Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-12-03
OUT OF
PL. KIMBERLY CLAIMS TO BE A HEAVY
LOSER BY THE PIPE LINE CONTRACT.
He Files a Statement in the Office Of The City Clerk
For Presentation to Council at Its
Next Session.

The following document was Tiled IN the
Office of the City Clerk yesterday, to be laid
before Council 1t its next session. As
the subject is one of decided interest to
our citizens we print the paper in full.
WHEELING, W. VA, Nov. IL, 1886.
To the Mayor aud Council of the City Of
Wheeling:
GENTLEMEN: The following Is submit
ted for your consideration and action:
WHEREAS, In the month of April OF this
wear, P. l.. Kimberly, a citizen of this
place. did contract with the officers of the
Natural Gas Company of West Virginia, a
foreign Company, q majority of whose
stockholders are not citizens of this city,
county or State, to do a large amount OF
work for said Company, consisting chiefly
in digging and filling q ditch from Hick-
ory. in the State of Pennsylvania, to TINS
city, said Natural Gas Company having
previously obtained from the Council OF
this city the passage of an ordinance
granting to the said Natural Gas Company
the exclusive privilege of using the streets
and alleys of this city for such purpose
and use, such use and purpose
being necessary to supply the citizens and
tax PAYERS of this city with natural gas for
fuel. Said P. L. Kimberly, in pursuance
of and in fulfllment of his part OF said
contract, employed laborers, which,
TO the citizens and the Coun-
ell of this city, was obnoxious,
~(although the said laborers were OF the
class generally in use at that time in the
gas territory and on gas lines leading from
said territory to Pittsburg and elsewhere
when lines were being built, and the en-
ployment of which they objected to. At a
meetingof a committee of Councilappoint-
ed by this body for the purpose the Pres
ident and Directors of the said Natural Gas
Company and the said P.L Kimberly, the
contractor, it was agreed and arranged thai
the said obnoxious laborers should not be
used on said work, and that labor that
would be satisfactory to the people of this
city should be furnished said contractor in
it's stead. All of which arrangements and
agreements have been observed and carried
out in good faith, and the work done and
completed by the said =. l.. Kimberly, the
contractor, who claims that by so doing he
is a heavy loser, said loss amounting to sew
eral thousand dollars, which he is unable
and unwilling to sustain, and ought not
be asked to contribute to the construction
ofthis wealthy cOmpany's profitable invest
ment. He thinks the arrangements and
agreements made and entered into
at the meeting rs aforesaid of the Council
Committee the President and Directors 6
- v.1 No., ron,n,nu on1 himSalf
contemplated that he was to be protected
against loss or damage Occasioned by the
decentralization of his plans for doing the
work under his contract. With n view to
and for the purpose of aScertainlng what
action should be taken by this Council in
this matter the following resolutions are
offered:
RcsoIred, That u committee of three
members of each Branch be appointed to
investigate and report all the facts. To
enable the committee to discharge their
duties satisfactorily to themselves aud the
Council, be it further
RcsOIred, That they be authorized TO
send for persons and papers such as they
may need to get information sought for.
And that said committee be required to re-
port to Council rs soon rs practicable all
the facts pertaining to this contract, that in
the end to enable Council to take such
action as they in their judgement may
deem fit and proper to serve the end ofius-
ticc.
A REGISTER reporter called upon some
of the officers of the Natural Gas Com
pany of West Virginia last evening, in re-
lation to the above, and found that they
took decided exceptions to the contents of
the document, aud claimed that, so far as
their corporation was concerned, Mr.. Kim
berly had no just of complaint or
ground for action.