Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1901-01-03
MR.. GRANT TALKS.
He Tells of Some of The Dis
advantages


OF Competing Gas Companies Censum-
ers Have to Bear the Expenses OF
Fights-HeaYy Purchase of Gas Ter
ritory In Battelle District Inter-
esting Interview.
There are two sides TO this matter
OF competition in gas, said Mr.. f. NJ.
Grant to representative Of this paper
to-day. 1t is not all profit by any
means and those who expect to go into
the gas business and TO run it with a
| lower cost to the consumer than the
Union Improvement Company is
charging are going to lose money and
plenty OF it.
Now we have been here for twelve
years. In that time we have expend-
ed vast sums not only in getting new
gas wells which are very expensive af-
fairs but in laying lines and in keep
ing our plant up to date and up to
the demands of the town. In that
time we have done much for Morgan
town.
When we came here we found it a
sleepy country village. 1t is now one
of the best towns in the State. /
don't say that we did 1t all but we did
do great deal for the town that no
one hadever undertaken until we came
At the present time the town is us
ing four million feet OF gas daily. 1t
takes large field to supply TINT. We
have a aeld that is rapidly declining.
1T has gone down from $50 pounds
rock pressure to 800 and Is falling rap
idly. The end OF the Mt. Morris field
Is Ia sight.
The Union Improvement Company
has purchased field in Battelle dis
trict paying in the neighborhood of
800, 900 for It. We will put line
through whenever it is needed. This
will cost us as much more. The field
up there has six wells on it all plugged
with a pressure Of over 500 pounds
and it can produce sixteen million feet
of gas day or four times as much as
the town is now using.
At all times we have looked after
the interests of the town and our con-
sumers. They have mad the best Of
service and at reasonable rates. No
other town gets cheaper gas except
when there is a gas war on. When the
war is over the rates go up and then
the consumer pays the losses incurred.
The companies do not lose it,
They do not propose to do it here.
In case another gas company comes in
they will start war. We will sell
gas as low or lower than anybody else
can do it. It will be game OF freeze
out and we have the money to stay to
finish. However when that comes
the people who use gas will have to
pay for the fun that they have had
a company composed Of people who
do not understand the gas business
will have hard time Of it and they
will have plenty of accidents. We
haven't had serious accident 10 IL
years.
That it is not all profit can be
seen from the fact that we have never
declared larger dividend than 8 per
cent. and last year we only declared
six per cent one. This year and for
several years more we do not expect to
be able TO declare any on account of
the great expense to which we have
been PIT in the past year ia building up
our system to accommodate the pres
ent demands.
The town will suffer from having
her streets torn up by new compa-
MES and there will be other evils to
follow in the footsteps OF competition.
There is nothing that can be gained by
it and the losses that will be suffered
by all who engage In the fight will
give the town black eye.