The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1920-10-14
CITIES SEEK
To CONSERVE
NATURAL GAS
William McPhee, City Attor-
ney of Muncie, Outlines
Grave Situation to Munich
pal Delegates Here Today.
MUST REGULATE USE

City officials and representative of
gas companies of various Indiana and
ONO towns which are DelnS suppIIEu
with West Virginia natural gas met
in Richmond Thursday afternoon for
the purpose of discussing ways and
means for conserving the rapidly di-
min1shlng supply of natural gas and
for the regulation of its distribution.
The meeting here is the result of
the efforts of John McPhee, city at
torney OF Muncie. Mr.. McPhee de-
livered prepared address at the
city council chamber, where the meet
ing was held. He advocated all sup
ply companies establishing univer-
sal selling rate to all distributing
companies. He also urged the estab-
lishment Of a limit on the amount OF
gas to be used by families.
Suggests Limiting Supply.
]. L. Barlow, city manager of Day
ton, o., advised limiting the supply
of gas to domestic consumers during
the winter months.
Among those who attended the
meeting We're George w. Shroyer,
Henry Hiddeson and Lorin Wright,
members of the city commission of
Dayton; w. S. McConughey, city So
licitor, and Mr.. Barlow, city manager,
of Dayton; George Ward, president of
the Dayton Gas company; G.. II. Ell
lis, secretary of the board of public
affairs of Yellow Springs, O.; ]. F.
Kershner, councilman, of Yellow
Springs: o. E. Sink, Muncie CONNER
cial club; George A. Schell, mayor,
West Alexandria, O.; Raymond Hess,
city clerk, Middletown, Ind; P. II.
Hawthorne, secretary of chamber OF
commerce, Enos Cole, city attorney,
and H. l.. McAtee. mayor, all Of Hart
ford City, Ind; James M. Butler, Co.
lumbus, O., attorney for the receiver
of the Jantha Light and Fuel COM
pany, serving Greenville, New Paris
and New Madison, O.; Walter Jones,
Newcastle, Ind, Interstate Public
service company; ]. H. Maxson, of
Muncie, president of Central Indiana
Gas company.
Mr.. McPhee Speaks.
Mr. McPhee said in part:
The natural gas industry and the
supply faces a grave situation, in
which the general public must share,
and in which the solution for the fu-
ture rests almost entirely with them.
The consumers of natural gas. and
the gas companies as well, should
come to the realization at once that
all the earlier contracts and rate
franchises were based and predicted
upon utterly wrong conceptions.
In their zeal to obtain good rate con-
ditions, both contracting parties over
looked a d utterly disregarded the i'm
portant and controlling fact that nat
ural gas, which was, and is now ad-
mttedly limited in quantity, and in
the area of its productivity, should
have been recognized then. rather
than now, as a peerless gift of ma
ture, to be priced, protected and con-
'erved, to the end that it should con-
tinue to be available and usefu to
mankind through years yet to come.
Charges Selfishness.
The selfshness of human nature
is, in my Judgment, the dominant fac
tor in bringing about the extreme
shortage Of natural gas in the COM
munities served, and just so long as
the price of natural gas continues any
where, at an extremely low price and
at different prices in different COM
CONTINUED on Page Nine)