New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-17
BROOKLYN GAS INTERESTS.
THE COMPANIES WHICH LIGHT THE CITY.

The gas interests of Brooklyn involve capital OF
nearly ten millions of dollar. Tie business %
gas Lighting is divided among seven companies, az
o. which except one, are restricted to certain PFC
scribcd districts without which they are mol per
! unttcd 10 lay PIPES and serve gas. ,..
The first company, beginning the business thirty
two wears ago. and the most powerful TODAY - Ile
! Brooklyn Company. With capital of -. 900 wv,
it ghta the portion Of the city which incliues
the principal bueiness streets and the fine mansions
on the HEIGHTS. The boundaries OF rs tcTr'loiy
are the East River, Washiugton-ayc., FatbuSh-aVe'
and AtlanIc-ayc those lines form triangular Sc
ton, dividing the city ana extending on each sue
of Fulton and Flatbush-aves. from Fulton fcIiS 10
| Prospect Park. At first the company had an OF
the city-what is now the Eastern District beng
| then a separate municipality known as " liilhihS-
| burg CITY. The latter was lighted 10y tic Williams
| burg Gas Light Company, which came INTO exist
encc at about the same time as the Brooklyn Colh-
The first rival of the latter was the Citizens
| Company formed IN 1851. After the experiment
of rivalry, which cost 1t dear, 1t took section OF
the city for It's own IN compromise WIN us oiueI
| rival. Each successive company IN brooklyn mid
pursued the same course up 10 the latest one. Inc
! CitIz.nS Company IL confined to the territory
| bounded by the bay, AtIniic-avc., Nevins-st and
the Gowanus Canal y 'Xt 10 tbs Is The Metropoil-
| tar Company. formed III 1861: its territory -
| bounded bv Atlantic and Flathush-aYcs.. Prosper
| Park the city line and thc bay, GowanuS Cana ana
Novns-st On tie east side OF the BROOKLYN com,
pauy's limits, the Peoples Company mas the space
! included between Washington and De kalb-avcs.,
! Broadway, Dvisiou-ave.. to the East River, while
the Nassau Company furnishes lighi south oi he
! Kalb-avr and east of ashngt0n-aVc., to the city
| line and Hroadwev. The Williamsburg Company
supplies gas 10 what WAS formerly Williamsburg
! and GrtcnpOint, now known rs the Eastern DIS
! rival to all these existing corporations came
into existence ast year. when the Fulton Municipal
| Company, formed 10 uSc gas from naphtha Dy the
| water process. began active work Ihls company
was formed b. reason OF the success OF the MuncI-
| pal Gas Company in this city, when lafuSheS cA-
crllcnt gas which 1t is claimed can he produced far
more cleapy than coal gas and gives better light
| for the same amount burned
inf hay. hoe ma Ia N fDrrD q
consol ation of all the gasliRht companies III Brook-
lgn on a basis Of division of stock according TO
business ana to the naphtha gas exclusively he
frst fIIied from the Lack OF the requisite tW"-hrdS
| vote by the stockholders III TIE Nassau ana
the Peoples Companies III favor OF the
, scheme The second attempt left out
these SO companies, but il defeated by the ac-
ton of The Brooklyn Company, which claimed that
II In iofLiu 10 iran bv the combination. At hat
time the opinion was freely expressed that the Full
| tom Municipal Company had been formed for the
purpose of selling out, ana tins view Is stl held ny
| some persons gentleman identified with the gas
interests Of Brooklyn sad recently to a tribune
reporter that the company could be bought out for
SO COO. and il would he the cheapest way Tor the
Brooklyn Company 10 gei rd OF us rival. Inc pro-
jcc;os Of the company claim that II started to
chcapen gas in the city, and point 70 the fact that
! the old companies, with one exception nov sell gas
cilcaucr than when the new company wa projected.
Since The failure of the scheme TO combine the III
| ton Municipal Company has begun work again. An
| arrangement has been made WITH the Citizens Com
pauy 10 furnish 10 1t all the 1t delivers to con"
! sUmcrs and the Fulton Municipal Company Is sup
! rl,ioe Gas 10 It's own c0nsuners where the mains
are already land p fast Is they apply. About nIleen
! miles of pipe are down. principally in Tult0n-st,
Mvrtlc-ayc.. and other streets leading out IRON the
| CITY Nall. Except loI few blocks along Fulton
| 81, east of Nashngt0n-GNe., IN the Nassau I ON
! rp,N's territory. the mains are all in the limits
| Where !hc BROOKLYN COnplny furnishes gas. The
| capacitv 81 the works of the company az present
| rs 500 900 cubic feet but H." president. II. VI.
Benedict. SAID recently to IEBuNE reporter that
the capacity would soon be doubled. About 100
| men are now employed.
| The CitIzons' Company has Supplied naphtha gas
TO -. customers for The past two months and has
abandoned own works, except 50 far as using the
other co!nrarieS. except the Metropolitan, in Feb
Iiary 1850. tho Citlzon's Company reduced the
pre- O. las IL - thousand feet. Recently notice
| hs, bern'Gyen 10 the consumers that the price o.
! rls after August l would be $50 Thousand feet.
/ s. thc office Of the company the reason gwen Tor
! tac advance was that the gas now furnished WIS
e,ioc-.nr IL, quality to THAI furnished when the re-
duction va, made. None of the other companies
,,ipn-c raising the price OF the gas they furnish,
80 Jar "a, could b. learned at the various Offices
frlu thc uniioln rate of ~ thousand ~ all, eX-
ccpt tie metropolitan Company, which charges
$40. The only difficulty the Citizens t"in"any
has cxp.-.cuc.d has been with burners Vllcll eau
nj stand the great ho1t Of The new Sas, and differ
eat pattern ias & br introduced. Those "ho usc
epe-.toycs ELd TINS feature Of superior heat great
! advantage.
Tie peculiar features Of thc gas business were set
| fort, h- al, officer Of one of che BroOlyn COM
paiics ID q recent conversation with TRIBUNE re-
porter: " You s.c' h sad, thc KS business Is
| Wv ,.o1II,Jr olc-you have 10 lurn sh pas To
]
business. And there are always those " no viii take
! o.. Gus c-paclalv where 10 deposit Is required,
and ne Il until Il is cat ch-that Is, iof month
and ha!.-aHd tlIIt they have done good thing
III cheating monopoly.
- TIE pcr US who mako the most trouble are
tho., =. M s. I'd DO tie least 30 tina. all Is right.
! man who goes with the Inspector and looks al the
inc,r. and uot., down the figures Will come right
along and gay Lls bill but ~ nine eases OUT Of ten
! tie man who makes a complaint will Say, oh. he
hasn't t.mc % attend 20 anythiu8o that SORT. Ana
r.:cu tie women How they tAIn@ the gas con-
ftt4rt4 flfl
| Other d4v who complained that her bill WAS too
large We figured It oHt according t. her own
showing 10 De morc than We charged. and she
tioau.ct away. saying, The Who'll" thing ~ rWln-
Gir any way ! They come here and scrplln'ze their
LIli,v.iil the utmost nicely. If the butchers and
hai.c,s are gone over a. closely they must have
hard tInr. The general complaint IS That more gas
IS cEai-ca tor than WAS used.
"Ihc great Uscra Of gas are the servants. Many
keen light bUIuIl all might, Tor they wont steep
~ thn dark. Then there are theS' cellar burners.
often they are not pat Out all night, and we have
| 0uud them ~ full blast at midday. Now there was
q gent lmaH IN mere last summer VINO claimed that
uo gas had been burned IN his house Tor two months
Tine family had all bee IN the country, and 40 one
l,,i D, p "a the house, He stcrmcd and vowed IT,;
/ D., ,.rnid Ic,c~ pav tie bill, hI, by-aua-5yc the
tact leaked ont thIt they had lett one hail lgh',
partly turned do"D, burning, to deceive intending
burg4rs. New. ON" such light. gong All the time.
would bum son" sds. Oue great reason OF the ~
pcIsc 81 gas ia convenience ii one had 10 llght
Il lamp and carr, If up stairs 10 get Itic thing lac
would Dc rIct.y APP to Grope Tor II IA the OARS pat
there IS thc a~, touch and II Is lighted ana then
ore goes down stairs Tor a moment, becomes inter-
cstcd and forget, that tie ga IS burning away up
| stairs .ometImcs uaiil hours iiterNard.
" 4 new conlp.lV coming into rivalry with an Old
and ionc-cstablsbed one has hdId ight brI"I' II.
In the first place. II gets los OF poop oiIrrs
| whom nobody wants. All those WHO aIc oui with
the cd company. or have no eds rom not paying
up hls. go e. t"c new. .Ih'y are nor good for
much Then metres are pat III without deposit.
and ID many case, loss follows; ANA II "l4i' don't
suit tlry ale cat down. TIE Gepo,ii business III Il
| good thing. but now WIN m"si companies II Is
u.f,.lv nominal. Ne keep record Oi all cohsuhI-