Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-26


of the Riverside Park And to be forever
held and used as a park for the recreation
and pleasure Of the peeg4e.
f6at eerts b ae h1 the eoard
Of trade to reclaim the Eastern branch
flats and to establish aisitnilar park there"
On II otion of Mr.. c. p. Church the report
was adopted and the Recommendations it
contained approved. oyr
Telephone Rates Cannot BE Reduced.
Mr. Warner announced that the report
of the committee charged with investi-
next in order. The committee reported
that soo1. after its creation a free and
frank conference was held with Mr.. Sam
uel NJ Bryan, president of the Chesa-
peake and Potomac Telephone Company,
ana full investigation of the rates
charged IN other large cities made: The
committee thereupon concluded without
going into detail that in its opinion it is
not possible for the Chesapeake and Po-
tomac Telephone Company to furnish at
present a satisfactory service in this city
at less rates than those it Is now charging,
owing to the fact that In reorganization
of the company soma years ago the pres
ent company was compelled to pay a very
large sum of money, which now makes it
necessary for them to have a capitaliza-
ton of between two AMI three million dol
lars" said the report. land also owing to
the fact that in the work of construction
pended which would not probably now
have to be incurred"
If the company was reorganized or if a
new company should be started, and its
business conducted on a fair capita tion
1t could, in the opinion of your committee
in view Of the great improvements in the
telephone system and the expiration of
patents, give to our business men and citi-
ZenS a satisfactory service at rates :nuch
below those which we are now paying"
The committee in conclusion stated that
it was firm in its opinion that it would not
he desirable to have more than one tele-
phone company in operation
we do not want our streets continually
torn UP for the laying of cables" it said
In conclusion, nor do we want wires run
overhead, nor do we want two or three or
more telephones, with as many different
lists of subscribers: but one company with
satisfactory service and rates which will
be remunerative to the company"
The report, which was read nv Secretary
Wight and adopted. was signed by r.
Goldschmid chairman; Chas A. Langley.
j. u. Kendall and E. S. Parker
The City's Illumination and It's Cost.
Mr.. j. II. Rasstons report on the subject of
public Illumination was then read by Mr..
Ralston himself. and proved to be an in
teresting document. He referred to the
three companies engaged in the business of
furnishing light in the District namely,
the Washington Gas Light COMPANY. the
Geoi Se'owI Gas LiSht company and the
United States Electric Lighting Company,
and then gave a review of the history of
the Washington Gas Light Company,
dwelling upon the fact that the original
been increased to 100000 The re-
port asserted that the dividends paid
the past year represented dividend
CT 81 per cent upon the actual cash
stons opinion. exceed 100000. The re-
port then discussed the question of the
actual cost of the production of gas 1.-THE
factors. the report said, wary with the
season ana with the market price of ma
terial According to the best modern a,l-
thorities, the cost of production is placed
ct from % to 40 cents thousand, ap-
proved methods being used. The same au-
must be added about 40 per cent, or 10 to
1G cents, as the cost of delivery at the
burner. To this amount must, when gas
Is furnished by private company, be
whoever furnished. repairs. The latter
item, as shown Icy the reports of the Wash
irgton Gas Light Company, amounts to
but l per cent of the claimed value of its
plant. or cents per thousand cubic feet
of gas manufactured.
The raw materials entering into the cost
of the production of gas are for the most
part coal md OIL" the report continued.
In lSS9 tneSe cost the company undo r-con-
sideraton s254, $50 ST, and in 1893 S,!S :ss,., 10
Taking into consideration the fact that in
1889 691 ,3Ss.431 cubic feet of gas were sold,
ard in 1893 S.i6 1860 We're similarly dis
posed of. we find that so far as cost OF ma
terial was concerned SO cents per thousand
would cover it in 1889. while in 1893 the ex-
pense was only p cents per thousand. In
1889 wages and salaries, street lamps dis
tributon, office and general expenses rep
resented 30 cents per thousand cubic feet
of gas produced, and in 1893 the same item
represented ~ cents per thousand"
The report then discussed at some length
the cost of production Of gas. and said that
the sum of all the factors properly repro
sented in the cost of production equaled IN
&C 1-2 cents. This did not include divi-
dends. interest on Indebtedness and exten-
sion of plant.
Mr.. Ralstcn said that in arriving at the
foregoing results he had assumed the cor
rectness of the figures furnished by the
gas company and the legitimacy of all the
items of the expense account.
He then compared the cost of gas manu-
facture in this jurisdiction with similar
cost in Philadelphia. where. he said the
distributing plant is owned by the munich
pality and perhaps two-tfirds of the gas
manufactured by 1t. private producers SELL
ing the city about one-third of the gas
supplied to its citizens. His conclusion from
the data presented was that 81 per thou
sand would in Washington be even an ex-
orbitant price for gas.
He said the GEORGETOWN GaSlight Com
pany was incorporated in 1854, with a CAPT
tai of $l5ooeo. No informal ton of any kind
affecting this corporation was received. al
though, in answer to requests for inforra-
ton from the committee the president of the
corporation referred them to a publication
supplying no data about this company He
saw no reason to believe that the George
town company should be treated differently
from the Washington company.
Electric Lighting.
The report then went into a discussion of
the subject of electric lighting. giving
statistics obtained from various cities. The
conclusion was that the Electric Lighting
Company is more moderate In its charges
than the majority of private companies,
and yet charges double and treble the
rates asked by many plants owned by MD
inequalities.
If no better solution of the final question
submitted to the committee existed than to
recommend the installation by the govern
ment OF entirely new electric and gas
lighting plants, Mr.. Ralston said he would
not hesitate to recommend this course.
lie believed, however. that serious disad
vantases and needless expense would re-
suit from the tearing up of the streets
necessary if such a course were followed.
he further believed that existing plants
should be condemned, and taken possess
sion of by the District of Columbia, and the
business of lighting hereafter carried on by
that municipality. Mr.. Ralston thought
that in the condemnation no account
should be taken of the value of the fran