The morning times., 1896-01-11
CHEAP GAS NOT KILLED
Adverse Aciien- of the District
Commissioners Not Fatal.
BILL WILL BE CALLED UP
Dry Bones of the Washington Gaslight
Company WIN BE Raftlee-ob1ec-
tion of Paved Streets Is Frivolous.
Drift Seems to Be-iu Favor of the
Monopoly.

| The impression Is prevalent that the
! District Commissioners have kaCcaed out
| the bil for 30 cent gas.and il that action
is ,not-oyerIaucd by Congress the dollar
\ gas viii meet a similar fate.
This 30 cent bin was scut TO the Com
/ mssioners more than a week before they
| concluded to report on II adversely. The
delay 10 taking IL Up caused some nieas'-
ness TO some of these who We're pushing
il, 80 about The middle OF the week u
Member OF Congress and u representative
| of the bill called on Mai. Powell.
| He was asked what had become OF 1t.
| He said that. he hadn't seen it. He was
| told that it had been IN the office week.
! whcreupon ne sent fer his clerk, who
| promptly. produced 1t ont or one of the Of
| fioial pigeon holes.
| Major Powelrs callers told him that they
knew his feeling toward the bin that they
| did not expect Il favorable report, nor did
| they expect Il favorable opinion from the
! other COMMISSIONERS. They bad merely
| como down to see that Tie bill got before
| Congress I'm some shape and that there must
| positiyeiy be no. delay. 1t was intimated
| to Ma ior Powell thathe wasfa miiIarwitb the
matter from tEe discussions OF last year
and tina; there could be no rcasone he ground
for dilatory action. Major Powell ex-
piaincfthathe wasyerybus .buteyeatunlly
took The bill before the Commissioners and
they marked IT 1isapproved.
NOT KILLED.
This does Tot Kill the bill at all, inasmuch
as it VIII lie pushed Row with greater energy
than before Some hearings will be had
i,f. Try
of the Washington Gas Light Company and
perhaps the Commissioners will be ratified
l-prain.- -
1t is understood that the Commissioners
assigned rs principal objection to the hiii
that il world necessitate the tearing up
of paved streets. To this the company COM
pared the action OF the Commissioners In
giving permits for the tearing up OF streets
for the putting in of underground tro!eys
,and-thes continual patching up OF streets.
As for instance. on Connecticut avenue.
where the work is so well done that no
~, rtn hls a aceraed to that avenue or dJacent
Streets
The company also. it Is understood. has
stated that II is Its intention to begin
operations in the eastern part OF the city
where there are no paved streets and where
| the objection of the Commissioners could
not possibly hold. They also argie that it
will not be necessary TO tear up Pennsyl-
vania avenue itself. as was done by recent
railway construction to connect with She
! lexington line. They also propose to
utilize the alleys TO diminish the alleged
injury to the streets. whenever and wherever
possible. ble.-------s--
One of the representatives OF the company
said yesterday that it was plain to him
that the Commissioners and the Senate
Clique, In favor OF the present monopoly.
did not intend to have pushed either the
bill of his company OF that of the dollar
I gas company. He called attention to the
fact that the dollar gas bill passed the
House eleven. months before it was taken
up by the Senate, and that it was killed
in the Senate Committee by an adverse
report.
ave have no fight he said, against the
dollar gas, and let the public interest decide
between US as to patronage.
I'VE are somewhat at a loss to know on
what basis the statement has been made
that the Washington Gasiight Company in
tends to reduce its price. All the evidence
adduced by the company at the various
hearings was to the effect that it could
ot-reducea its price, and the Senate Com
mittee, talking as If it were n member and
attorney for that corporation, practically
agreed to. that proposition 1t is absolutely
certain that whatever promises have been
made, and from whatever sources they
emanated, have not been kept.
FAVOR THE MONOPOLY.
''The drift of things appears to be
,;v~to, -
Washington Gasiight Company at any
hazard. There is no argument used in favor
of dollar gas that cannot be used now, and
yet it was killed last year in the Senate.
What is there to indicate that il will not
be killed again? The first move TO keep
ont all possible competition is the effort
made to suppress the 75-eent gas bill. and
possibly the whole upshot OF the matter
will be the acceptance of promise from
the Washington Gaslight Company that it
will give cheaper gas il it Is granted q
contract for long term OF years.
zone thing is certain, however, and that
is that there viii be some mighty interest
ing reading for the public before the In
yestigations are over. 1t win be observed
that no objection has been or possibly can
be ma de 10 the bona fide character OF the
company that proposes to introduce the
cheap gas, every detail of which was read
the other day by Senator Kyle in the Sen
ate. Flimsy excuses are set up with the
evident purpose of eliminating from the
controversy every interest except that Of
the Washington Gaslight Company.
1.-THE objection about tearing up the
streets is farce, for reasons already as
signed, and is 1T not a fact that the Com
missioncrs not long ago granted the right
for the tearing up of streets to permit the
putting in Of an improved service into the
residence of the president of the gaslight
company?. The fight has really only just
begun, and You can watch IL with inter
est henceforth."