Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1859-10-12
Cost Of Gas.

At recent public meeting In Glasgow,
the object of which was to obtain q reduc>
tim in the price Of gas in that city, some
inter esting statements were made as to the
price ut which it ia furnished in various
British cities The present cost in Glas-
gov is five shillings sterling per thousand
cubic feet-$l ,2l-and it was demanded
BY the meeting that it should be reduced
to three shillings six pence per thousand
feet, or about SO cents. 1t was stated that
the prices in 1876 compared az follows with
present prices in the three principal cities
1916
London per 1000 H. IS. to s. or about 81 Toto Is
a ai.sspoo'. D." a. ID !" ! a y.
London. per 1000 IT, -. or about 81 cents,
Liverpool, +" Is. Cd. " 81 {"
Glasgow, =" " bs. "$l2l.
Thus. while great reduction in the price
Of gas has been made at London since 1876.
and considerable change at Liverpool.
none whatever has occurred ct Glasgow,
and the public OF that city. therefore.
righttully claim the attention to their rep
reservations at the hands of the gas compa-
Mes
The GOAL used at Glasgow is camel, and
in elaborate calculation of tho cost Of manu-.
facture. the quantity of 10000 tons of coal
is taken to make coo millions Of feet Of gas
in 365 days. The full cost of manufacture
Is calculated at Is. %. per 1000 feet, and
the selling price should be. it is shown.
g. cd per 1000 feet. or about 43 cents
This estimate embraces the payment Of five
per cent. interest on E35O, 900 capital which
To- filI al 70 no hao he
GLASGOW works are new worth, though
their original cost was 100000.
In discussing the subject. strong argu-
ment is made against corporation gas works
and in favor of companies. Manchester and
Paris are lighted by works owned by those
cities. and the cost is larger than at Liver
pool
..eshe'ssr, =, Sd; per thousand '::t or :, % %
Manches ester consumed in 1853. 1928 mill
iona of cubic feet, and Paris ",O4s millions
Of cubic feet.
In Philadelphia the city works furnished
for consumption $50, 2O8 900 cubic feet, and
the Northern Liberties and Msnayunk Gas
Companies works made . quantity of which
We have no note, but probably quite soffi-
cient to raise the aggregate in $50 millions
for the whole city.
It will strike every one that the cost Of
gas in this country is disproportionstsly
large a. compared with eastern cities. 1t
is proved in the calculations submitted to
this Glasgow meeting, that ii no interest
lie paid on capital wasted in the crudities of
first construction Of works, gas may be
furnished At less than fifty cents the thou>
sand feet. All the great works construct
ed there as well - here. are thus encum-
bered with unprofitably spent capital,
which must be earned by the current use
Of gas. unless old works are wholly aban-
doned, and . strong point against the pur.
chase BY that city of the company works
st Glasgow. is made on the ground that
the public are entitled to the earliest posi-.
BILE release from burdens unwisely incurred,
and thst such burdens should not be made
. perpetual charge for the future.
We here pay nearly double the highest
price paid for gas. - the folio wing com.
parison will show: