The Washington times. (Washington, D.C.) 1894-1895, 1895-04-14
President Thomas Opinion of the
Board of Trade Letter.
"D--D IMPERfIKENTr HE SAID
His Way Of Answering the Inquiry Of tho
Special Committee Appointed to Investi-
gate the Question Of Gas and Electric
Lighting in the District Stockholders in
Els Company Are Members of the Board.

Pesident A. A. Thomas, of the United
States Electric Light Company. char
acterized, yeste rday, az '.impertinent,
in fact, damned impertinent,'' the letter to
his company from a special committee OF
the Board OF Trade, which sought I'm
quisitorial information" as to the business
affairs of the company.
The inquiry of the Board of Trade was as
to the original and present capitalization,
of stecks, dividends, surplus, etc., with a
view of determining a proper price for gas
and electric light IN this city, and the COM
mfttee Also asked the opinion whether tie
lighting businesses could be better run by
municipal ownership.
President Thomas, in comme nting on his
reply, which is now in the hands of the
Board OF Trade, said that he not only re-
members and directors of the Board of
Trade who agreed with him in that regard.
MIR. Thsmas is a member of the Beard of
Trade, and many of the stockholders and
directors of the United States Electric Com
pany are also memhsrs ofthe Board of Trade.
CHANGED THEIR MIND.
1t will be remembered that at the time
when rsples as to these questions were re-
csiyed by the committee from the Wash
ington 6asIigbt Company and the George
town Gas Company, the United States
Electric Light Company made no reply.
The news that they had changed their
mind yesterday was interesting, because
il locked as il the company intended to
snub the board. As it is, the reply of
the COMPANY is in part Parhian shot,
as they retreat from their position of ST.
lence.
In describing his reply yesterday, Mr..
Thomas said:
II simply took up the question of the re-
quest of the committee to me, in which
they referred TO a former communication
To me which was unanswered. l have
stated TO the committee that / seriously
doubted whether a self-constityted organ
iZation like the Beard OF Trade, however
reputable they might be, had right
10 aena nd er even TO request this informa
tion. / have given them TO understand
that the information now furnished is
given as q courtesy from a corporation
aad not in respsn1e TO their right TO de-
nand or receive it."
i say that answered tlfs communication
only so far as the aEewer shall not be in
detrinentto the stsckiIoldcrEof Ourcompany.
The position of our company ia Tecsgpized as
somc wa ut an ora olous in the respect that tits
co nsidered q foreign corporation while
nincty-uine Eer cent. of tae stockholders are
from tEis city; that tkc stockhslders and
number of the directors are members of the
Board of Trade and for that reason l say
win answer so far as lean.
WHAT WAS SAID.
al tell them that the company was organ
lied about twelve years ago with capital
OF 500 geo.
''From time to time it has increased its
capitalization in fully paidup stock,
until at present we are -eapitalized at S. :,
200 goo, all of which has been fully paid
up. Years ago we commences and con-
tinued the use of the underground conduit
system, and even at a time when electric
engineers criticised and even condemned
that system. l say that even at the
present time it is not satisfactory, that
the losses are large in proportion TO the
profit, and that while an overhead sys-
TEN of electric lighting can be erected for
about SEQ mile the underground costs
nearly $13 GOO. To maintain a mile OF
overhead line costs about $44 per year, to
maintain a mile Of underground costs be-
tween S825 and $3.50. Therefore no COM
paFison can be made between costs by
the overhead and underground railways.
I'm Chicago under the municipal Gystem,
in which they pay ne taxes and are relieved
OF other charges the cost is little less than
it is in washington.
"In New York the city pays mere to the
underground system than is paid TO our
underground system by tseg egovernmeRt here.
They get Al cents, we get 40 cents. During
the last year we sent out circulars to 81 large
number OF cities and tswEs using electric
lights. We have received responses from
201 inquiries, which Bhow that the average
with them, on the same lighting schedule
1000 houTg-as we have, is 43.7 cents,
while withusitig Accents.
'sAs to the incandsscent lighting, which
corressenSs to residential gas lfgh ting,
we think that we can Prsye that our charge
is less than that OF any other town of the
same population as Washington"
NO DIVIDENDS AT FIRST.
"As to what dividends We pay, say
that for seme years there were no dividends
paid at all; but since the payment Of div
ideuds, they have ranged from to per
cent, which has been possible through i'm
proved methods and machinery"
President Thomas does rot favor munic-
ipal ownership OF the electric plant. He
does not deny that the lighting may be done
at @ less CeSt TO the inGlVlaual, but Govern
mcnt control of corporations means also the
retirement ef capital. He also is opposed to
the idea of Capitalization OF power involves
in the idea of governmental ownership and
monopolies.
The matters referred to by Mr.. Thomas
cannet be discussed by the special com
mittee. Some days ago, when the Speclai
committee received replies from the Wash
ington gaslight company and the Geerge-
town gas company, The Times puslissed
full abstracts OF these communications ex'
clusively The board of directors there
upOn notified the committee, so the secre-
tary Of the board stated yesterday, that
such things should not be given out until
the communications had been officially
acted upon Hence, when a request for
Mr. Thomas letter was made to the Secre-
tary yesterday, the ans wer was that such
giving out would be contrary to the lnjunc-
ton of the board OF directors, although
President Thomas had no objection to the
board making his letter public. The sec
retary OF the board did, he wever, concese
that the Board of Trade would have no OBJ
lection if Mr. Thomas gave his reply.
Q
Irishman and Chineman in a Fight.
There was trouble in Chinese laundry
on o street near Fifth northwest last night,
and it resulted in Joseph Costello getting
locked up at No. 2 police station house foE
assault Joseph entered the laundry,
ostensibly for the purpose of getting his
VUoal-su wash hut ba and tho MoOCOiiaD