The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-26
President Holiday Says Com
pany Will Not Stand 1t.
HE TALKS OF 100000.
Says Company Will Spend That
Sum in Extensions.
Why New Company Would Use
the Old Mains.


Coke and Gas company appeared before
the streets and walks committee of the
city council last night through its rep
resentative, c. K. Holiday, councilman
from the Second ward.
The Consumers company is seeking
an ordinance from the city council per
hitting them to utilize the mains of
! the Excelsior Coke and Gas company
for the distribution of natural gas
through the city. The streets and walks
committee listened to the request OF the
| Consumers company but baked on one
portion of the proposed ordinance in
sisting that the portion of the ordinance
should more specifically state that free
/ connections would be made BY the com
pany. Mr.. Holiday insisted that
/ the Excelsior Coke and Gas company
was not relieved from any of its obli-
I cations and that their franchise would
| be in force according to the statements
made in the proposed ordinance even
though the Consumers company was
utilizing the mains for the distribution
| of gas In consequence of this, said Mr..
Holiday, free connections were guaran-
! teed. The city attorney advised the
members of the committee to have more
specific statement of the agreement
made. It was decided that the city at
torney should look more completely into
the ordinance and that a second meet
ing of the committee would be held
Friday, at which time the ordinance
will come up for final action. There
was some disposition in favor of lower
maximum rates than are contained IN
the Continental Oil and Gas company
franchise owned by the Consumers
| company. The rates are 45 cents per
thousand cubic feet for domestic pur-
poses ara 80 cents for manufacturing.
VIII Not Consent to Change.
Holiday was UP on his feet in an
instant and said: 1.-THE owners of that
franchise won't consent to the change
for a minute. If you try to force them
into it before granting this ordinance
they will pass up this ordinance. Ihey
will tear up the streets and. lay sec
ond system of mains and you Will
have your streets damaged The only
reason that we ask for this is to keep
from tearing UP these streets and go
into the trouble of laying a double
spend 100000 in this city in laying
extensions of our present system of
mains The only thing that induced
eastern capital to make the invest
ment was the fact that the maximum
rates were liberal and that 1t would
be possible to distribute natural gas
here at a profit when in the surround
ing towns because of the scarcity of
the supply it would be no longer pos
sibIe to do So You will have natural
gas for a longer period of time just
for this reason. OF course we don
expect to sell gas at the maximum
rates to begin with. We will have to
compete with coal and consequently
we will have to sell at rate of %
cents for domestic purposes and scale /
down from that for manufacturing. /
The members of the committee
finally gave over the fight on the
question of rates.
Gridironed With Mains.
1--WE have ordered our mains and
expect them here very shortly" said
lay them as soon as they are re-
ceived.'
The gas will be received from the
main of the Kansas Natural Gas COM
pany at the northeast boundary of the
grounds of the Topeka cemetery. The
gas will be received by a ten inch main
and will be received at a, pressure of
about 100 pounds to the square inch; /
this will then be reduced by governors
to a pressure of about IS pounds and
fed into the service mains of six inches /
diameter Parkdale, South Topeka, |
the Douthitt tract and the Washburn
college district will all be gridironed
with mains. These districts practical /
" have no service whatever at the !
present time. The big ten inch main
will come from the cemetery down
Tenth avenue as far as Kansas avenue
and from here it will go one block
south to Eleventh street where it will
run westward as far as West street.
A short extension of the ten inch
main will be made from Eleventh
street on Buchanan to Tenth avenue.
on West street the main will run
north to Sixth avenue, thence east on
Sixth to Western avenue. On West
ern avenue it will run north to Third
street. A branch will lead off from
the ten inch main at the corner of
Jefferson and Tenth to the gas works;
the main running northward on Je1-
ferson to First and then west to the
-aS works.
Governors for the reduction of the
pressure and the feeding of the gas
into the service pipes will be placed at
the corner of Tenth and Kansas ave
nues, at Tenth avenue and Buchanan
street, at Sixth avenue and West
street, at Sixth and Western avenues,
at Third street and Western avenue,
at Jefferson and Fourth streets, and at
the gas works. All of the two and
three-inch mains that are already
down will be torn up and replaced by
six-inch mains. There are not many
Of these small mains down.
Another Name for Old Company.
The Consumers Gas. Light and
Power company is simply another
name for the Excelsior Coke and Gas
company. 1t is the natural gas end of
the artificial gas business. The only
natural gas franchise granted bv the
city was taken out originally bv the
Continental Oil and Gas company. a
home concern, which simply took out
the franchise as a basis of creating a
valuable piece of property. The
franchise was very literally drawn up
and was granted a little over a year
! and a half ago. The franchise was
sold by the owners for $4,000 to the
Home Heat and Light company. the
creation of a body of promoters back
of whom were c. H. PaLtfson and ].
/ J. Helm, of Kansas City The latter
/ company made an arrangement with
! the Kansas Natural Gas company for
! securing the natural gas for Topeka
from the formers mains. The Home
Heat and Light company with this
/ valuable concession was then in a DO
sitlon to secure something for their
holdings from the Excelsior Coke and