New-York tribune., 1900-01-26
GAS RATE CHANGED AGAIN
NEw-AMsTERDAM COMPANY CUTS THE
PRICE FROM s1o5 TO e5 CENTS.

The Board of Directors of the New-Amsterdam
Gas Company at a special meeting held yester-
day at the Office of August Belmont & Co.
adopted a resolution reducing the price of gas
from 81 % TO 80 cents a thousand cubic feet. the
rate charged by the Consolidated Gas Company
and the Standard Gas Light Company. The
meeting was attended by nearly the full Board,
and the vote on the resolution was unanimous.
Afterward the following statement was issued:
At special meeting OF the Board of Directors
the price of gas reduced from the legal rate OF
January Is This action was taken for me b,sI pmt
received by the company during the war
When the action of the Amsterdam direc-
tors became known in the Street its significance
was eagerly discussed, Some saw in it a sure
sign that the gas still a long way from
settlement, and that the competition among the
contending companies would now become still
more bitter than il had been all along. But the
best Informed observers took the position that
the lowering OF rates by the New-Amsterdam
a confession of weakness and that that COM
pany would soon come into harmonious and In
innate relations with the Consolidated Gas Com
pany. While the capital stock of the Consoli-,
dated is three times as large as that OF the New
Amsterdam, on the other hand the fixed charges
which 1T must meet in order to enable It to con-
Ses, 900 yearly, as against $1.037, 500 for the
New-Amsterdam. as the funded debt Of the lat
ter company is $50, 10000, while the Consoli-
dated's funded debt is only 81, 10000. Another
indication of the strong position which the Con-
soIidated Gas Company deems itself to occupy
II was said yesterday, could be gathered from
the statement issued on Wednesday night Dy
President Johnston of the State Trust Com
panv TO the effect that the S2000OO0 syndicate
loan by that company, about which so nuch
has been printed was secured IN part OE
80 OO0,O00 of Consolidated Gas bonds. Ihat
statement signihed, it declared that the
Consolidated Gas Company in purchasing con-
troll Of the New-York Gas and Electric Light
Heat and Power Company, the control OF which
had previously been lodged with the Whitney
syndicate had taken up this stock with an is
sue Of its own obligations. on the OASIS Oh uOl-
lar for dollar The meeting of the interest on
this large issue of new securities-the capital
of the New-York Gas and Electric Light, Heat
and Power Company is S3oVo,OOo-Wlll OF
course increase the annual fixed charges of the
Consolidated Gas Company to a sum much IN
excess of the similar charges upon the New
Amsterdam Gas Company; but the fact may be
noted that the electric light. heat and power
business in this borough is a profitable and
growing one and that in that field the Consoh-
dated Gas Company now has no rival and con-
sequently need fear no war of rates
The announcement of the reduction in rates
by the New-Amsterdam Gas Company had the
effect of depressing the values of the company's
stock, the common closing at y bid % ASKED
against 2314 bid, "a asked at the close on
Wednesday, and the preferred closing at 4o DID,
AZ asked as compared with 4S1k bid at Wednes-
days close.
Frank s. Hastings. a prominent director OF
"a
day afternoon:
The noFenG Gas affs6 6mpans Me Pp s their s
work 10 endeavor to take away our baf it had been
dre We neO the %sT beg9n have lost business
ore % As long as the stockholders Of the ConsoIs
dated Gas Company do not object 10 gas oe4 ibin T
II IS evident that some do objecthey win continue
lose 10000 year Tag Is n any way be
hind the proceedings brought by MI Lamp Is aOso-
lutely without any basis IN 1acI
A weu-known stockholder of the Consolidated
Gas Company said, in commenting upon Mr..
Fastings's assertion. that the company was los
ing Sc. 100000 a year with gas selling at 6o
cents a thousand cIbic feet:
The Consolidated Gas Company has practically
no funded debt. and consequently its fixed charges
inconsderabe in amount, and with the expect
Light Heat and Power Company, with, which it
has 6een I TfTn EVEN sRe fSoSg the
ent price for gas shall continue TO prevail. The
New-Amsterdam Gas Company. selling gas at
about cost has fixed charges Of 100000 year to
meet
The gas war" starteds May l. 1899, when
the Consolidated Gas Company and the New
York Mutual Gas Light Company, cut the rate
from 81 10 a thousand cubic feet then the legal
rate, TO Go cents the Standard Gas Light Com
pany promptly taking the same action. These
rates the companies have maintained ever since.
On May the New-Amsterdam Gas Company
reduced its rate from 81 1G to so cents. Is cents
below the price fixed by its competitors. In
consequence of this low rate. it gained great
deal of new business, but on November q Its
Board of Directors announced return to the
legal rate of 81 TO- effective December /, giving
as a reason for their action that "the company
has reached the limit of its capacity" Under
the law passed two or three years ago. the legal
rate for gas in this city became on January i
OF this year 81 05 thousand cubic feet, and the
New-Amsterdam has just made voluntary re-
duction of 40 cents from this price
George A. Lamb. who has been threatening
TO ask the Supreme Court to set aside the recent
election of Consolidated Gas Company trustees.
had nothing TO. say to reporters yesterday about
the suit He said on Wednesday that he ex-
uected TO serve the papers at once. Yesterday
he would not say whether they had been served
or not nor wouldihe explain the delay.