Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1879-01-29
1.-THE REGULARITY OF THE
GAS BILLS"
WHEELING, January ~, 1870.

uEtIlNhi dhAuhIN 30 lo'V'
Editor of the Register,
regret Ia see that one OF the daily
papers Ol the city is trying to manulac-
turc public opinion Ia connection with
the Gas office fire" ut II much more
rapid rate than the facts justify. re-
lur To the editorial in tO-day's hicih-
gcar,T about the amounts Of monthly gas
bills during the past two years, AZ com
pared tO the amounts when the works
were IN the hands oi private corpora
tion The statements contained there
in are positive reflections upon the in
trgrity oi certain employees ol the city,
aud ~ the argumcntsarc very plausible,
and, ~ lar as the author is concerned,
may appear sound and reasonable 10
amount ol conviction with them.
I'm order that the other sldo may bC
heard, fur all stories have two sides, l
will unumtnato the following iaols:
When the gas works came into the
,,nssrssion ol the city there VAS u gon-
rral complaint in the business portion
oi the town ui the insuilClCnCy at the
supply of gas, AMI the complaint was
particularly loud and severe at the news
paper offices, 80 muchso at the ht.li'Je''-
cfr Office that Mr.. Browne himself was
called upun Ia make an Inspection at
the gas burners ia that building in
order Ia ascertain what was the dit
Gculty. The trouble turned out Ia hc
that the mains on Market and other
| streets running at right angles thereto
werr not large enough hy hall tO sup
ply the increased demand caused 10y the
| general growth of the city and Improve
mrnts on those streets IL Nas common
talk in the days of the old mains that
stores and dwellings were not half
| hYhtc,l, he,ausc nj the dlmunitive sup
NV pipes. fhisdeiect was remedicd 10y
the old siN inch mains being rcsurrectcd
aud new twclye-Inch pipes substituted.
| The result was natural. With the in.
! creased facilities for making gas, arising
| from the enlargement OF the works, the
| pressure was greatly augmented. The
| mains conducting the gas from the
works IN the htciilgncer and REGIsTER
| offices and other establishments
were three times the caparlty
al the old pipes, and consumers
! hal all the gas they wanted aud
a good deal moro. But that was nnt the
fault ui any individual IN the employ ct
the gas works. II requires but little lis
curnuent on the part of an unhlascd per
son, with the above kicts before him tn
! know that the average consumption oi
/ gas cannot possibly he the same, IA when
/ the small main, aud hut one "holdcr
were the means by which consumers
were supplied with gas.
In regard to the ''peculaily' oi the
! gas bills upon which a good deal oi
stress is laid, desire tn analyIe
/ them httle. Now, every dwelling an'l
business house in the city is supplied
with metre ol the most improved pat
! tern. There are three dlals upon each,
representing respectively, hundreds
| thousands and millions. These dlals
are As slInplr as the face OF clock, and
! hy person of ordinary intelligence
can lie read As easily When u
business man his suspicious aroused
about being cheated he usually takes
steps tn investigate Ii either oi the
| ppIprietnrs ol the h,toiilFRosT were a.
kuv apound oi butter or sugar, and
thought IL tO hc short weight, lac would
not hesitate to prove or dispel his sus
picion hy weighing II under his own
eve. II was just ~ easy
to do likewise With the charges Tor gas
The consumer. II lac Is suspicious o
error ur "cTookeiness, eau secretly and
accurately take the index Of his meieI
and compare Il With the tace OF his gai
hill Ii seems to nae that this II the
lust aud manly way at tcstinl
the honesty Of an cmploye, ant
lust the method a man Wuul,
pursue Ii hc thought he was bcins
swindled. ! don't mean by this CON
muniuatiOn that the individuals VII,
record the indices ot the meters are al
ways right, ior they are table to err, ik'
ali oi us, but do desire to con
yey the meaning that they d'
not wrong the consumer Intentionally
and 40 such rchcctions a. NeT'
in to-day's IasNlgDtc6r should lie Cas
upon their character until such .
proven. Many viii ay, either th,
tAker oi the metre 90 the metre itsri
is wong. There Is one answer ~ thu
assertion, and that Is, whenever a
wherever complaint j. made, the metr
is taken out and a ncw one, which hA
been tested, substituted.
In conclusion, Mr. Editor, would !
not he Just as we'll for th0se whO are ai
tempting ~ work up public opinion
either through impure motives OF
Misunderstanding si the situation, .
suspend their labors until they have IN
real and not imaginary iacts 10 N@'