The morning times., 1895-12-11
COST OF Ac[TN[HE GIs
Nothing Sad AboutItin the Long
Expected Prospectus.
TWIN COMPANIES, DEAL
of Times Correspond ents
Verified by the Two CorpuratiOn~.
Acety iene and Carbide Interests
Merely Combined by Cont ract -NOtl IT.
ing Yet shown TO Prevent Deal

The official prospectus of the 'Accty-
lene Gas Company" ami the Carbide
Company" Las been published, according
10 the premise OF the company.
IL Uas expected with some degree OF
interest, rs il was thought Lhat II would
have furnished some information on the
price OF aCctyiene to tile consumers. In
TINS vial respect, however, 1t las been
source OF absolute disaproiDL ment 10
those VINO, failing to get Tie information
from the company, made Application Tor
1t 10 The TimeS-
The prospectus gives the exact figure
for u si.;lTe OF the stock in each company;
il gives the exact Dumber Of sharts now
anu to be in the two companies" and
the exact capital stock in each and both
companies, which. 1t appears, is to be
increased from SoUO,UO0 to 81 ,oUU.OOO.
The prospectus, or rather the pruspec-
tuses. for there arc two compani,s. say
that the companies are under the same
management and wnersDip." but the
next sentence says that there Is contract
bet tween tile companies. 1t is also said
that there is perpetual CONTRACT
TWO INDEPENDENT CONCERNS.
The correspondent of The Times who
raised the point OF the Two companies,
said yesterday that this public statement
of the concern proves the position that he
had assumed.
1.-The point made" said he, AIS not
touched by the prospectus, which is merely
an attempt 10 answer what have said.
Granting that there is a contract, my case
has been proved. 1t shows in the first
place an original and present independence
of the carbide company and the gas com
pany. Ii shows that they can only work
together, and that as they are now ad-
nient, the existence OF the whole concern
is dependent on how long each viii abide
10y the agreement
THE words perpetual contract mean
nothing as an absolute guarantee If, for
instance, either party alleges and proves n
breach of contract, then the whole fHbric
tuInblcs to the ground and neither gas nor
carbide can be manufactured.
Again. l would call attention to this
part of the prospectus; These two com
panies own the exclusive right 10 manu-
faciurc, use and yeld.' Now. IL this is
true would like to know why stock must
be taken in A and B separately, if A and
B, according 10 another part or the pros
pectus. is under the same ownership
III is business proposition that the
two companies own nothing, while il is
OF record that the carbide company OWLS
one right and the gas company owns an
other, which they are operating simply
under a contract with each ether. And
yet 1t Will be noticed that the words the
two companies are used frequently in The
prospectus, as il il were a consolidated
concern.
CAREFULLY AVOIDS 1T.
THE prospectus does not touch the main
question, in which the pul.i:c is Interested.
1t says that the gas can I've manufactured
and sold to consumer al price below
possible competition II was absolutely
necessary to say this. BECAUSE otherwise
there would he no merit in the offer But
does anybody yet know what is the price
OF the gas to the consumer" 1t would
strike an ordinary observer that to prove
that the gas could be furnishes at "A price
below competition, the price must first
he stated.
Another seeming answer TO the arcu-
mCnts OF the investigators in The Times"
he continued. lis contained In tbis para
graph OF the prospectus: The gas will
be delivered from house To house in small
steel cylinders OF sufficient size 10 last
an average dwelling one 10 two months
The wiiuic force Of this answer is simply
This. tia, if a thing is big enough it Will
BE- large enough"
A - .-'-ia. agent i'll the Patent Office said
yesterday that the original statement OF
the company as to the size of the cylinders
whici would supply a JweIve-room house
for three months. or even two months or
one mouth. showed that it would not be
sufficient to last more tha n half 4 month.
THE prospectus" said another man.
'.is a clear demonstration OF all that bas
heretofore been said in The Times. Ii
can even be said that IL the prospectus
is final the people know absolutely less
now about acetylene and lis price than
ever before 1t appears TO be addressed
entirely TO The prospective Stockholders.
Inasmuch as the companies Claim to have
exclusive rights guaranteed by patents.
there is no reason why tie facts in the
case should not be given. 1t has been
asked frequently and fun opportunity
has been given TO confidc in the people
who are to be the consumcrs of the prod
uct
HOW ABOUT A DEAL.
THERE'S nothing in hc hcpruspectustoshow
that the stock pf the carbide company can
not he controlled by purchase by any cor
porati"H that chooses Ia buy it, for in
stance the Washington Gaslight Company,
and thcnto allcgc breach nf the perpetual
contract which would leave things In a
chaotic condition and in fact destroy the
Variability of the combination for cheap
material, granting that oil that the two
companies are said Ia be able Ia do are
proved by facts in the future.
There is anothrr consideration. Thecalcic
carbide is manufactured at present for $50
ton by electric heat. The patents are
only for the carbide in the crystalline form.
Acetylene gas is nothing new and cannot be
patented except by some special process.
The fusion of coke and lime hy any other
process than that of Mr.. Wilson, or even
the production of the gas in any other way
willleave the door open foranotbcracetyiene for
gas company, and If it can produce the
product for less than $50 per ton,