The San Francisco call., 1898-03-22
shunt circuit and cause the meter to


 friction Of meters where there is vibra- tion, the reason being that the balanc- ing force remains the same, and with Vibration the amount of friction IS continually changing. Suppose the meter to be standing still and bal anced on no load A vibration will tend to remove the weight of the ar mature shaft and disk from the lower jewel, thus lighting and overbalancing the friction and causing the meter to register without using current. The working parts of the meter give very little trouble if cleaned regularly" In some of the tests The Call re- porter witnessed an ordinary magnet was used. One pole of this magnet when brought close to the meter would increase the resistance on the copper disk and perceptibly retagd it's speed. In fact, when the current was reduced, it brought it to a full stop, and when the current was cut off entirely the meter was moved backward. On the other hand, when the opposite pole was placed nearest the meter the revo- lutions of the disk were materially in- creased.
 Next an experiment was made with one of the three magnets attached to the meter. By moving the poles in toward the center of the disk the speed was increased, while by pressing them out toward the edge it was de- creased. Thus, an employe of a com pany, were he so inclined, if sent to test Q meter in order to satisfy con- sumer as to its correctness, could, upon moving the metal case, surreptitiously move one of the magnets out, and his test would show that the meter was slow and the company losing accord ingly. Then, when he went to replace the case, he could push the magnet well in toward the center and the me wO1ll6 dends, while the hoodwinked victim would mentally estimate what his bills would be were the meter to register accurately.
 AS magnetic power penetrates metal, the case incloSing the meter offers no old file, piece of pipe, or even a wire properly charged and placed at proper distance from the meter would aid in the robbery and it's complicity never be suspected by anybody but an expert. In view of these influences. MT. Sessions closes his article with this advice:
 Tn view of this discussion regard ing the facts concerning electric me- ters, not only the makers and sellers of electricity should inspect their me ters, but, in many cases, it would profit the consumers to have their me ters independently exported"
 MT. Sessions advice to consumers is resented by the companies furnishing light and power in this city, as is shown by their efforts to prevent such tests being made For instance, the cases covering meters are fastened and nobody but an employe of the company is allowed to remove them. Experts however, have ample means of making tests without removing the cases. Even the glass covering the aperture in the case, through which the dials may be seen is in many instances covered over with paper so that the amount registered cannot be read except by re- moving the case. Were the meters any where near accurate and the companies believed that the consumers were be- ing fairly treated there could be no pos sible objection to the figures being seen, or even tests being made by independ- ent experts.
 But the consumers. or many of them, have awakened to the fact that they are being held up'' by the meters for the benefit of the companies, and eX- perts are being called upon by most of the big merchants, hotel keepers, res taurantS and others to make independ- ent tests of meters. In some eases en- ployes of the companies are not per mitted to test meters unless an expert hired by the consumer is present. The Gas Consumers Association em- ployS a staff of experts to test meters TOT SuDScflDeTS, dHQ OI dll lne HtltTS tested by that company 75 per cent, roughly estimated, have been found to register fast, or more watts than were actually consumed, while the diScrep ancies varied from per cent up, 20 per cent fast having been not infrequently discovered.
 Three-fourths of the meters in use based upon estimates of those tested, are robbing the consumers! Those are figures it would be we'll to ponder over before you pay your next bill, unless you have already had your meter ex- perted. The only way in which con- sumer who has no knowledge of cleo. tricity can form an estimate Of the amount he uses is to keep careful count of the number of lamps and the length of time each lamp burns. When the lamps are new each one will consume fifty watts an hour, which will enable him to make a fairly accurate estimate for the month. Old lamps, however, consume considerably more electricity, running as high as sixty-two watts an hour This is due to the greater re- sistance of the old cartoons, so that at best such estimates are unsatisfactory.
 But the day of reckoning with the companies has arrived, and already they have been forced to disgorge a con- siderable portion of their loot. This they have done in most instances with promptness. when called upon, desiring only that a settlement be effected as quietly as possible. In some cases, though, it has been shown that the companies are not willing to pay the full amount demanded, and lawsuits may result. A call upon number of business men yesterday resulted in the information that all were fully inn pressed with the importance of hiring their own experts. Only one of those seen Mir Friedlander of the Columbia, Baldwin and California theaters, ap- peared to be at all satisfied with the treatment he had received, and he at tributed this to the fact that he em- blows an expert electrician constantly who watches his interests carefully. In this Mr. F'riedlander is in the same Dosition as the Palace Hotel manage ment. and, like the latter, has found the company prompt to allow any re- bate claimed. But Friedlander. Gott1ob & CO, next to the Palace Hotel, are probably the largest consumers in town. their bills for the three theaters amounting to $25,000 a year in round numbers, and it pays them to keep an expert on their regular payroll, as it prevents in a large measure any at tempt at overcharge and insures