The sun., 1897-12-24
icos,r1suxD yi'on ! pios4.]

oos,s1xurD ylon rios4.]
,0oo, 100 which shs New England ca
Cohe Company hsve paid for them.
a when this contract is voided the
ookline Gas Company will cease to
y its expenses, charges, and dividends,
ia it, n, Oil, 600 capital and securities
III be worth in the neighborhood Of
3 100000 which they were worth
biore this contract was entered into.
In passing upon the propriety Of this
contract, or the policy of creating and
keeping it in existence, it should be
borne in mind that at the time it was
made oil the companies passed into
mmon ownership, and no interest
build be wronged by a bookkeeping di.
Iision Of the common earnings; but now,
binder present conditions, with the Bos-
pn Gas Company owned by the Bay
hate Gas Company Of Delaware, and the
Brookline Gas Company owned by the
New England Gas 4 Coke Company, a
ksreat wrong would be done the public
and the Boston Gas Company and the
olders Of Boston United Gas Bonds,
6hose principal asset is the Boston Gas
Company, II the contract was allowed to
emain in force.
Under the conditions brought into ex-
istence by this agreement Of May l, 1895,
Ethe competitive warfare ceased, and the
Bay State Gas Company Of Delaware be-
gan the task Of raising the necessary
money to pay over to the Standard Oil
party. Its arrangements were nearly
completed when it met with an unfor-
seen and unexpected misfortune, which
entirely destroyed all chance of securing
the necessary cash within the time in
which the payment was due, namely,
Nov, l, 1895. Early in October certain
parties, whose motives it is unnecessary
TO characterize, secured a receivership of
the Bay State Gas Company of Delaware,
thereby tying up it's entire assets. This
necessitated radical measures on the part
Of the Bay State Gas Company of Della
ware, the owners Of all the local COM
panies, other than the Brookline Gas
Company.
To judge properly Of the events which
led up to the transfer of the management
Of the local companies by the Bay State
Gas Company of Delaware to the Standard
Oil party on Nov, l, 1896, the then exist
ing situation must be kept in mind
Standard Oil Purchase.
On the 3Oth day of October the Bay
State Gas Company of Delaware was in
control Of all the local gas companies,the
Boston, South Boston, Roxbury, Bay
State OF Massachusetts, and Dorchester,
by actual ownership, and of the Brook
line under the agreement of May 1st. 1t
was obliged by the agreement Of May LIST
70 pay millions Of dollars to the Standard
Oil party on Nov. LIST, or to return to
the Standard Oil party the Brookline
Gas Company. As, owing to the
receivership, it did not have control Of
yufficient assets to make the payments on
Nov. LIST, it had a choice of two alterna-
lives. First, to return the control OF the
Brookline Gas Company to the Standard
Oil party, thereby reinstatating the COM
petitive warfare and jeopardizing its en-
lire interests, or, second, turning over to
The Standadard Oil party the temporary
of it's five local companies
ander proper agreements as to restrictions
md guarantees, and thereby preserving its
by insuring itself against re-
'urn of the competitive conditions exist.
ing prior to the making of the agree
nent Of May lst.
II it chose the first alternative, in
'rieate and dangerous litigation was in
.vitable, from the fact that it had, while
n control Of the Brookline Gas Company
90 managed the latter's af-
airs that it would be impossible to re-
urn the Brookline Gas Company in the
ame condition it was received. While,
therefore,, it apparently had, as above
tated, the choice Of two things, it prac-
a la .