The sun., 1897-12-24

psuy q Delaware was rapidly placing
itself In position BY the sale of it, in
creased capital stock, and in other ways,
to take back the management Of the
for companies owned by it, and p,lr-
chase from the Standard Oil party its
Brookline and Dorchester Companies.
The four companies belonging to the
Bay State Gas Company Of Delaware
owned property, real estate, etc., at this
time to an amount of more than 81, ,OOO,.
600. The equities in the four companies
belonging to the Bay State Gas Company
of Della ware, over and above the $l2, ,OOO,-
600 Boston United Gas bonds, were con-
servatively worth at this time at least
H,0OO,00O. There was at this time and
is now in operation sinking fund which
would in limited time pay off the $l2,-
100000 Of United Gas bonds, leaving the
$l2, ,00O, 900 and over Of property and the
valuable franchises, free and clear
for the Bay State Gas Company of Della
ware. There was at this time laws in
force in the State of Massachusetts, which
made it impossible for any Of the Boston
gas companies to increase their capital
stocks, or consolidate, of lease each other,
or guarantee each others securities, or
to enter into any working arrangement,
the equivalent Of such lease or guarantee,
or to earn from the sale of gas, or other
wise, sum more than sufficient to pay
fixed charges and l0per cent. dividends
upon the outstanding s, 900, 900 Of capital
stocks.
Under the then existing conditions the
Boston gas situation might be altered
in two ways: One, to allow things to
continue as they were, until by the opera
tion of the sinking fund, or otherwise,
all the property Of the different COM
panies would be returned to the Bay
State Gas Company Of Delaware; the
other, for the Bay State Gas Company Of
Delaware to again assume the manage
ment Of all the companies by the pur-
chase, or otherwise, of the Brookline and
Dorchester companies, and the resump-
tion Of the management Qf the four COM
panies owned by it. The latter was
what the Bay States Gas Company Of
Delaware was on the eve OF accomplish
ing when there appeared in the field
the Dominion Coal al-Massachusetss Pipe
Whitney-McMillan syndicate -
New England Gas and Coke scheme.
Before analyzing this combination or
scheme wish to express my regret that
compel me to place this
combination in the light which the facts
warrant.
Dominion Coal Company.
The Dominion Coal Company is an
over-capitalized scheme, having for
basis few of the coal mines in the
Province of Nova Scotia, and for an OBJ
ject the floating of a vast amount of
watered securities on the public. The
Dominion Coal Company's only right
to be mentioned in connection with
Boston gas affairs is it's claim to be able
to place in the markets of New England
\ coal at 80 low price as to enable those
who handle it to manufacture illuminat-
ing and fuel gas at no cost. (See their
official statement printed above "Sale
Of $500, 100000 feet Of gas at 20 cents per
thousand feet, per contract, $780,
gross and net.") will pass the Do
ninion Coal part of this scheme as be-
ng unworthy of serious consideration.
Massachusetts Pipe Line.
The Massachusetts Pipe Line Com
,any represents nothing but charter
procured from the Massachusetts Legis-
ature Of 1896 at large expenditure Of
money and an unlimited number of un.
edeemed promises. 1t was originally
Intended as complete consolidation
cheme, whereby all the Boston gas