The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-11
Is Your Coal Bin Filled for the Winter?
Natural Gas and Oil
; adequate Substl-
tutes, and Action Is
Needed to Avert
Famine

him down as twin brother to Ananias and
quote a remark of John d. Rockefeller
to DIR. Mcdowell, his expert scientific ad-
wiser in the early days of oil: always
go ahead on the basis God Almighty does
not run a retail business. He runs a
wholesale business, and the deeper you
20 in the depths of the earth the richer
and fuller you will find supplies in His
laboratory" Which being interpreted IN
everyday work jargon means that though
pessimists have predicted the exhaustion
of oil and gas pools for thirty years re-
explorations of even old and exhausted
ground-boring deeper by 1000 feet
have led to such gushers of oil and gas as
must turn John D. green over the truth
of his own theory.
Draw a circle" says DR.. Mcdowell,
"from Buffalo to Elmira and Pennsylva-
MIA and Maryland and Kentucky and West
Virginia and Ohio and back up through
western Ontario to Buffalo! In that circle
are 100000 square miles with popula-
ton of 100000 people. Gas pipe lines
aggregating over 10000 miles supply
100000 consumers here. Draw another
circle through st. Joseph, Mo-, and Kan
sas City and Fort Scott and Oklahoma
and Wichita and Topeka and Atchison!
Here are another 10000 square miles with
another population of 100000 people
using gas for fuel and light purposes
And the cost of fuel and light to these
people averages $35 year, through tap,
no coal hauling, no coal heaving, no ash
muss, no carriage over slippery streets, no
strikes of stevedores and miners; the
friendly ghinnies of the middle earth do
the invisible mining in Gods laboratory.
Gas Customers Number 10000, 900.
The first large gas pipe line was built
only in 1882. Yet the use of natural gas
has grown to 100000 families, or TO-
600, 1000 consumers Will natural gas ex-
haustf Let DIR. Mcdowell answer again:
Future exploration with improved drill
ing machinery to greater depths will
prove more productive than near the sur
face" In all there are $4,000 to 10000
gas wells in the United States, varying in
depth from 600 feet to $500 feet. But
Yesterday it was considered a miracle to
pipe natural gas thirty miles. To-day it
is piped 600 miles, and, to quote DIR. Nc
Dowell again, ''there is no limit to the dis
lance which It may be piped." The great
difficulties were strong enough steel IN
the pipes to resist great pressures and
rubber packed couplings to resist rust.
There is to-day one pipe line 800 miles
long.
If all this is true why don't we pipe
natural gas into our big coal starved
eitiesi A lot Of reasons, all Of them stu
pid and feckless. First, the gas would I
have to pass through a dozen States
Hardly two States have the same laws on
gas standards. Come to the gates OF the
cities and the natural gas would have to
fight for franchise to give the people
at $35 what they are now paying 500
to 5000 for. Granted the gas gains en-
trance past the gates of the cities and
gets franchise, the cities require light
ing standards in heating gas, which
double up expenses. Also natural gas IS
cheap, cheaper than manufactured gas;
and natural gas profits depend on a
great number of customers at low price,
which is disturbing to the old line COM
panies with fewer customers at high
price.
Gas Revolution in England.
Speaking of gas, the war has brought
revolution to England which all the in
voeations of science failed to bring. When
Henry Doherty, probably the greatest gas
engineer in the world, was in London
few years ago, he was asked how to pre-
vent the fog nuisance in London, which
is really the effect of gas from soft coal
holding the moisture. "Dig four feet
under the surface of your streets" an
swered Doherty. "Let me wash the ben
- e $1,000. r-., anI TIL o,,nplu