The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-03-15

books will disclose that the company has
carried upon its accounts what 1t has
termed construction account which
purports to show the cost of the works OF
the Portland Water Company. Up to
| December 81, 1891, that cost as SHOWN
| upon that account upon the company
books is $2,637, 1884 To that IS to be
added $213,619 that has been derived
from surplus of income and credited back
| upon the construction account to snow
| the actual cost of the works. So in order
to get at the actual cost Of the works as
| shown by the company's books in the
| construction account it is necessary to
add these items together, making total
of So, 1851, 003.
| But further examination of these ac-
counts will show that this
Construction Account has been Largely
Stuffed.
| 1t will appear that it is many thou.
| sands of dollars in excess of the actual
| cost of construction which will be shown
by pointing out items which have been
Improperly charged to that account. AS
for instance: The capital stock of the
company was placed at S1,000,000. 1t
will appear that upon that sum $500 is
all that ever formed the treasury of the
company. The entire amount of stock is
charged to the construction account, and
charged in this way. A franchise &C
count was opened by which it appeared
that the sum of $650,000, was paid to
the original promoters of this enterprise
for organizing themselves into compa-
ny and accepting charter from the
state. The item of $3.50, 900 is charged
to construction. When the company
| was organized and WAS ready to con-
tract for laying its pipes, it made a con-
tract with the American Water and Gas
works for $1,050,000 in October, 1867.
| Not share of stock had been issued and
not a dollar paid into the treasury. Six
months later work was begun. Never
theless it will appear that the
Portland Water Company paid the
American Water and Gas Pipe Com
pany in New Jersey $3.50, 900, which was
the balance over and above the $3.50, 900
ofssthe entire capital stock. 1t will be
shown that never dollar of that $3.50,
4 600, was ever paid to the company and
yet it is charged to the dconstruction ac-
counts which the company make up as
the basis for computing reasonable rates
and charges to its water takers. There
are other items improperly charged to
the construction account consisting of
salaries, large and disproportionate in
the early history of the company and
enormous and unusual commissions paid
to it's agents and servants. These items
improperly charged amount to the round
sum of $751;, 200. So we say that this
! construction account as it appears on the
books of the company is too large by 81,
| 075 600 and that the
Actual Cost of the Works Was 81 ,562, O94.
Another limitation which we are to
consider in determining the question OF
exorbitant rates is the income Of the
company. 1t will be found from an ex-
l animation of their books that the present
annual revenue of the Portland
Water Company is $205, 200. This in
cludes all sources of revenue, and is sub
ject to rebate in some instances. About
$4,000 of it is received from manufac-
turers and other large consumers, and is
usually paid for BIZ meters. About $10,-
| 600 of it is received from existing con-
tracts with municipalities and corpora
lions. All the rest is derived from the
| classes of takers which I have before
enumerated.
There are about $500 services or taps
to the mains, which supply about 10, 900
families and about 1400 stores and offices
| If they were all charged according to
the schedule of the company, the yield
to the water company would be annually
$233, 254, a sum sufficient, if the stock
had all been paid in at its inception, to
have paid 20 per centu its entire cap
ital annually.
For the year of 1891, after providing
| for all the necessities of the company,
there is surplus of about $4,000 to be
disposed of. $50, 900 they paid as divi-
dends at per cent upon this one million
dollars capital stock, and the balance
| they carried to the construction account,
to reduce the net cost.
AS to the comparison of the rates of
this company with those of other cities
the counsel have examined the reports
and statistics of hundreds OF water
| works. Private companies are compare
| lively few and we were unable to get at
| their data and figures for comparison.
| We have therefore determined to takeNew
| England cities, which. should as nearly
as possible correspond with the condi-
tions existing and surrounding the fur
nishing of water to Portland. We have
ooAoolou Nio CLUES u Lynn, L6WIcIce,
Lowell, Cambridge, Hartford, Manches-
ter, Holyoke and Springfield. They are
cities having a population nearly equal
to that supplied BY the Portland Water
Co.-some have more and some less pop
ulation. We have rejected cities which
measure their water by metres. Of these
cities none of them have family rate as
large as the Portland Water Company's.
AS to what changes should be made in
the water rates as now existing, Mr.. Lar
rabee said they would submit their views
upon that question Later at tho proper
time.
The remainder of the day was taken
up in reading acts of incorporation, with
the various amendments thereto, munich
pal ordinances, contracts with municipal
tiles and the rates as charged in other
cities.
At o'clock the hearing was adjourned
until this morning alto o'clock
The rates as tabulated and read by
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