Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-09-14


tions and Condition of the Com
pany Made by General Manager
George Heard,
A preliminary meeting between the
special Council Committee appointed to
consider the petition of the Natural Gas
Company Of West Virginia to be al
lowed to increase the price Of natural
gas to consumers from fifteen TO twenty
cents, net, per 1000 feet, and General
Manager George Heard, of the Com
pany. was held at the Office of the cor
pOration. in the Peabody building, last
night The conference lasted about an
hour and a half, and was mainly de-
voted TO a statement by Mr.. Heard OF
the financial situation Of the Company
past and present, and the general con-
ditions surrounding the gas business as
the Company found them here IN
Wheeling.
Mr.. Heard began his statement of the
COmpany's argument and position by
saying that All questions of the situa-
ton finally come down to the money
here is in il, and, Mr.. Chairman, have
prepared here a statement of all the
money passing through our hands from
the beginning up to the present time,
and in order that each member Of the
Committee can have the opportunity OF
inspecting it, | have had few put into
type. The statement covers the period
from 1886 to April, 1895, and shows the
money received from gas, from oil
leases and wells, and the operating eX-
Oenses of the gas plant, the net earnings
from gas, the gains and losses from oil,
miscellaneous receipts and expenses,
the total net receipts, the cost of addi-
lions to plant, and the dividends paid
and the debt. Supplementing this l
have had the following statement pre-
pared
Total net earnings from gas. S611 ,S42 81
And deduct additions TO
plant 49,. 80. $50. $50. 9l9,fSO "a
And we have a remainder
applicable TO dividends e.
of .... go. 80. ........ 96,051 AZ
The whole amount paid out in divi-
dendS was obtained from the following
sources: -
Net earnings from gas. after
deducting additions to
plant. .... 80. go. ....S 96,O5l AZ
Net profits from oil pro-
duced .... .... .... ..... 2S,S62 o.
Sales of oil property ........ 224,00O 90
Miscellaneous go. go. -. 1888 IS
Debt borrowed money! 80. 24.752 rs
Dividends paid .... ..... -. 375,00O 90
"The capital of the Company is one
million dollars. of which $620,000 was
cash actually put in, and $3S0,000 repre-
sents stock given for leases, etc. in the
Hickory and Taylorstown fields. These
two sums make up the million Of CAPT
tai. The S620,000 of cash went into con-
struction. The stock given for leases,
etc. turned out to have been very eX-
cellent transaction for this reason: In
THE course Of one and one-half years the
property we paid $3.50, 900 in stock for
we sold for over $25O000, leaving us all
of our gas rights, which turned out to
be very cheap.
''NOw, then, if you analyze the state
ment l have handed you, you will see
that the operating expenses for gas
were 1921, ABLY. That was the general
expense of the business-drilling wells
and laying short gas lines. Then there
were additions to plant of S515, 1904,
and as matter of fact these should
not be counted as additions at all, but
should be charged to expense account.
Now. if you take that out of the net
earnings from gas, you see we have
only gotten $96051.47 TO be used as di-
vidends from gas alone, on an invest
ment of one million dollars for eight
years. the other profits being made up
from oil receipts, etc. We have paid no
dividends at all since July 2, 1894
Again. Notwithstanding we have ex-
pended s515, 790S4 in additions to the
plant. during these eight years, the
plant is not worth as much to-day as
if was five years ago. because of the in
evitable rapid depreciation of the prop
erty. There is nothing in the business
for us in the future. The house bust
ness-gas for domestic consumption
is M IFS highest limit, while the mill
business is running itself out. The
highest notch touched by the domestic
consumption was in 1892 and 1898,
when the income was 100000. In 1894
it had fallen off to $91 500, and this
wear It is up again to S1O1 900. The
mill business was highest in 1891, when
if produced $4,000. Last year the in
come from this source was but SSl ,22O,
This year it is S82.91S, and for the COM
ing wear don't believe it will run over
S16. 600 or $4,000. There are no diyi-
dends worth speaking of in the bust
ness. when you consider the money we
have nut into it. and there are none in
sight. There is not a gas Company in
the United States, which put from $780,
GOO to s2CO. 600 and up in the business
but which has either lost its invest
ment or which will inevitably do so.
The people who had small concerns
putting in $4,000 or $4,000, and who
had but short pipe lines TO lay down.
cot ont whole. as a rule.
understand me, we don't complain
of our treatment here. We know we