Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-23
REASONS AGAINST IT
Minority Report o, the Bill to Incorporate
a New Gas Company.
The Price of Gas should BE Reduced,
but No Experimental Company
Should lie Chartered.

Mr.. Aldrich of the House District COM
mittee has written minority report on the
bill TO incorporate the National Gas and
Electrlc Light, Heat and Power Company
which was reported favorabiy last We'd
nesday. The minority report opposes the
pasSag ge OF the bill for the following rea-
sons
The proposition. in brief, is to grant to
new corporation the right to duplicate
the sets of mains and service pipes which
now grldiron the streets and avenues OF
this city for the ostensIDle purpose of sup
plying The gov ernment ana the citizens OF
the District with better quality of gas
at reduced cost to the consumer. Ii the
passage OF TINS bIil would thus result, anu
Io other or better means of ATTAINING tnat
end we've possible, good reasons would eA-
,St for It's conS,ueraUICu, but we submit
that such assurance is not gwen, nor would
the Sc Do.u prCNIued tor guarantee it,
that IS not the purpose OF tine bond. We
favor d reductIon III the price of gas fur
nlst,ed ty the coml any now doing business
mere, 40, % osiueu The Dill wulch passed
the House OH +>pi1i . last. ana Which piii
- LOW ienu.IIS IA. tne Senate. Ihe rlSht VI
Congress TO leg tlatc races is not question
eu, dHti has DecA repeatedly eAercised-
The srdnting of an add t.onal franchise
to Il rew company wouiu result in untoid
injury 10 tine pcopIe OF me D4strict when
cl..-liot be measured in doIiarS ara cents
alone, because the mere opening OF the
streets wound jeOparuILe the health and
lives OF the peop.e ana Snouid not he toier-
dteu except unuer the most urgent re-
quIreme.ts. Every PHYSICIAN VIII certify
tile fact that disease and uesttn always
follow in the wake of Sucl excavations
Inc opening of p1NementS not only aiohs
the trunk lines where mans are laid out
is,terdiiy ACROSS the streets from curp 10
curb at intervals OF every Twenty-Five ot
n1ty feet along the same would not only
cause temporary annoyance ana an ihter-
ference WITH traffic. bat would result IN IN
c>tlculable and permanent INJURY 10 pave
m.ntS which lao bOi.dS or .epoS.t or tne
coniany would rect-fy. 1t is Il first prln-
c.pie of pavemeats mat when the crown
of the street is once broken by excavation
it can never be restored To its original per
fectIon except by a complete reiaylns OF the
pstN ur.leI.t.
These considerations. namely. annoyance
to the public, the hygiene conditions IN
volved ard the irreparable damage to pave
nentS, ,admoniSh US to go SLOW IN tne grant
ing of franchises of this cHaraCter.and par
ticuiarly when the proposition IS as pind
and indefinite that now under considera-
ton There is no principle i'll gas manuIac-
ture which is not known to the gas ira
ternity or, if not, which may not be pro-
tected by letters patent, and II the pro-
mOterS of this enterprise claim TO he pos
=
willing to explain to the committee. justi-
fying their action on the ground that it
was a secret process. the nature OF whlCh
they We're not prepared or wiling to dis
close. In other words. they ask Congress to
subject the people of this community to
great annoyance. dangers and permanent
jury, ana yet are not wiling to come out
into open sunlight and tell US what they
have. y more prepoSterOuS and dangerous
proposition, il is safe to say. has never be-
fore beer presented to an intelligent body
of les; .siatorS. The system has confeSSediy
not been adopted by any municipality, and
thus emphasizes the position here taken.
No franchise of this character should he
granted until we have the fullest informa-
ton concerning the same, even to the
minuteSt particular.
There is Improvement in gas manu-
facture which provides either for cheap
eTing of the cost of manufacture or bet
ter quality which the present company
would not fiud it profitable to adopt. The
growing competition of electric lighting,
which scientists believe, will 1t no distant
day practically supplaHt the of ilumi-
na ting gas for lighting purposes furnishes
not only an argument for the statements
just made, but is an additional reason for
refus ne the franchise asked for under
this bill. An absolutely pure gas, such as
this company talks of being able to furnish
may be fraught with hidden dangers whit n
would more than Offset any virtues which
it might possess. Hydrogen gas is the
best example of absolutely pure gas
less carburetted to an extent that would
give it well defined odor If the purpose
be to use hydrogen gas with an incandes-
cent burner, then why not say So but
whatever the system, whatever the inten-
tfors of this company be. no veil of secrecy
should be drawn about it when application
is made to Congress for its franchise
Eve deny the statement that objection is
made to the bill because the experience OF
the local gas company shows that gas can
rot be proftably made and distributed here
~
feet. On the contrary. we believe that it
can be so made and distributed and that
the bill before referred to, reducing the
price 10 81 per 1,GD feet. which has passed
this House, should he urged to a speedy
consideration in the Senate
Appended to the minority report is the
reDort of the District Commissioners rec
Cmmend'ng adverse action on the bill
Mr.. Aldrich says he expects to obtain
seven or eight signatures to the minority
report.