New-York tribune., 1905-04-14
BIG PRICE OF CITY LIGHT.
PRIVATE RATE, 3 CENTS.
Hou Ducts Are Laid for Electric
Companies-Tar Dodging.

| o,i6oto6 c,,bv,av COmpany was in the witness
! chair at the beginning Of yesterdays session.
and wanted to explain that i'm previous tesu-
/ mony, when he said that figures given IN a re-
| port to the Controller in 1898 regarding miles
| Of ducts completed for the company were in
| correct, he had meant to say they were incorrect
! for 1898 because they referred to 1891 Fl. j.
! Hemmens, of counsel for the company asked
that the witness be permitted to make state
ment OF the manner in which the report had
! been prepared.
Wont you ask a fair question: he said to
/ Mr.. Hughes, counsel to the committee
Let the witness answer questions and do not
! interrupt counsel" ruled Senator Stevens
'I have right to make explanation" said
Mr.. Hemmens II TO that bill, and nave
right to make myself right on the record
You will take your seat sir" said Senator
| Stevens. You are not record here. When
we want your testimony will ask FOR IT,
| When the witness is through we may hear you'
| but you must not interrupt"
do you want the facts?" demanded Samuel
| A. Beardsley. Mr. Hemmens's law partner 'or
counsel's construction Of the testimony"
SAYS COMMITTEE WANTS FACTS.
I'VE want facts" retorted the chairman and
we are getting them. You will take your seat
until we invite You to speak"
I'VE want the testimony of the witness un-
81 desire to say began Mr.. Beardsley.
You will take your seat said the chairman.
and Mr.. Beardsley sat down.
A little later when the witness testifytng
about the money spent yearly by the company
for construction work. w. j. Seton, the COM
! pany's secretary. started to walk toward the
chair. evidently to prompt the witness.
Wen give you an opportunity. my friend to
tell all you know" said Chairman Stevens kind
| ly but with enough sternness in his voice to
cause Seton to drop back into his seat
"Of your own knowledge you do not know
when that 1897 report was filed. do you?' asked
Mr.. Hughes.
mo. DO not" replied Mr.. Middleton.
Q-Take the thirty miles of construction in 1897:
what did that cost? A-S1s4. TAT g.
report to the Controller for that year? ANo sir
Q.-Are you telling what you know, or what your
ing what know
At Is fact Is II not Of tnar s Ie for Sniine
! your duets taking in payment debentures paying
Q.-Are all the 1482 miles of ducts you Swn in in
and @ are % there % any }n n9f 6 The uT The
Board of Electrical Control had us construct
| twenty-duct trunk line in Sd-ave.. and there are
not more than two of those DUCTS in
WHAT ELECTRIC LIGHTS COST CITY.
Arthur Williams. chief inspector of the Edison
company, said in the witness chair he wished
4
cheape- rates for incandescent lights if its
buildings not widely scattered.
You mean that if all the city lights could be
| placed in one great building the cost would be
greater than It is now. when the lights are
distributed through ninety-five buildings Mr..
Hughes asked.
That's true. but not the way I would put it,
was the answer.
Have you" Chairman Stevens asked. "a GUS
o{+rv
IS charged for?"
I'VE have two customers who have a special
form Of contract because Of the large amount Of
current used throughout the year One Of these
takes 1883 1868 kilowatt hours. and the bill for
that is $59517. The other customer. storage
battery place. uses 16869S7 kilowatt hours.
and his bill is $4,000"
What do you charge these two customers per
kilowatt hour?" asked Senator Stevens.
Three cents.' was the answer.
"And the charge to the city. the largest Gus
toner Of ALL is - cents per klowatt hour?'
From our point of view the city Is not the
same kind Of customer"
Mr. Williams tried to show that II the city had
paid for it's light last year a private Gus
toner the cost to the city would have been
25 per cent greater. but neither counsel nor
members OF the committee could see it in that
light
The total sales of current last year amounted
| to 32,69472O kilowatt hours and the average
price, Mr.. Williams said was 5.79 cents kilo-
watt hour.
NO DISCOUNT TO KLAW & ERLANGER.
! do you allow discounts on large bills ?" Mr.
Hughes asked.
NO, only the discounts provided for in the
contracts"
| Pressed for a more definite answer, Mr. Will
Jams insisted that under no conditions has any
| discount been allowed for light except under
old contracts There might be some fifty of
! such contracts still in force In the contracts
/ for power discounts are allowed according to
| the consumption Of current
] Have you not allowed the Klaw & Erlanger
theatres discounts?" Mr.. Hughes asked.
Mr.. Williams insisted that discounts are
! allowed. Pressed for a direct reply to the ques-
| tion. the witness said discounts are allowed
! to the theatres named they being treated on the
! same basis the company's other customers.
! j. H. CahilI, secretary of the Empire City Sub
way Company and vice-president of the New
York Telephone Company. testified that the
! company was organized in 1890 and It's capital
stock was S3,00000O When asked about the
| funded debt of the company. he refused to
/ answer, and John G. Milburn, counsel to the
| company, asked permission 10 address the COM
mittee. This request brought a frown to the
| face of Senator Stevens who said Mr. Milburn
might speak if what he had to say had bear
I ing the question just asked of the witness.
Mr.. Mburn said it had, AMI he went on.
This company has a very slight connection with
building and operation os conduits in which ave
carried chiefly the wires Of the telephone teie-
graph companies of the city A few-a compara-
lively few-wlres OF the Edison company carried