The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-05-19
PHILADELPHIA GAS
 CAUSES DISORDERS
City Council Leased Gas Works
 to United Gas Imp .Gc.
CITIZENS RAISED A HOWL
CouncImen Were Called Thieves and Robbers When Vote Was An nounced-City Needed
 the Money.

Philadelphia, May 1S-Amd scenes of disorder unprecedented in the annals of Philadelphia's legislative body, the city council tonight voted to lease the citys gas works to the United Gas Improve ment company fer term of seventy-five years for the total sum of s25,ooo0O0, the money to be paid in various amounts be- fore the end of 1907 Council chambers and committee rooms were crowded with excited citizens protesti,' against the lease to the United Gas Improvement company at l D. m., when the proceed ings opened in the finance committee room, until after D. m. when the select council passed the bill and sent it to the mayor. The climax was reached when the vote in common council was an- nounced after three hours of debate. The moment President George McCurdy of the common council announced the vote, a great uproar was started in the gallery which was crowded to the doors. From all over the gallery came misses and cries of thieves" The outbursts was some what startling to the presiding officer who made a vain effort to quell it. Fin ally he sent for a squad of police to clear the gallery which started the dis order anew The crowd continued to hiss and call the councilmen thieves and oth- CT names. until the police arrived and started to clear the gallery. In clearing the gallery, there were several clashes between the police and some of the spec tators, but no one was hurt.
 Session Disordery.
 All through the session of the com mon council there was disorder. In select council there were so many policemen on duty that no one dared to interrupt the proceedings. There was neither a cheer nor a hiss when he bill passed that body
 The agitation against the passage of the bill resulted in the common council amending the measure so as to provide for a slight reduction in the price of gas. The amendment as adopted provides that the price of gas from the date of the lease until January ], 1911, shall be one dollar thousand cubic foot the same as the present price; from 1911 to 1921 95 cents; from 1921 to 1936 90 cents from
 
 the expiration of the lease in 1880, 80 cents.
 Mayor Weaver has announced himself as unaterably opposed to the lease and is in favor of postponement or the whole question until 1907, when the last of the present lease to the United Gas Improve ment company will expire. At that time the city has the right to take back the works on payment to the gas company of the amount of money expended in inn provements. Mayor Weaver is expected to veto the bill The vote In the common council was "A to 9. and in select council 37 to f. There is only one democrat in each body. and both voted against the lease. There Is some talk among the citizens who fought the lease to take the mat ter to the courts
 Trouble Began.
 The proceedings of the day began at 1 D. m, when the finance committee held a public session to hear protests from cit izens organizations. There was large crowd present and disorder began almost at the start of the meeting. The com mlttee had before 1t two propositions. one of them the United Gas Improvement company and the other from F. B. Smith & Co, bankers of this city, representing New York and Philadelphia capitalists In general the propositions were the same. The Smith bid differed from the other in that 1t proposed to share the profits with the city at the rate of one-third for ten years, and one-half for the remaining sixty-five years. and also provided that the city could reduce the price of gas as the profits increased
 The committee began It's session with the hearing of the report of sub-com- ,nittee which favored the lease of the United Gas Improvement Go. The report stated that tho city was in immediate ncod of s4e.Oo0ooo. and that the present borrowing capacity of the municipality wss only si5,ooooo0 Tn view of these facts tho report stated that the best they could do would Do to lease the gas works far a lonn term of years the money to ha -.lA i.a aduannn nnd fhnt fhn nffar of