The San Francisco call., 1898-03-23

that suffers at the hands of this cor poration. Private individuals are charged whatever rate the company sees fit to name-that is, where there is no competition. Down town the rate varies to a surprising extent. Where the Mutual and other companies have their wires the big company has re- duced it's rate as low as 51a cents, a number Of consumers naying those rates, while two blocks away the pre- vailing price may be 10, 12 or even b cents per thousand watts.
 Take for example, on Kearny street, only block from the Palace, certain big merchants, by threatening to pa tronize the opposition, have had the price cut to s cents and have entered into contracts with the big company at that figure. Other merchants, who have not kept so well informed on the subject, are charged g or 10 cents. On Market street, the rates vary from 6 cents up. The Pabst Cafe is one of the extra favored consumers that got in on the 51a cent rate, though it's neighbors, two or three blocks away, are paying anywhere from to 15 cents.
 In the residence districts, where the big company holds full sway, and there is no likelihood of competition for years to come, there is only one rate-20 cents a thousand watts.
 And yet it costs to furnish electricity,
 
 31a cents per thousand watts, at the extreme outside figure. Such an exten- sive concern as the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company undoubtedly manufactures it at considerably less than that.
 It may strike the average citizen that possessing such a golconda the com pany could afford to maintain honest meters, but the average citizen, after all, has only a vague, indistinct idea of a corporation's methods
 ReVerting to the subject of the mu- nicipal contract for electric lights, the present contract, which it is entirely safe to=presume the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company has not been out of pocket on, will expire the 1st of May, or that portion of it providing for the lighting of public buildings; the con- tract for lighting the outside districts with arc lamps will expire on August l.
 At least one of the opposition com panies, the Mutual, is preparing to en- ter into competition for the contract for the ensuing two years, and with that object in view it presented petition to the Board of Supervisors January 31 asking to be granted the right to erect and maintain poles along the public streets and thoroughfares of the city and place light and power wires thereon; the work to be done under the su- pervision and to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the fire alarm and police telegraph and of the Superinten- dent of Public Streets"
 The petition concludes with the fol- lowing pledge of the company to save the city S40000 year if 1t is permitted to enter into competition for the public lighting. All it asks is to be allowed to extend it's wires to the outside districts and fire houses:
 If your honorable body will grant to it exactly the same privileges for electric lighting in San Francisco as are now pos sessed by what was formerly known as the Edison Light and Power Company, but now known as the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company, it will furnish for the term of two years, commencln? on May l. IS98 the same amount of incandeScent light supplied in exactly the same public buildings as at present furnished and sup piled the city of San Francisco by the above company; and 1t will also furnish the same number of arc lights as at present, of the same candle-poWer, burn- ing the same number of hours and placed in substantially the same localties, Tor two years from the 1st day of August, 1S9S at a net cost to the city Of $40, 0O0 per year less than the amount the city IS now paying for exactly the same electric service; the payments to be maoe monthly as now It being understood that the shall have the same priv ileges now granted to or possessed by the said Edison Light and Power Company and it's successors, namely, the San Fran cisco Gas and Electric Company.
 And the undersigned further proposes to furnish the citizens Of San tranclsco with electric light for private use along and upon all the streets Of said clty wherein its wires run Tor a price or aI least 9 per cent less than what the saIa citizens of said city are now paying to the san Francisco Gas and Electric Company, 1t being understood that all the privileges and facilities now possessed by or granted to the said San Francisco Gas and Elec- tric Company shall be possessed by and to the undersigned.
 MUTUAL ELECTRIC LIGHT COM
 w. R. oMMERHAYES,
 Vice-Presfdent and General Manager.
 JAS. FISHER, Secretary.
 This petition was referred to the on Streets and by it held until March 10, at which time the reported adversely to the granting of the order. On March fl the port. thus refusing the Mutual Elec- tric Light Company the same privilege now enjoyed exclusively by the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company, and showing decided inclination to follow in the footsteps of the former board and continue to choke off oppo- sition. :, that Joker in the proposal above ouoted appears in the new call for bids.
 The Mutual company, however, is de- termined to extend it's service, which at present it is unable to do except by laying its wires underground, even 1T if has to carry the matter into the courts. The company's officials assert that the San Francisco company has not been granted franchise to erect holes and run wires along the streets, but that 1t has done so at will without and they demand the same privilege. the Supervisors to withhold the publi- cation of the notice of proposals for bids for light until about ten days be- fore the new contract would become operative It is, therefore. an utter -.sa aposri hilitu for any cnnlnanY to con-