New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-01-04
BIG LIGHT ANDPOWER DEAL
AGREEMENT BETWEEN STANDARD OIL
AND WHITNEY INTERESTS.
CONSOLIDATED GAS AND NETWORK GAS
AND ELECTRIC LIGHT, HEAT AND POWER
COMPANIES PRACTICALLY MERGED
THE REASONS GIVEN FOR
THE ACTION.

THE ACTION.
An arrangement OF Significance to every house
| hold in this city effected on Tuesday afternoon
! when an agreement signed under which the
| Consolidated Gas Company and the New-York Gas
| and Electric Light, Heat and Power Company are
| to be either actually virtually merged
Anthony N. Brady. president OF the latter COM
pany was seen yesterday afternoon at his office,
| No. "a Wall-st.. but refused to say word about
the merger. official announcement Of the change
of control made, however, by the secretary and
the treasurer of the Consolidated Gas Company,
Treasurer Doane saying:
secured control of the New-York Gas and Electric
Light Heat and Power Company An can ha say is
! further details at present.
| Secretary Zolhkcffer said,
| 1t Us fact that our company has acquired a
Of the Lighting m @ Of anf G 1
| make public any further details. The requirement
ton Of the Consolidated Gas company with re
gard to the other gas companies on Manhattan
| Despite Mr. zollikofer's assertion. it the
! general belief in Wall Street yesterday afternoon
| that some understanding had been arrived at by
| which the New-Amsterdam Gas Company OF which
Mr. Brady is influential director. and the Stand
| ard Gas Light Company would soon be taken over
| by the Consolidated Gas Company, thus ending
the gas war which has been In progress since May
| !, 1899. well unifyins all the lighting COM
| panies Manhattan Island. A prominent director
| of the Consolidated Gas Company said yesterday
| afternoon Of the agreement with the New-York
Gas and Electric Light, Heat and Power Com
| pany:
The real situation is that the controlling inter
and have determined to work In harmony, instead
has been going on among the different gas com
panies for some time Mr. Whitney and our o ON,
best serve the interests of their patrons and the
sho 6E arg sag hs Mr out
7 thi he Is
did not propose to get INTO rate War %ltn 0rner
that snch a possbty has been AVOIDED As to the
| details of the transaction, am not In a posluoh
| to discuss them at this time. .'4
TWO THEORIES ADVANCED.
| Two theories were advanced in the financial dis
trict yesterday in explanation of the agreement be-
| tween the gas and electric companies. One was
that virtual consolidation was the latest develop
ment of long and determined contest between the
Standard Oil interests and the Whitney syndicate,
the latter having been forced to relinqush control
of the New-York Gas and Electric Light Heat and
| Power Company, of which they are practically the
| sole owners to the Consolidated Gas Company,
which is classed among the Standard Oil properties.
| This view, however, it was insisted yesterday by
| men prominently identified with both corporations
| is incorrect. They say that the arrangement Is in
really pooling of interests by the controll-
| ing elements of the two companies, and that, far
| from being sudden forced compromise the part
of the Whitney syndicate the merger has been in
| negotiation for many months, the first move,
! cordine authority, having been made fhly a.
| year ago by Thomas F. Ryan. With the improved
appliances for the generation of electricity is
| pointed out there has rapid essening of the
cost Of supplying current for lighting heating and
power purposes, until the cost of electric light
| approXimates the cost of. making gas Under
these conditions 1t Is said by representatives of
the two companies, itsappeared evident that of
| two things must in the not dlstans future
either there would be bitter and costly struggle
between gas and electricity, like the present
among the gas companies there must be a merg-
! ing Of interests, under which profitable and en-
larging field Of operation would be assured each
| ef the contracting parties Gas, according TO these
men, is more and more being used for fuelspurposes
and less and less for illumination, place in the
| latter field being supplied by electricity.
In the last nine months, II is said no permit
has been issued for the erection this city of a
first class residence which is not be lighted by
| electricity. Looking to the future, the men in
terested in the present consolidation say that the
typical NewYork house will contain in its cellar
| Its own small gas engine. which will dyna-
| mo, the power generated by which will pass to a
small storage battery whence 1t Will be drawn for
Aghtlng the house at night, for heating the
and perhaps for operating elevator and electric
fans while gas will to an even greater extent than
now be employed for cooking purposes.
FINAL DETAILS NOT ARRANGED
While it is undoubted fact that the Consoli-
dated Gas Company and the New-York Gas and
Electric Light, Heat and Power Company have
come to agreement, it may be said on authority
| that the final details of the plan have not yet
been arranged 1t is not settled whether the two
companies will be conducted under separate man
agement will absorb the other and 1t is
| even said to be possible that a new corporation
| may be organized which will take over both of
| them. Some of the weathest estates of the city
! are large holders of Consolidated Gas stock and
/ these interests said be in complete har-
mony with their Standard Oil associates in uniting
| light corporation. The Consolidated is by
far the largest of the local gas companies. 1t is
the company which forced the fghtng' in the
gas war having on May l, 1899, lowered its rate
from iron &c 10 to is s. cents cents thousand cubic
stock paid per cent yearly dividends. but the
was Was subsequently reduced to per cent and the
was organized November H. 1884 being consoii-
datl9n Of the New,York Gas Light Company, the
Gas Light Company, the Manhattan Gas Light
and the Harlem Gas Light Company. It's capital
zation is $50 07S 0 and its total stocks and bonds
| If the plans of the company are carried out as
now seems probable 1t will before long be able to
| the gas by tunnel under the East River to this
! borough like the New-Amsterdam Gas Company;
and on erecting its works in Astoria it will be in
position to dispose of its large holdings of vau-
able real estate on the river front in the Borough
| The New-York Gas and Electric Light Heat and
| Power Company, OF which Anthony n. Brady is
| president, Incorporated at Albany early in
October, 1888 with capital OF SIS 900 900. There
| was for Several weeks much mystery the in
terests behind it. but 1t finally developed that it's
of the socailed whitney SYNDICATE la S Who also
| control the Metropolitan Street Railway Company
| 100000 dozen lots on the south side of Ninety
seventh-st between First-aye. and the East River
Metropolitan Street Railway Companys big new
power house being only one block TO the southwark
Increased to $50 10000 and in February and April,
81 600 respectively its property franchises
rights charter