The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-10-13
PRESIDENT LATHROP
ANSWERS CHINOOK
Takes Issue WithLatter's State.
meats as to Cost of Max.
ing Gas.

Attorney Renville Chinook may be
long in law, but am afraid he is de-
cidedly short on how to make me sell
gas" was the laconic comment of
President A. P. Lathrop, of the st.
Paul Gas Light company yesterday, on
Mr.. Chinnock's views on the gas
franchise question published in T e
G o b e last Saturday.
Il won't take issue with Mr.. Chin
mock on his figures as to the cost of
making gas at Duluth or any other
city, continued Mr. Lathrop. "AH
have any expert knowledge OF at
the present time is st. Paul, but 1 Will
say for his benefit that his figures
hardly do justice to the Capital City.
at is one thing to make gas and it
is another to deliver it to the con-
sumner, and 1 am afraid if the latter
were added to his cost of manufacture
Mr.. Chinnock's figures would not look
SO bright
ct costs as much, if not more money,
to deliver gas than it does to make it.
That statement will appeal to the in
telligence of any fair minded man when
1t is known how many hundreds of
miles of costly mains the ST. Paul Gas
company has to maintain and is con-
stantly adding to. Our underground
investment is certainly a heavy one.
Cost Does Not Decrease.
Another one of Mr. Chinnock's
vagaries is that increased consumption
means lessening of the cost of manu-
facture,s or to be exact, the cost Of
1000 feet of gas is but a trifle in ex-
cess of the first 1000 when it is man
ufactured in any quantity Increased
consumption does not cheaper the cost
of the manufacture of gas. A pound
of coal produces so many feet Of gas
1000 feet,N we will say, for example,
and 1 think even Mr.. Chinook will be
willing to admit that fraction of the
amount will not produce the second
1000 feet. This applies to every ar
ticle that enters into the manufacture
of gas.
Again, We do not expect that any
person is going to buy more gas than
he needs simply because there is a
reduction in price. If there is any
marked consumption 1t will be because
of extensions that we have in view.
This increased volume will be more
than offset by the cost of distribution.
Many a thousand feet of gas will have
to be sold to pay the interest on this
investment, not to speak of its re-
turn. 1t costs more to lay a mile of
pipe in st. Paul than any other city
that 1 know of. Any contractor who
has had occasion to put any under
ground work in st. Paul will verify
this statement.
Makes Gas to Sell.
another thing that seems to worry
Mr. Chinook is the quality of gas-or,
to be explicit, he thinks there should
be guaranteed candle power-twenty-
two candle power, think, is what he
would like to see exacted. Well, am
afraid this is where Mr.. Chinook is
short on the gas question, for If he
was acquainted with the demands of
this age in respect to gas, he would
know it was heat units and not candle
power that is wanted. Candle power
was all right when the fiat flame
burner prevailed, but in this day of
the incandescent burner, heat is neces-
sary. That is what brings the mantle
now used to incandescence. We man
ufacture gas to sell, not to fulfil a
theory. ae@
Another thing Mr.. Chinook speaks
about is water gas. l can't blame him
for this Distinction for that is the
term generally used, but it is a mis-
homer. 1t should be called oil gas.
Coal Gas Not Cheaper Here.
Gas to coal gas being cheaper than
this so-called water gas, will simply
is not in the business for it's health.
We have a few bills to meet annually,
and could we increase our profit by a
cheaper process of manufacture and at
the same time produce as good quail
ity of gas as we are now supplying
customers, we would certainly avail
ourselves of it. The accessibility of
coal determines the character of the
manufacture -.
'sD111Ith ic pOinta6 out
example in the matter of cheap rates,
but from all accounts the company
that is doing this wonderful work that
MIR. Chinook speak of has not been a
financial success. In any event, there
is no comparison between the two cit
les. The Duluth concern, l understand,
is selling the gas as a by-product, it
being secured from a large coke man
ufacturing company, with whom the
product is otherwise a waste.
The 81 Minimum Only Protection.
"Mr. Chinook lays considerable
stress on the 81 minimum, but If any
fair minded person will only stop to
think, it is protection that practically
every public-service corporation in st.
Paul demands. Even the water de-
partment demands retainer, and in
a building where there is any num-
Der of consumers the amount is even
greater.
"One meter is put in and every per-
son or tenant consuming the water
that passes through It pays a fee. If
it was only a case of one meter with
US it would be all right, but in the case
of some of our big Office buildings hun
dreds of costly meters are required.
Many Of them are simply conveniences
for the tenants and We are compelled
to provide this convenience with no
adequate return. That is the way Mr..
Chinook would have it. There is no
burden in this 81 minimum. 1t is sim
ply protection for our company, pro-
lection from those who would use us
for a convenience rather than a neces-
sity.
Gas Company Not Pushing Matter.
I'm conclusion, 1 want to say we are
not pushing this matter. We did not
take the initiative. We made a COM
mission, appointed by the council, an
offer, and it, after an exhaustive in
VeStigatiOn, decided that the offer was