The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-02-24
Gas.


the Outlying Notwithstanding CaId.
wells Ideas Oftha Committee on Lights,
The chairman Of the Committee on
Lights reported to Council q resolution
night before last directing that hereafter
the expenses Of lighting the outlying
streets by oil lamps be paid by the Gas
Trustees. This resolution passed the Sec
ond Branch without much opposition, buI
in the Frat Branch 1t encountered q very
decided opposition at the hands oil MI
Hall and others of the members 70 whom
the matter was no novelty, and the result
was that the resolution failed to pass
Mr.. Harry Caldwell, Secretary OF tne
Gas Trustees, was corraled BY our scribe
Yesterday afternoon, and in reply to our
ouestions about the resolution, said:
~, r. t,us as Mr.. Kimberly states, and
hs. basn stating for years, that the Gas
Wo,Es nays no water rent to the city,
Int then The amount Of water used al
these works for all purposes is very small,
and II an actual charge were made for 1t,
Il would not exceed $500. This 10 q very
liberal estimate. II, however, the city Of
Wheeling paid her gas bills, q rebate toI
water tax would, OF course, follow. One
eighth OF the gas used Ia consumed by the
city In It's various departments, or O guam
tity that would cost $1,000 II paid for,
There are fraction over 2,l00 con
sumers Of gas in this city and in this mum
Der there arc consumers represented two
or three times, which will reduce the
actual number to figure much less. The
difference In the cost OF lighting post by
gas and oil Is 50 72 or the difference be
tween $2+ In the bid OF the Mt. Vernon
Lantern Company, and SIT 90 cents, the
cost Of gas, On account Of the high
rates for buying pipes, the cost O
iron, the wear and tear Of the pipes, thu
cost OF laying service pipes, the cost o
pumping drjps, and above oil the In
probability Of laying pipes In certain
localities, the work Of extending thu
mains proceeds slowly,
From this It will be apparent how ul
profitable It will be to run gas mains II
order to supply the oil lamps which ar
scattered about the outskirts not TO men
ton the bad policy OF putting mains OF
streets not graded and when the results o
grading would involve the necessity o
frequently Telaying the mains. When
. ever there Is q surplus that can be invest
ed In the laying OF new mains the wOrl
. should commence by substituting large
I mains for the many small, leGky, shallow
easily frozen, badly laid mains Of which th'
. old gas company laid so many. The neCes
sity Tor replacing these bad mains ha
been made apparent by the experience
the past winter during which, as q conse
Queuce OF their freezing so much inCon
YenienCe has resulted TO the public ant
considerable expense to the works II
keeping them thaWed ont.
l Ifl8O feet OF main pipe were allowed Il
reach each Of the oil lamps, II wi readil!
, be seen how II would BIO impossible Il
: reach them by the expenditure oil 81
amount OF money upon which the HaVlDI
!. in gas over oil would pay interest.
Then again It Ia impraCtieable to laI
| these mains on many Of the streets on &C
count OF their steepnesS.
Experience has shown that where main
have been laid In the sparsely settled out
skirts OF the town, where The building
are small and the people poor, almost tn
sole consumer was the lamp'post, as tn
people would NOT 60 10 the expense o
! piping their house Tor gas.
Tue trustees and officers oil the work
feel somewhat hurt at the language oil thu
report In regard to the trustees not offer
Ing the committee an opportunity to In
spect their books and papers. The ordi
nance under which statements OF &C
counts were submitted merely requires tht
report 10 be made, and does not make !
incumbent upon the officers to send will
II any books or papers, which latter orr
required at the gas office for the daily
work OF that establishment. A reader
oud infer from the language OF the re-
port that access 10 the books had been
denied to the committee, when the fact IL
the committee never asked TO see the books
or papers, land 1t was not until after meet
InR Of the committee that tho officers
knew that they had organized. a slight
est inclination OF desire In that direction
would have been all that was necessary tc
have every book and paper in tho office
thrown open To the inspection oil the com
mittee at that office, No appeal TO Coun'
Gil was necessary 10 obtain that privilege
and the officers were guilty OF no neglect
or wrong In not sending In with the report
submitted under the ordinance the books
and papers In daily use at their office,
Moreover, the officers had no expectation
that the Committee Immediately upon or
ganizing would undertake to examine
their reports. Why2 Because those re-
ports were really not properly before The
Committee. One report was among the
papers OF the Committee on Lights, ofthe
last Council, and II not considered by that
Committee could only be regularly acted
upon by the present Committee after the
Council had made new order Of refer
ence sending 1t to them. The other re-
port had been handed 10 the Clerk Of the
City, and the proper and usual course
would have been for that officer 10 lay II
before the Council, who might then refer
Iit 10 the Committee, before which &C.
ton the Committee really had no bust.
ness with II, as II was addressed not 10
them but TO the Council.
Some glaring errors In the COMMITTEES
report should be corrected. The charge
for gas and attendance on street lamps IL
not $l4 68 per post per nnnum, but $l7 2S
The amount expended on the holders Ia
not, as stated, over $4,000, but about
$4,000, and for the north stack, not IS 000
as stated, but about 5000.
Balance OF loan fund on hand June LIST,
was not 81, O04 70, but $04 TO-"
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ADJUSTMENTS.
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