NATURAL GAS. 
51 
The New York viewpoint is in accordance with the spirit and letter 
of up-to-date public utility regulation and recognizes the inherent 
characteristics and natural limitations of the natural gas industry, 
and that usable service to a limited number is better than poor or 
no service to a large number. This New York viewpoint is the just 
and equitable one to apply to all new service extension problems, as 
well as to the inevitable problem that will arise in the near future, 
of limiting or discontinuing the service entirely in certain localities, 
because the available supply as furnished by nature will not permit 
the continuance of a usable service to all. 
WASTE AND CONSERVATION OF NATURAL GAS. 
DEFINITION OF CONSERVATION. 1 
True conservation is not hoarding, but the wise use of natural 
resources, and it implies not merely the preserving in unimpaired 
efficiency, but also a wise and equitable exhaustion with a maximum 
efficiency and a minimum waste. The heart of the natural gas con- 
servation problem is the conflict between the present and the future. 
The individual land owner is interested primarily only in immediate 
present personal returns. That is, he is thoughtless and indifferent 
with respect to the future. The public — at least the 2,000,000 do- 
mestic natural gas consumers and the 10,000,000 people dependent on 
natural gas for their cooking, heating, and lighting purposes — are 
interested in conserving the supply and bringing about a slow, wise, 
and economical exhaustion, so as to insure continuity of service for 
the future. 
Conservation, therefore, demands intensive rather than extensive 
use, takes cognizance of equitable distribution, aims to bring about 
social justice, and means the greatest good to the greatest number — 
and that for the longest time. 
EXTENT OF WASTE. 
Most of the supply and service problems of to-day are the inevi- 
table result of waste in producing and handling natural gas. The 
annual reports of the conservation committee of the Natural Gas 
Association of America are stinging indictments of a criminal sys- 
tem, fostered by both the gas companies and the public, that has 
resulted in wasting more gas than has ever been utilized. The 
following expert opinions further reflect this appalling situation : 
The history of the natural gas industry of the United States is an appalling 
record -of incredible waste, but it must be told, in order to explain the need 
for the remedies proposed . 2 
1 Phraseology suggested by Prof. C. R. Van Hise’s The Conservation of Natural 
Resources in the United States, and Prof. Richard T. Ely’s Conservation and Economic 
Theory. Trans. Amer. Inst. Min. Eng., vol. 54, p. 458. 
2 Technical Paper 38, United States Bureau of Mines, Waste in the Production and 
Utilization of Natural Gas and Means for their prevention. 
