NATURAL GAS. 
31 
facts. The entire natural gas transportation problem is controlled 
by economic and engineering laws. These laws can neither be abro- 
gated nor altered by company policy, contractual relations, public 
opinion, legislative enactment, or judicial decree. They are entirely 
independent of human opinion, and as certain in their operations 
as the law of gravitation. Therefore, no mere statement of any gov- 
erning body can make a public transportation agency of a natural 
gas line. 
(c) The fundamental re- 
quirement of a common 
carrier agency like a rail- 
road is nondiscrimination, 
and this can in no way be 
applied to the duties of a 
natural gas company. A 
natural gas company op- 
erating^ natural gas trans- 
mission line and supplying 
domestic consumers, from 
the very nature of things, 
gives its own consumers 
preference on account of 
public policy and the con- 
tractual relations existing 
between such consumers 
r7 OTh'EP STATE'S - - -28% 
QE/O 
and the 
gas company. 
2. The consumers’ inter- 
ests and rights extend clear 
back to and depend on the 
gas wells and reserve acre- 
age the producing com- 
pany maintains to insure 
an adequate present and 
continuous future service. 
Common carrier obliga- 
tions for the transmission 
line would: 
(a) Tend to soon exhaust the available supply and leave the 
householders with large investments of appliances, and pipes which 
will be useless, owing to the permanent failure of gas. 
(b) So disorganize the existing business as to make it impossible 
to render satisfactory continuous* service to either domestic or indus- 
trial consumers. This would be true regardless of what might be 
charged. 
PEAWSVL VAAVA 
WEST I//EG/M/A 
NEW yo&K 
JA/OMUA 
EENTC/CAA- 
LOU/SI//LLE, ey:- 
FIG. 11. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF DOMES- 
TIC NATURAL GAS CONSUMERS BY STATES. 
