Evening star., 1896-03-18
MUCH GAS TAI K
A Hearing Yesterday Before the
Senate District Committee.
INTERESTING TESTIMONY OF EXPERTS
Facts and Figures Concerning Cost
of Production.
COMPETITION EXPENSIVE


An adjourned meeting Of the Senate COM
mittee on the District of Columbia was held
yesterday afternoon at . o'clock, and there
were present representatives of the Wash
ington Gas Light Company, Messrs. John
McllhenLy. consulting engineer; Mr., VIM.
Henry White, gas engineer frcm New York.
and Prof. E. G. Love, the inspector of gas
for the city of New York; also representa-
tives of the Rose-Hastings process, now ap
plying for a charter in this city.
After Mr.. Sands, who represented the
Rose-Hastings system, had submitted sun
dry atfidavits and other papers bearing
upon his process, and had introduced Col.
McCauley, who gave testimony in regard
to the management Of the Rose-Hastings
plant at West Chester, Pa, Mr. John Nc
1lhenny, consulting engineer of the Wash
ington Gas Light Company, made the fol-
lowing statement:
"Mr. Chairman, I have very little to say
| in reply to what Mr.. Sands has stated. He
has made NO reply whatever to the state
ment that was made here at the former
meeting, contained in a letter from Mr..
Worrell in regard to the West Chester Gas
Company. Mr.. Worrell is here today to
reply for himself i'll regard to that.
with your permission, Mr.. Chairman, I
have a little statement to read. This is
entirely in opposition TO the works of
competing gas companies. 1t is relative
to opposing or competing gas works. SO
called. l shall nos take up much of your
time. 1t is in reply to these gentlemen who
are advocating this bill, l40S.
I'VE have had experience CROUCH in this
country with opposition gas companies to
learn the costly lesson that they are hot
for the public good.
These Cities Tried 1t.
about forty-five years ago the first
experiment in this line was tried. and
since then opposition works have been
built in Charleston, San Francisco, st.
Louis. Chicago. Detroit, PittsbuIg, Buffalo,
Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Lancaster,
Savannah. Memphis, Chattanooga, Atlanta,
Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, New Ycrk,
brooklyn. Boston Baltimore and in several
other places. There wGS competition in
some of these cities for short time. but
1t is fact that there is not one competing
gas company in the United States today.
The Washington Gas Company cannot
limits of its pipes. nor can it move it's
plant or fixtures to carry on business else
where.
IF permission be given another company
to enter Washington, besides the loss that
Will follow to the stockholders of the pros
ent company, by dividing business none
too large now, the taxpayer and public
generally will suffer also. Think what
condition this city would be in by dig
ging 4OO miles Of main trenches, with be-
tween 10000 and 10000 service trenches
running across the streets to houses and
lamps.
1.-The streets would be torn up from one
end to the other and could not be repaired
to a smooth condition, as the ground will
Keep settling for long time. and the
digging up of so much soil would not only
immense hl1t
would endanger the public health by turn
ing up, at any season of the year, so much
saturated city soil Two years ago when
the streets Of Philadelphia were torn I'D
to lay the new trolley tracks, the news
papers were reporting every day the numer-
Gus cases OF dangerous malarial disorders
that were prevalent along the streets SO
eXcavated, and nowhere else.
Plain Proposition.
Don't every business man know that If
this process can make gas in Washington
and sell it at 15 cents every gas COM
pany in the country would want it? 1t
would truly have millions in 1t. They claim
too much, however. But then this is an
easily fooled age
I'm regard to the quality of the gas fur
nished to this city, 1 will say, as a gas
engineer, and as maker of standard in
struments fof testing the illuminating
power of light, that the Washington gas is
on the average as good as any produced in
this country. We use the same process,
machinery and methods that produce the
highest candle power in New York city
This conveys wide meaning, for since
the Introduction of oil as a gas-making eIe-
ment the United States has attained the
highest candle power in the world. would
also beg to impress on your honorable COM
mittee. that the Washington Gas Company
does not consider the cost in trying to
make the best article possible. The quesl
ton Is not how much does the coal and oil
cost?-but how can the best gas be made?
And l assert that there is no better ma
chinery or process known than that now
employed by this company for producing
the best results both in purity and quality.
IF a so-called competing company be al
lowed, who will or can say when compe-
tition will end? When the first two COM
bine, as has been the case in every in
stance before, there will be parties insist
ing that competition to them would be the
right thing. Is it not better to take
lesson from those who have had the most
experience with rival companies and hold
on to one that is able and willing to supply
| more than the public requires? And es-
pecially as We concede that you can regu-
late within the bounds of reason the price
and quality
Questioned by Gallinger.
Senator Gallinger-Did understand YOU
to say that there is no city in the country
where there is actual competition in the
manufac ture of gas?
Mr.. McIlhenny-Yes; I say that without
hesitation.
Senator Gallinger-I am induiring for in
formation. 1 had supposed that the two
great companies of Boston were entirely
distnct-the Bay State and the Brookline
Company.
Mr.. McIlhenny-They charge the same
price.
Senator Gallinger-But is not the price
lower than it was before the BrookIine
Company was chartered?
Mr.. Mc1lhenny-Ies. sir; the rule is that
they always reduce the price, and then
when 1t gets too low to suit them they
agree upon another price.
Senator Gallinger-My point is that there
was no actual consolidation of those two
companies. Was there?
Mr. McIlhenny-No. I did not. say that
they had been consolidated; 1 said they had
all agreed upon the price.
Senator Gallnger-I can understand that
that would be so, of course
MIR. McIlhenny-The rule has been that