Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-01
WANT HIGHER PRICES.
A Suit Entered to Force the Putting
Up of Natural Gas Rates.
NO EQUITY IN THE EQUITABLE
Is the Claim Made by the Minority Mem
bers of the Company.
TRUSTEES ACCUSED OF PARTIALITY

There has been an explosion in the
Equitable Gas Company. The minority
stockh olders claim that they are not being
treated With as much equity as the name of
the company indicates they should be, and
in order to get fair show they want the
court to declare that the present Board of
Trustees is misdeal. The complaint made
is that few gilt-edged capitalists have
grabbed up the majority of the stock, and
that they furnished gas to themselves at
prices away below the sky high
figures OF other con. panies. The
minority men say they want to be
in fashion and hang their gas rates to a
balloon like their rivals do, but, they claim.
the people in power, with eyes single to
their own pocketbooks, have persisted in
keeping prices as light as the gas itself.
The President Of the company, R. B. Brown,
acknowledges that the stockholders are
heavy consumers and that the rates are not
as high as in some other companies, but, he
adds, that this is what the company was
organized for and if the minority stock
holders want gas at the same price, all
they have to do is to ask for it. The COM
pany sells almost exclusively to mills and
factories.
The bill in equity was filed yesterday by
J. T. Keil, w. A. Heyl, A. Frauenheim,
C. H. Read, w. Van Buren, n. A. Hemp
hill, J. Powell and V. Blanck, shareholders
of the Equitable Gas Company, against the
Equitable Gas Company, r. B. Brown,
George Trautman, Reuben Miller, j. B.
| Brown, L. M. Morris, c. H. Zug. F. B.
Robinson, James Hemphill, A. F. Heating.
the Crescent Steel Company, Mcintosh,
Hemphill & Co., Zug & Co., Pennsylvania
Drop Forge Company, Windsor Glass Com
pany, Carbon Iron Company and j. Brown
& Co.
Favorites Supplied at Low Figures.
The plaintiffs state that the Equitable Gas
Company, In which they are shareholders,
was incorporated in October, 1888. The
directors of the company are R B. Brown,
Trautm AMI. S. Brown, Morris, Zug, Hemp
hill, Robinson and Heating. The corpora
tions named as defendants and L. NJ. Nor
ris are consumers of natural gas furnished
by the company. The other defendants and
directors, it is stated, are all interested in
one or more of these concerns. Under an
agreement of April 2, 1889, all the share
holders assigned to Miller, Heating, Hemp
hill, ]. S. Brown and Trautman, as voting
trustees, 72 per cent of the stock held by
them to vote as determined by the ma jority.
The directors and the defendant corporations
in which they were interested finally man.
aged to acquire II 200 shares of the 10000
shares of capital stock, giving them the
majority. TIE directors, it is alleged, have
managed the gas company for their own
benefit ard to the detriment of the company
o,,l yIoo fhny eho ahol1 Nhnxy hoty
piled gas to the manufacturing establish
ments Of the defendant consumers, in which
the members OF the board are largely inter-
ested, az less than its market price and
actual value. R. B. Brown, it was
alleged, as President of the COM
pany, though but small stockholder,
got a salary, and it was thereby largely to
his personal interest not to oppose, but act
in harmony with the other directors. The
defendants treated the gas company merely
as an auxiliary to the defendant consumers
interests to get supply of gas for an in
adequate sum.
Gilt-Edged Customers Refused.
The defendants were given a preference
in supplying gas, the supply of others was
stopped when there was a shortage, and
they paid less than one-third of its market
price. Also to keep up the high pressure
nary and unnecessary expense Of 100000
was gone to in boring new wells, etc. Gas
was also refused to customers offering bet
ter prices than was paid by them.
The court is asked to have an account
taken of the gas supplied the defendants
and its value and order them to pay full
value for and hold the directors liable for
what is due, also to have the voting trust
declared void, or if it is not declared void to
have the present trustees removed. The
appointment of receiver to manage the
company in the interest of all the stock
holders, is also asked.
Lyon, Mckee and Sanderson are the at
torneys for the plaintiffs.
Mr.. Brown when seen last night had not
heard the details of the suit He said the
company has about 40 wells from to 12
miles on the other side of Murraysville
The plaintiffs in the suit, he thought, were
principally small shareholders, and he did
not see what reason they had for being dis
satisfied. The company, he said, was or
ganized for the purpose of giving the men,
bers gas at low rates, and those who are
not consumers had gone in with that under
standing.