The sun., 1897-12-26
TCONTlNUED FROM PAGE !.

ii 5S9, coo, 600 which the New England Gas
~ Coke Company have paid for them,
Y and when this contract is voided the
lEiBrookline Gas Company will cease to
pay its expenses, charges, and dividends,
and its $4,6l5,OO0 capital and securities
Mill be worth in the neighborhood of
,She $3,OOO,OOO which they were worth
Before this contract was entered into.
s In passing upon the propriety Of this
or the policy of creating and
keeping it in existence, it should be
borne in mind that at the time it was
made all the companies passed into a
common ownership, and no interest
sa$sould be wronged by a bookkeeping di-
vision of the common earnings; but now,
nnder present conditions, with the Bos-
Ion Gas Company owned by the Bay
tate Gas Company Of Delaware, and the
Brookline Gas Company owned by the
New England Gas & Coke Company, Il
U great wrong would be done the public
and the Boston Gas Company and the
| holders of Boston United las Bonds
whose principal asset is the Boston Gas
Company, if the contract vas allowed to
remain in force.
Under the conditions brought into cx
1 ktence by this agreement Of May |, 1896,
H the competitive warfare ceased, and the
u Bay State Gas Company OF Delaware be-
Il gan the task Of raising the necessary
money to pay over to the Standard Oil
ID party. Its arrangements were nearly
when it met with an unfor-
N secn and unexpected misfortune, which
4 Sentircly destroyed all chance of securing
q The necessary cash within the time in
ri Which the payment was due, namely,
h Nov. |, 1896. Early in Octol,er certain
parties, whose motives it is unnecessary
]. to characterize, secured a rcceivership Of
I the Bay State Gas Company Of Delaware,
4 thereby tying up its entire assets. This
neccssitatcd radical measures on the part
of the Bay State Gas Company of Della
ware, the owners of all the local COM
mics, other than the Brooklnc Gas
Company.
no Judge properly Of the events which
la up to the transfer Of the management
sfthc local companies by the Bay State
0As Company Of Delaware tothc Standard
on party on Nov, !, 1896, the then exist
ing situation must be kept in mind
Standard Oil Purchase.
SOn the 3O,h day Of October the Bay
Statc Gas Company Of Delaware was in
control of all the local gas companies the
Boeton, South Boston. Roxbury, Bay
STAT Of Massachusetts, and Dorchester,
by actual ownership, and OF the Brook
+ lire under the agreement Of May lst. L.
was obliged by tIc agreement Of May III
to BAY millions Of dollars to the Standard
On party on Nov. lst, or t" return t.
the Standard Oil party the BrookliEr
GMs Company. As, owing I" th"
receycrslip, it did not have control Of
aificicut assets to make the payments Oh
Nov lst, il h",. a choice ui tw" atcrn"-
tiycs. First to return he control OF the
Br0oklnc Ga" Company to the Standard
Oilsparty, thereby rcin~tatating the conn
petitivc warfare and jcopardizing its en-
tiMsintcicStS, or, second, turning over to
theStandadard Oil party the temporary
management OF it~ five local companies
under proper agreements as towstrlctl"ns
andglamntccs and thereby preserving its
interests, by insllring Itself against r-
turn OF the competitive conditions exist
E ing prior to the making Of the agree
ment OF May lst
If it chose the first alternative, in
tricate and dangerous litigation was III
svitablc, from the fact that it had, while
in control of the. Brooklinc Gas Company
necessarily SO managed the latter's al
fairs That it would be impossible to re-
turn The Brooklinc Gas Company in the
same condition it was received. While,
therefore, it apparently had, as above
stated, the choice of two things, it prac-
tically had no choice other than what