The evening times., 1896-01-08
EloRBIIlhI els BILLS
Citizens Complain Of unaccount-
able FIuctuation in Meters.
AT MERCY OF ONE COMPANY
When Winter Approaches the Bills
Become Larger, whether the Con-
sumption of Gas Has Increased or
NOt-Sereral Aggrleved Consumers
Make Their woes Known.


With the beginning OF cold days and the
lengthening of the period of darkness II
is asserted that tfle consumption of gas in
the estimation OF the Washington Gas
Light Company takes a meteoric upward
spurt among Washington householders.
like n miners shanty advancing skyward
after a stick OF dynamite has been left on
the parlor hearth a sufficient time to dry
1t seems TO be in the eternal fitness of
things that matters should be thus. With
phenomenal ability TO be governed by the
shortening of the day and the lowering OF
the temperature. the meters are trained to
register at these times an amount of gas
consumed ridiculously ain excess OF that
used in the summer time.
And this is so," said a householder,
whether u room in the house is lighted or
not
or course the gas consumer is unable
To tell why There is such an immense diff
ference between his bills in summer 'and
in winter. Maybe the average consumer
fails to take into account the extra bath
room gas stove and the one in the spare
bedroom. where his mctls.r-In-law wanted
fire twenty-foar hours in the day ana
light from y. IN. to u a. m, whlie she
was spending the holidays with him.
But there are houSchOldcrs who figure
all those things. throw in a dollar on their
bill for fair measure. and then go through
the nightmare of having the great gas mo-
Dopoly present them with 4 bill double or
treble what it was the month before.
PROTESTS ARE FUTILE.
And what if we kick?" said a martyr
o., b.a = . IA IN.
ply result in the company's placing anoth
meter in the cellar that viii register, when
calculated by the company. just twice as
much as the old one. / tell you, there is
] fear. never going to come an end 10 the
cXtortions of the Washington Gas Com
pany on long-suffcring public until Provi-
dence in wisdom ordains that Congress
men shall not have their houses lighted free
OF charge.
why. ] actually knew a lady on Cap
itol Hill who took into her house bachelor
Congressman 10 board. 1t was large
boarding house Of many rooms, all Well
filled. For the eight months that the
statesman remained in the house she said
she did not have a single gas bill 10 pay,
though the consumption cQualled or eX-
ceeded that al Il previous similar period
II is well worth the price OF admission TO
stand in the office of the company on
Tenth street any day, and watch gas
using Washington making its payment for
gas alleged to have been consumed
ONE CREDITABLE THING.
zone thing may he said TO the credit
Of the company, all are treated equally,
whether they come IN silks and fine linen
or in rags and some ones cast-orf shoes.
If either objects 10 the bin he is told
1t is correct, and continued objection is
sure to result IN change of meters. the
second with an invariablc propensity to
let out more gas than the first.
A few of the many examples of pbe-
nomenal. apparently exorbitant, gas taxes
that have come 10 the notice of The Times
may well DE repeated.
j. BonacCorsy conducts barher.shop
at the corner of Fourteenth and streets
northeast. He has been al that corner for
nearly sixteen months. Until last month,
Mr.. Bonaccorsy told a Times reporter.
his gas bill had never exceeded $3.50 per
month. In the summer, he said. the bill was
frequently as low as 81 so for thirty days.
He never used in excess of four burners
at time. When his bill was made out on
the oath of last month heywas Mortified to
hear that il called for the pa ymcEt of ST. 10.
Mr.. BOnaCcorsy Immediately precipitated
himself into the presence of the officials
of the gas office on Tenth street and re-
quested an explanation.
CHANGE OF METERS.
He was told that some time in the past
week or ten days a new meter was put in
that discounted the old one n hundred-fold
in its capacity 10 let gas through. In fact
the old one was defective, it was explained
to him, and the new one had the dual ca
pacity of measuring present consumption
and doing the eX post facto work OF aver
aging up what the company was suppo osed
to have lost by the former alleged de-
fective meter.
In appreciation OF the consumers speedy
appearance at tie office the bill WIS redo c.d
to S1l. 40.
*. Elliott. the real esta te and insurance
man. lives at No. / So Ma ssh chusetls avenue
northeast in a pretty little eiglit-roOm house.
He asserts that the consumption of gas by
the household is through five ordinary burn.
ers, as a high evening average.
In the month OF October Mr.. Elliott's
bill was S3.75. When November winds be-
gan to blow il advanced 10 $40. The con-
sumer demanded Il newmeter. 1t was placed
in his cellar. and when the bill for December
was presented to him il recorded The con-
sumption OF Sl1.l0 worth of gas
Reuben Ford OF the Interior Department
lived in "A twelve-roon house at No. 81
Massa chusetts avenue northeast. On the ith
instant he removed intOa similar-siZedho house
a MIRO. Ford Aair7tLtt dIisDras bill for the
al No. III Maryland avenue.
Mr. Ford said that his gas bill for the
month ending December "a was S11 80.
From that time until the time he moved, he
said, but comparatively little gas was
burned in the old house. Some nights not
more than two burners would be in use.
That, however, had no effect on the en-
ergetic and ambitious meter. After the gas
company's man had been at No. 81 Massa.
chusetts avenue on January 4, to look into
the meters countenance and tell how much
gas had been used in the last eleven days.
Mr.. Ford was presented with the astounding
bill of S5.25.
That was not all OF his woes. He wanted
gas, of course, i'll the Maryland avenue man
sion. He already had a deposit of So in
the Massa achusetts avenue house OF identical
size. But the company said him nay at
his request for the transfer of the deposit,
and told him that only on the condition that
he would raise the deposit in the new house
to $40, would the luxurious, gaseous
fluid he turned on.
There is but one gas company in Washing
ton, and Mr.. Ford had no other alternative
than to place the deposit.