The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-17

support and backing of a majority OF
the councilmen who have honestly and
consc1enttously labored, along with the
city attorney and city engineer, to se-
cured lower gas-All who have been most
intimately concerned in the movement
for lower gas believe that while the
compromise figure does not represent
their idea Of what the price Of gas
should be, it does represent the lowest
possible figure at which the company
can now sell it.
1T should be stated for the gas COM
pany that President DOhertv has done
the best that he could by the city un-
der the circumstances. When d. E.
Thompson sold the plant to a firm OF
New York promoters he got a good
round price for 1t, and those ballOoner5
promptly proceeded to initiate it They
failed to make good, however, and the
men whom they had succeeded in get
ting interested turned to the Mcmillan
syndicate, which controls number Of
gas plants in the country, and Mr..
Doherty and others with him have been
trying to lift the company out of the
slough of financial despond into which
manipulation had plunged it.
TOO MUCH BONDED DEBT.
The cold truth is that the gas COM
b4r6e, to make rs r3ssji,le n 10 nm ms re-
hce to consumers OF gas in the matter
of price The men who are now interest
ed have invested in that plant much
company Gould build a new plant and
make money furnishing gas to Lincoln
people at dollar a thousand, but no
new company would jump into the field
because the old would be compelied in
self-defense, to divide the business and IN
the consolidation that would ensue the
gas consumer would come in for another
THE News relinquishes it's fight for dol
1t does only upon the pledge and
promise of the gas company that the re
the bottom price. President Doherty has
given his word to the men interested in
-
the company permit further reductions
shall be made until dollar gas is reached
pledge is proven by the history Of the
Mcmillan plants elsewhere, where similar
until a dollar and less has been reached
At the beginning the News said that IL
t t yeaP P' or Pc next but tRat it would not
finally relinquish the fight until that fig
ure had been secured. That pledge stin
stands.
The News is satisfied from the investi-
cation It has made that a dollar gas ordi-
company because it meant bankruptcy to
it. To avert bankruptcy the company
would have carried the fight into the
courts. It could have held up action for
several years upon the legal question
binding contract or not If defsdted upon
that point it could have again gone into
court and threshed over for several more
years the reasonableness OF the price
fixed. The question that confronted the
council was, which would be better for
the people, to htigate five or six years
with the ultimate decision in doubt,
(whiIe in the meantime the old rates were
in force) or to compromise on SID now
with the promise of lower gas in the fll-
ture within a period less than would be
covered by. the utigatiOn2 The council
chose the latter alternative and the News
believes it was the wiser one. II time
shall show that a mistake has been made
nothing particular has been lost, no right
has been signed away. there is no obsta-
Gle in the way Of correcting that error.
THE company met the city more than
half way 1t came as far as it apparently
could. If it shows the same disposition
to be fair in the future it will be we'll"