsarld a1.
on three tftlis cf q cent 3 t4oll
means Of z IL 81 his -.
income he sells Al rec Ats me
tax reor esenf Is twenty per CEN ~ ne
sells two ana one@1al cents
twentg-foUr per cent: be sells e
two cents thirty per cent ct 1ls ross
income not aais net profit. but Ms
gross sales In add ton 20 me pro
posed tax, the gas protluceT s now
assessed ct from $5,000 to- ~ 0N or.
eac producing well, ana st9e ASSESSOR
mike ii more If he deem =
81 orGi tHQre Alsos . 49,.
3eaSe for as are assessed q
the as or deems their lne, -
well as pa9a lines and other aeees
sories
This tax, eating up 2 large per-
lFc p8od1ctson or g,
does not make allowance Tor ttry
holes. rentals, royalties and 0taete
losses and costa Of twenty per cent
OF the hoIes are dry, the operator
stands all the loss. The gas opera tori,
fgures out that, since real estate -
taxed at from one-tflird to- three
tfouTths Of its market value, the OPP
4 orator IS paying for gas properly
1 twenty-iye hundred times as m1ch
1 HAL = WIZ
business.
paws During Life OF Well.
The gas producer does not nay a1l
this tax in tone year. but in the life
/ of the well, say an average of seven
Years, but, asks one gas producer,
isn't that ashort period III wntch
to pay the same amount as other
property would pay IN twentyEahye
hundred year
raging cents per thousands as
1 the selling price OF gas, which IS more
! than the average selling basis. or
I II u per centsof the imcomes this at
I, a tax rate. of 5three-f ifths Of g cent,
\ gives the equivalent to a tax on otneE
! commodities as follows; Oil at .$2.5Q
q barfeI. a cents q barrel; eoaTs aV-
erage price Is cents, 4 2. ~ cents per
| ton; lumber estimated at $50 a
/ thousand. SO as a thousand; apples,
! estimated at 81 per, barrel, 80 cents
| per barrel; corn at so cents bushel,.
| 10 cents q. bush shesetAsat $1.OO
bushel, ~ cents a bushel-
State Consumers Would Pay.
In the year 1911 West Virginia
produced 297,d12y576. 900 cubic
/ feet of natural gas, of which
/ amount 80, 8 SIS 400 600 cubic get,
Tor about fortyEl per. cent, were
/ consumed IN West Virginia.
OF this West Virginia consump-
! ton, E06s9Ht3s - 4sWUUs CuDAC 1851 HSSSlS
| consumed for industrial purposes at
an average price Of 5.56 cents
thousand cubic feet West Virginia
consumes today more gas for com
Emercia1 nurposesst than any other state
I in the country a5itl9 ne e&cep ttop Of
,kPennsy Iva b la an the eaaterage QFtes
!, paid In the latter state in 1911 was
f11.26' cents per thousand cubic Get,
or .deu h3eat he'd ice paid 'ips West " q
4 TT III! tlasrafofe, held that If the tax
4 were placed on the gas production
and transportation in the Mountain
4 State, the pipe line companies would
I! hold the consumers in the outside
4 states to a figure which would not
tsend them I'd consumption of coal
las fuel, the gin NOW being slight,
gsand leave Wesk7Vi rginians, who made
the tax laSy, TO pay. the tax, not only
for that proportion used within the
\ state, but the hole amount
IIIustrating Tax Results.
4 An illustratfCin has been drawn in
{the case Of t1H factories at Clarks-
fburg, nots ine3ud lin 6 the carbon fac
tortes, which onsume about 10000
300 cubic fest M CASA day. At thTee<
iffths of S1t per thousand this
I would represent 4 taEsof $18Osa day,
tor about SOS s06p q year. Most of the
I companies whfcht do not own their
town wells are under contract to as
fsume any such tax, while others are
tsaid to be on short term contracts,
and on renewal Of contract might be
asked to pay this tax. This is. of
course, the gas producers viewpoint
iof this issue. The Clarksburg Board
of Trade is working now on propo-
sftfons to offer manufacturers gas at
from 4 to cents a thousand cubic
I feet, on long-term contracts, this gas
/ to be supplied by Independent wells
close to the city.
Those who advocate the tax on pro-
duetion' and transportation of gas
rldgaTe on Ia law which they hope
would tend to bring more manufac-
lures to West Virginia, so that the
4 gas might be; consumed where pro-
4 CdEed The arguments presented
/ from the producers STANDPOINT shaw
+ that there are two. sides to the ques-
| ton, at least. and both areaWorthS
! Of coasfderatfon
fSSSSS$SSSsS1sSS$ y EsSSSSSsSSsSSS