The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-07-18

fore these properties arc returned TO
their owners in order to keep them
from DISCRIMINATION ana insolvency,
and permit them to serve the transport
. tation interests Of the country satlsrac-
itcry and efficiently. Hence, the dear
! people will now pay and pay in hand
some figures the folly OF the Interstate
!CommcrCc Commission, in denying so
long to the railways adequate rates. IN
response TO an uniformed and popu-
iliStic demand from political FORCES
which TINS weak commission permitted
to influence their action even against
their better Judgment. The same Is
true OF tho street railways or IN"
country. Municipal bodies. and luolie
Service Commissions have 50 long pre-
vented in response to an unrcaSoninG
popular pressure. and adequate increase
in fares TO correspond with increased
expenses. that now in many cases, inc
fares arc being doubled in order to keep
these public necessities from going out
of operation entirely. No business can
exist for long if it is constantly losing
money, and hence the people must even
, tually make up in a short time ana
often at great hardship what has been
unwiscly and unjustly WITHHELD at the
behcst Of an uninformed and unrcason-
] ing public outCry.
Wheenng's Gas Problem
| Why this great economic waste o.
abandoned gas works in the city or
| Wheeling. upon which many hundreds
! Of thousands of dollars of public funds
! have been expended" The main reason
| appears to he that two or three natural
gas companies very foOlshly and with
out any real knowledge of the ultimate
cost OF delivered gas. We'd with each
other in offering to furnish her citizens
q doubly superior gas at only about one
sixth the price at which the city was
! selling manufactured gas. and in addi-
ton to donate to the city several mill
! lion cubic feet Of free gas annually for
, her public buildings as a bonus in order
! to secure the coveted franchise to sell
natural gas within the municipality at
! figures which later proved to be less
) than cost, and which these same gas
! companies have ever since been struS-
Cling to have raised to n living profit
| The mistake of the carly producers OF
! natural gas in affiXinE prices too low
for profitable operation was a natural
| one The average business man as
| surned that the supply OF natural gas
was unlimited, and while turning deaf
| car to the biologists who always warned
! him the supply would eventually fail
| through use and waste, nc listened will
inEly and apparently approvinGly to the
, takers in science who assured him the
! supply OF natural gas would never fall
i that it was being manufactured at
/ rapid rate deep down in natures vast
I laboratory. This false doctrine Of un-
! failing supply both aided in establishing
prices too low and discouraged the pre-
ventIon Of waste, The history of every
n.lL ha n NF0c n
! falsity Of the doctrine that natural gas
Is still being produced. and confirms
! the conclusion always advocated by the
! reputable biologists that like coal. or
| iron ore there existed q definite guam
! tity OF It compressed in the earth's res
ervoirs and except for the small guam
! tity held in solution in petroleum under
| great pressure, little or no addition TO
| the original supply is possible so far ms
economic use is concerned. The declin-
| ing rock pressures is every Appalachian
gas field, a sure sign and measure or
gas exhaustion, tell the consumer Of
natural gas IN no uncertain tones that
the day Of abundant supply for him is
rapidly passing unless the use of nat
| ural gas for manufacturing purposes Is
= greatly restricted and the vast wastes
! hitherto permitted are prevented This
gives rise to the question:
| How can our natural gas supply be
! conserved for domestic purposes? Tho
| enormous waste Of natural gas that has
! taken place in every state of the union
would not have occurred, and would not
still be permitted to SO on. could the
! masses Of the people have realized the
| great inherent value Of this gas. When
you tell them that its actual value Tor
| light (Wellsbatch), heat and power IS
hot
gas manufactured in the retort oven
and FIVE to seven times the value CT
producer gas, II does not seem to occur
! TO the consumer that this inherent su-
periority should be reflected at all in
the price Of natural gas. The producer
| Of natural gas has probably himself
| mostly to blanc for this present frame
| Of mind Of the consumer. The producer
and marketer Of natural gas has never
! until quite recently had any proper ac-
counting system whereby re could know
what his gas was really costing. The
words depletion, depreciation. loss from
] leakage electrolysis. amortization OF
CAPITAL. etc. etc. the accumulation Of
surplus with which to extend his lines
20 distant gas hclds. or with which to
construct manu- factured gas plants after
tho natural gas had failed to yield n
supply sufficient for his consumers,
were words and ideas practically W.
known IN his vocabulary.
One Of the splendid by-products o.
the federal income tax is that IL las
taught the careless business man, as
we'll as careless corporations, that they
cannot continue in business In the ole ,
happy-go-lucky manner OF decade ago,
when very few business men or organ!-
zations possessed any really adequate
accounting systems. and hence were
often Ike practically all coal and gus
producing agencies at that timc, actu'
arlv losing money every month OF th'
year and did not know it, This stage ia
the evolution Of industry has hapn-ly
passed. we hope never to return. so thai
under the spur of necessity even the
coal and natural gas companies which,
prior to the world war had nearly All !
been selling their products below actual
cost, based upon any proper accounting
system, are now beginning to realize
that they must secure moro adequate
prices from the consuming public. or
they cannot command the funds ncccs-
! sary to continue efficient service. or
finally any service at all.
Moro Wheeling History.
Tho city Of Wheeling n long time ago
when la Dor received n reward Of Sl.No !
to $l25 a day for L day Of 10 :" IL
hours. and the coal baron OF that ancient
period received GO TO rs cents per ton
for the best grade of gas coal. could ,
manufacture and deliver gas 10 her c't''
zens Mt IS cents per 1000 cubic feet and :
not 20 Immediately "hrokc" Thai sh" ,
could not do so nov with S4.00 wUgr ,
ho,rs md 80 TX n e. 90 IIr