The sun., 1878-09-23
GAS IN LONDON AND NEW YORK.

GAS IN LONDON AND NEW YORK.
The stock in the older New York gas COM
pancs. which. in some cases could formerly
only be picked up now and again. so stouty
was 1t held. ut several times its par value has
Of late years greatly declined in price. This
falling of has been due 10 tho decline in the
profits of the companies. owing to increased
competition tho watering OF some Of the stocks.
the apprehension Of the adoption Of new
methods of gas making. and other causes.
Thus shares Of the New York Gus Company
the oldest in the city, which once were hasd to
get at from $50 70 l75 have lately been sold be-
low par; the Manhattan has dropped from over
300 10 below 100; Of tho Metropolitan. which
many years ago bought from the Manhattan the
control of tho gas supply Of the upper part Of
the city. the stock Is now selling Mt between 1870
and l4O. Tho remaining companies are the
Mutual. whose stock is much below par; the
Municipal. also below par; the Suburban. which
is doing very wcll the Harlem In the same
condition. and the Central Westchester, also
quite prosperous. The capital Of these eight
companies. including scrip and bonds amounts
to ,2l GOG.oO0. The price OF gas in New York is
now ;2jO thousand feet.
These figures will enable us to make a COM
parison with the returns presented by the Lon
ton Of five ~ which is now under considera-
tion. and Is likely 10 reach II successful issue
Ten years ngO there were thirteen companies
supplying the English metropolis with gas but
siN of them two or three years since were
merged in the Chartered Company and one in
the Imperial Company. the two leading gas
companies Of London. and now IL is probable
that the Chartered will absorb the remainder.
This amalgamation is expected to be followed
by that OF the two great companies themselves.
80 that eventually London will have only the
Chartered. or. IA 1t is better known. tho Gas
light and Coke Company. This consolidation
seems to he iayorably anticipated by the con-
sumcrs the restrictions imposed by the Board
of Trade and the controlling influence OF the
metropolitan Board Of Works being such as to
promise TINT benefit. rather than evil will come
out OF ii. The present condition of the London
streets. burrowrd with sewers. gas and watcr
pipes. and telegraph wires and Gridroned on
their surface ey ear tracks. in all directions
from the city TO the cNtremities OF the mctropo-
lis is such that any attempt to introduce new
gas or water companies would be next TO i'm
possible. md would provoke n storm OF indig-
nation. The citizens find 1t hard enough to en-
durc the necessary repairing of the streets. IL
IT came TO digging them up ior tho pipes Of new
gas companies they would rise in revolt. The
Board Of Trade and the METROPOLITAN Board. In
tie interest q the rate payers. now regulate the
quantity. quality and price OF the gas supplied.
and they ar. therefore. able to protect the con
sumcrs against the evils Of a monopoly. This.
az lca-t il tho Wow OF "a leading engineering
journal OF London. Mr.. Allan Campbell. the
Now York Commiss ioncr OF Public Works. only
the other day drew the attention of the public 10
the injury done our ga miles OF streets 10y care
less gas companies.
The reports of the six London gas companies
show that al the end ot 1876 their whole paid d-up
share and loan capital was abou. sj7 800. 600.
AMI ~ unissucd shares or unissued loans about
sl7.j00.UOO. thus making the total capital about
s7j.puu.u0o. From the accounts Of the companies
ior 1871. which have Just been issued. We dis
cover that they are in an excellent condition.
Ina-much as the GGslil;ht and Coko Company
is likely 20 bo the only one in the city in the not
distant future we examine its figures alone.
For thc last half 1877 the receipts Of this COM
pany from the sales Of gas. rental Of meters
sales Of residual products. and miscellaneous
sources, attained total Of sj.7G2 ,22J. against
sj9O4g2j in tho same months OF 1876. The
deficiency was duo tu "a liminuton in the re-
ccI Is Tor gas and a still larger one in those for
residual products. hut the expense was less In
1877 it WAS $3.sO2275. against 1887 .435 in
1876, Il saving Of about ;5jOoo. The dividends
on special stocks varied from four 10 ten per
cent while that on the ordinary stock was ten
per ccnt.-a return which must have been salts
factory to the shareholders.
The Chairman Of the Gnslight and Coke Com
pany, AT lis half-yearly meeting last month. re-
marked that when he first joined the company
twrnty-four years ago. its pnid-up capital was
SjuuO.OlO. hut now by succ'ssiV" nmnlgama-
TONS II had been raised 10 s4O.NO.OOO. At first
SLIP per 900 feet WIS charged for common
gas and Sl.5u tur cannel. bur the present rates
are Sl.l2 for camel and So cents for COM
mon. tn" pricus OF gas in this country. as
- % IN Boston. and $3.50 in Philadelphia. In
the smaller cities the rates. as II rule. are much
higher. IN som" cases rising rs high rs flO per
l.n0O feet. The price in Paris Is tl.5l. The
lowest cost Of production in the Lending cities IL
Europ" is reached in London. 81 cents per 900
feet and the highest sl.2l, in Hamburg. where
the cost of labor is higher thhn in any other
European city. The cost ut gas production in
New York II about $50 per 600 feet and in
Boston : -. whore the cost ot common coal
labor and distribution Is greater and the price
of ,he residual products less. one important
element of the cost OF production has 70 be- taken
into account by the companies. That Is the
constant leakage in the eas pipes. Tho New
York Mutual Company puts this Mt seven per
cent. and the Boston GAslight Company at
eight and "ne-hali per cent The cost OF gas 10
m" consumers in New York, in Wow OF the low
prices of labor and untcrias, ought not to be
ovnr 81 or s2.lO per 1000 feet.
Great progress has Of late years been made in
the application ~ electricity to lighting pur-
POSES hut the experiments have been confined
tu u" Illumination 0t large open spaces or
buildings, ani electricity Is yet unable to COM
pete with gas for shop and domestic uses.
Power Flashed by Wire.
To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Su. Now that