uted
to the home or factory for light, heat, or power; for all of which it is
equally desirable. It is ready for our use at the turn of a key, is
absolutely clean, having neither dust, ash, nor unconsumed portions. It
requires no kindling other than a lighted match.

Natural gas is found over an area which, if combined, would cover almost
10,000 square miles. It exists in twenty-two states--Alabama,
California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana,
New York, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia,
Wyoming. In some of them the area has been large and the production very
heavy, in others the field is small and unproductive. Until the last two
or three years there have been no statistics as to the quantity of gas
piped, but an account of its value has been kept for many years. For the
twenty years beginning with 1888 the value is given at nearly
$500,000,000.

It must be remembered that much of this represents extremely low prices,
only the amount actually paid for its use. When gas is newly discovered
in a region it is not considered an opportunity for the residents of the
community to have cheap light, power and fuel for themselves, but
instead as an opportunity to develop the country, to increase the
population and attract new factories. In order to advertise and boom
their communities free gas is usually offered to factories. So in
dozens of instances large factories have been operated for years without
a cent having been paid for fuel. For this reason no proper estimate can
be made of the quantity of gas consumed, nor of its value even at a
nominal price. In 1907, (the last year for which complete returns have
been published in government reports) the amount of gas consumed was
given at 404,000,000 cubic feet, which at present prices is valued at
$63,000,000.

It is impossible to determine in any way the future production of
natural gas, or to guess at the quantity remaining in the earth. It may
be much less or much more than present conditions would indicate; but
the present known fields are limited, and the pressure is growing
steadily less in all of them.

The Conservation Commission reports, "It is safe to predict that the
known fields will be exhausted in twenty-five years." The decrease of
natural gas is strikingly illustrated in Indiana. This state, perhaps
more than any other, profited directly by the disc