The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-02-08
TUESDAY, FEB. $, 1876.


Inc regularity VIII Which cfSiI hVu'S
holder in New York receives his bill for
gas supposed to have been consumed on
his premises, and the frequent disparity
between the number of thousand feet
charged for in the bill and the number in
reality burned in tile houSe,was amusing
ly illustrated the other day by an incident
which occurred in the experience Of a
we'll known citizen. He had occasion,
over three months ago, to leave the city
on long Journey, and during his absence
his family were also away from home,
and his house was unoccupied Tor three
months. On his return he was consider
ably astonished by the receipt Of a gas
bill for the quarter, which was for the
same amount that former bills had aver
aged when the house was occupied. Ma.
turally, he objected to paying the bill and
called at the office Of the company which
supplied him with gas, and demanded a
rectifcation OF 10 palpable an error, il
not deliberate fraud. His establishment
was not lcssencd when the company
refused to change their record, al
though they receipted the bill Tor him
without insisting OH its payment,
The faith Of that citizen in the incOmpre-
hensiLle instruments, called by the gas
companies::a metre, is considerably shak-
en, and his gas bills are paid now, and
probably will be for some time, rs sort
nl tribute levied by guess and impossible
To avoid The feeling that there is no
way OF getting the better Of the gas COM
panies has induced the New Workers to
submit for a long time, with us good
grace as possible, TO system so thorough
II understood, that the incident narrated
above will surprise few persons. Yet a
lew persons in this city, and very many in
Brooklyn, have discovered that instead OF
it being inevitable tina. such extOrtions
should be submitted 10, il is mn easy
thing to bid defiance to the monopOlists,
and ut small outlay secure far better
light for third or half the money paid
for gas. The knowledge that has come
10 the long.sulIering victims Of what has
long been known rs graSping monopoly,
has been the result Of the efforts to escape
extortion, and is to the effect that KcrO-
Jene oil, rs it is now prepared and sold
BIZ at least one firm in this city, cost only
4 fraction Of what gas dOeE, and gives a
stronger, steadier, and more mellow
light, which is far better for the eyes than
gaS light.
At the office Of the daily Bulletin, where
the gas bills have averaged for some time
past, M high as $4,000 per annum, the ex-
pertinent has been tried otburning brill
liant oil in lamp constructed OH the
well-known principle OF the students
lamp" In n lamp oil this sort the oils
led slowly to the wick, which is separated
from the oil.reservoir OF the lamp, so
that there is no possibility Of the flame
reaching tho bulk Of the oil. The danger
Of explosion, even il common oil is used,
il thereby avoided, and, rs the lamp is
constructed Of metal, safety is almost
assured. The light given is better than
by nm ordinary lamp OF the old style, rs
the oil flows down upon the wick, instead
Of being sucked up by it, and the wick is
II circular one instead OF straight. The
experiment tried in the Bulletin office has
proved a complete success. 1t has not
been tried sufficiently long to enable the
proprietors OF the paper 10 make an eS:
act comparison OF the cost with that oil
gus. The light obtained is so much su-
perior to gas.light that the proot-reader
who works at night in that Office has
given it his unqualified endorsement.
In Brooklyn a similar experiment has
been tried by great number OF citizens
in their stores and dwellings, and in every
case complete satisfaction has been given.
The stOres along the main avenues Of the
city are, many Of them, lighted byoil, and
the effect is thoroughly pleasing, while
the cost, including the labor Of caring for
the lamps, is not more than one-third
what il was to burn gas. The thing
which first induced Brooklyn people to
use oil was the miserable quality Of the
gas furnished them at So thousand feet.
It was asserted by those who claimed to
10 have investigated the matter that the
companies could pay n fair profit on the
capital actually invested by furnishing
good gas at 81 thousand feet; and
whether this statement was literally true
or exaggerated, the people considered
the price they were paying an extor-
,ionate one. Oil was therefore tried by
few. and the result Of the trial was SO
favorable that others followed their ex-
ample, until the gas companies found
their revenues so seriously affected, al
though they had sncered at the movement
ut first, that they were compelled to make
bid for popular favor. This they did
by reducing the price Of gas from s. TO
81 70 per thousand feet, reduction that
was laughed at by those who found they
could save some seventy per cent in place
Of the eight per cent offered. In New
York the burning Of oil has not becomeso
general as 10 alarm the gas companies,
and they have not abated their demands,
but almost every day some good customer
drops oi,and it is thought that before long
the movement will be as general there as
it isin Brooklyn, in which case the com.
panies will probably take some such sc.
lion as was taken by those in Brooklyn.
ORR TRAVELLING CORRESPON-