The New York herald., 1871-11-26
THE GAS QUESTION.
The Consumers Still dissatisfied
and the Gas Still Unimproved.
What an Expert Has to say-h General Opinion
Of Gas Burners and Gas Companies' Trick
eries-The Remedy for the Evil

Willingness I'd Tell HI tney KNOW ABOUT tue
ment OF their gas manufactures and the means they
employ make the gas they supply the city with Il
aprety good evidence that they are at last beginning
smart under the ashing they have beca subjected
to by the HERALD during the past lew days. At
least such willingness to be fact inasinuch
HERALD reporter, who yesterday went on a
tour Of Information found difficulty whatever IN
Obtaining reasonable answers to questions ne saw
lit to ask concerning the manufacture OF the gas,
the Goals used and the appliances had TO make
the article OF the best quality. But few of the OIL
cas however, were come -at-abe, and those VINO
were SIMPLY stated In general way what they have
all along cainied-tnat the companies used the best
OF Goals, and consequently made the best kind OF
In his travels about town 10 gather all the ad
diuona information possible concerning the gas
question and TO lind the real
UNDERLYING CAUSE or THE DARKNESS
which prevails where light should shine, the re-
porter came across q eentleman--a gas expert he
might be caled-who i0r the past twenty. five years
and more has made the manufacture of gas his
study.
"What do you think" inquired the reporter "is
the real cause OF The bad gas people complain
Ing about so much2"
"In the first place." was his reply, IL 10 not
admit that the gas Is very bad as compared with
other coal gas manufactured in other cities In Eu-
general use in Londen. But let me give you few
facts about the way the companies mere manage 10
swINDLE THEIR pATRONs.n
ado you mean they swindle win intent TO
swinde or unwit tingyi"
s'With intent most assuredly | once had con-
versation with Joseph Mason, the president Of the
Baltimore Gas Company. lie spoke 10 me about the
quality OF the gas manufactured at the time In tho
district OF the Manhattan Gas Company.
told him lived In that district and
used their gas. Us also tnat OF
the New York Company as he also did. But also
told MIN when he complained about the quality OF
the gas tnat my views ol the subject were not en-
trcy Identical with MS for beieyed tnat the gas
manufactured is Eood, ana that between the qnali.
ties OF the gas furnished by the various companies
there is but little II any difference"
"fou certainly have not examined the coal they
"WelI, that may be; but the time aude TO as
having had THIS conversation with Ar; Mason was
complained was Oot than he ,nougns
different burners on Than he had use, ana he had
abundance or light where before he had barely
enough to read 6y: us really the burners that are
"What diiference was there between the burners
Mason used and tnose you put on he Jets ~
"well, they were the ordinary arsand burners he
used. They were corroded and III adapted I'd the
jets Burners should not be made or iron or brass.
but OF some material Jnat Will not corrOde from tile
heat or the action or rhe gas ITSELF"
'What KIND or burners are IN general use In this
cltys"
al really do not know. Many are the ordinary
iron or brass kind. but they should be eartnen or
clay, or what IS called lava
..Weli then, II 1t be 4 fact thar the lava burners
are the best material to use, how is IL that some
There ISL is Girerence in The quality Of Inc gas,
very often owing TO tho weather."
''iow can sucn weather as we are now having
have any effect, good or bad, on the gasrn
''The weather does affect the pressure. The
remedy for the evil OF the bad gas, The msera-
hln hnN nI IA
gas TO supply the demand; that ~, supply every
gas burner up TO the ITO pressure. III order to
quarter they say that the tubes are now mostly OF
three-elehns) capacity Is to have at least foot
long lube TO IL from the pIpe.n
s.HOw do you account lOr the TACT that In one
block You md lamp burning well and In another
"Let me explain by telling you how the Man.
haitian Company managed to pull the wool over the
how It may he that some lamps give good light and
others DO not When 1t was learned that the Legis-
gone lew ago The 2. s
and the New York put six tool purners
on the lamps placing them over plug or three loot
give at least three eet an nour but they knew heir
three foot burners diin't come up to
made the Legislative committee found out
thai there was good night from the lamps,
gas, although there was more light. After the IN
vcstlgatlon. OF course, the stop cock business
aced e part q Plugs and the companies lost no
thing and lose nothing by apparently giving more gas
than they are required to give-in iact they give
II can't see where the advantage Of that wasn
''It was just this:-The small burner underneath
check on the other. When there Is iuil pressure
OF gas gives three ee but when At half pressure
1t doesn't give half the quantity"
.'uow can such tricks be done away witnYn
'rhere ought to be an oficiai, whose duty IL
INSPECT THE GAS AND THE BURNERS
every week. lie should be not only an honest man.
bur man OF common sense and a scientlflc man,.
'ln your OPINION the great remedy, thhn Is"
houses and the streets. TINS would. save the CON
sumers great deal Of money; but OF course the
companies make more money when there Is an un-
equal pressure on some burners OF dwelling"
"H0w sOsn
by Ine waste which results. The consumer
wonders how his bill Is large when he apparently
uses but little gas. The secret Is the unequal pres
sure. rather the waste which results 10 certain
burners. This can be prevented by having SELF
cooking faucet each noor or each pipe that leads
example. large establishment In tms city sent
me to give them more light. Their bills grow
much xas as % "saa during the e monu NJ. hat uss eS T
bill were the highest"
''Well. how dia you account for 10 z"
1.-The whole thing was the result Of the sheer
WEAKNESS or THE SUPPLY,
and not 10 the me-, qa = Of ee gs n rey od me
that some 0i the burners would not hight AZ all. |
found mat n the gas was TOO strong 10 some burners
Kind @ 'o"ps oi tains they could 1S avoid it ali ali
by makinga uniformity OF pressure and adapting
burners throughout 90 as TO give an abundance OF
light In every Of the premises, ana not strong
light IN one part and Ieebie one IN another. The
fact Is Inc system OF supplying the gas by the
panies Is bad one. They aim 10 deliver n at me
one inch pressure ALI over the city, nut they
lake no means 70 insure this result other
than by putting certain sized pipes IN the
street and recommending burners thai must neces-
sariiy receive the gas and discharge Al an I'M
nensely varied pressure This was demonstrated
before the Legislative Committee by The companies
themselves. General Roome himself testified /
before the Board OF Aldermen that the pressure
varied from Two tentns OF an inch 10 three inches,
giving scarcely any hight by the firsi, anu exces.
sive waste OF gas being the result OF the other.n
'Wii putting mp new burners supply tue defects :
OF the present bad gasN
mo, not altogether by any means | some
people make a mistake when tney think the gas
will give ilght enough II they get larger burners
wel say two-thirds Of an incn. That kind OF q \
thing would In a large es;ablisnnenL where .Dere \
are very many burners take up more gas than the 4
pipes supply. The consequence would be they'd l