The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-07
CITY INSPECTION
FOR GAS METERS
WILL BE lNAUGURATED
ALDERMAN GARFUNKEL HAS DE-
CIDED ON ORDINANCE.

Oity VIII inspect Any Meter
Upon Complaint and Company
VIII BE Made to Pay IL Meter
is Found TO be Faulty-Otherwise
the Complainant VIII Have to
Pay a Small Fee-AIderman Gar
funkeI Says People Now Have No
Appeal and Either Have to Pay
According to Way Company Reads
Meter or Have Their Lights shut
OH-May Include Electric Lights.
Alderman A. J. Garfunkel proposes
to introduce in the near future an ordi-
nance providing for the inspection of
gas and electric light meters. He has
written to a number of cities in va
rious parts of the country in regard
to municipal inspections and it has
been found that the plan works we'll
wherever it has been tried.
Alderman Garfunkel is still
in correspondence with a num-
Der of Western cities, but
he has already decided to introduce
such an ordinance, though some of the
details of the plan are yet to be deter
mined upon.
Briefly the plan is to have city en-
ployes test gas meters, whenever a
complaint is made by the person in
whose home or place of business the
gas is used. If the meter is found to
be all right the person who made the
complaint will be required to pay a
small fee for the trouble the city was
put to. If on the other hand it is
found that the meter was incorrect, the
gas company will be required to pay
the fee. In either event a person will
know after an inspection is made that
he is getting what he is paying for.
Citizens No Appeal.
''As it is now citizen has no appeal
at ALL" said Alderman Garfunkel, in
explaining the matter. IF a person
thinks his meter is wrong and that he
is paying for gas that is not consumed,
he has no way of finding out the facts.
If he fails to pay his bill, the gas is
cut off. He has no recourse and must
pay or do without the lights.
IF a person thinks something is
wrong, there should be some way to
appeal the matter and the city is the
proper one to decide the matter l find
that the plan works well elsewhere,
and there is no reason why it should
not here. / intend to introduce an or
dinance in a few weeks.
MY present idea is to have the gas
meters inspected by the employees of
the water works department. / have
not decided about the electric lights
yet, but 1 am investigating the -ques-
tion, and think they may also be in
cluded in the ordinance"
Baltimore Has Inspection.
In Baltimore there is a regular SUI
perintendent of lights and lighting
Any person complaining is required to
pay fee of 81. The inspection is then
made, and if the meter is found to be
faulty the fee is returned to the COM
plainant and the company is required
10 pay IT, Every meter when inspected
and found to be all right is so stamped.
No gas company or lighting company
of any kind is allowed to install a
meter to begin with that has not been
previously inspected by an inspector of
the city and stamped as all right,
Under the system there excellent re-
suits have been obtained. 1t is thought
the citizens get better lights for less
money than in places where no inspec-
tions are made.
system of inspection will undoubt-
edly be adopted here. 1t will be
brought before Council Just as soon as
some additional information is obtained
and an ordinance can be drawn.