New-York tribune., 1905-04-11
PROFITS on CITY LIGHTS.
EARNTNGS BUY PLANTS.
In0estlgatiRg Committee To SIT at
Least Ten Days Longer.

Information regarding the cost and profit Of sup
plyins electric lights to the city obtained by
The legislative gas investigating committee at its
session AZ the City Hall yesterday II was given
by Arthur Williams and J. u. Lieh. jr.. electrical
experts of the Edison company in response TO
questions by Mr.. Hughes counsel OF the committee
who apparently had been making study Of cleo
trical lighting
Mr.. WgIiams told about the lighting OF buildings
Tor the r6Y with incandescent lamps and said the
total oosE 10 the city for such lighting last year
was SSo.fle s. He said the current was supplied
10 most OF the buildings p cents a kiIowatt
hour, bat there fOur buildings which lower
prices arc charged. as follows: Seventh Regiment
Armory. 10 cents. S7S2s ~ for the year: Police
Headquarters. - cents. 81 4S6S 05 County Clerks
ofhoe. 81 cents S26i q. and Fire Headquarters SCI
cents. for last December only, S354 - The low
price at Police Headquarters. ne said was be-
cause OF the fact that large part OF the current
was used for power in running the elevator. The
company supplies electric lighting to forty-seven
schools fifteen hrehouses. four police stations and
tV7enty-nine once buildings used by the city.
Nj Williams said II the city had been treated as
the ordinary customer is treated the current would
have cost the city 1875 cents a kilowatt hour The
city is a very poor customer" he said Take the
schools, for instance. There are forty-seven Of
them. and the installation is very large in COM
par1son with the service rendered. In one school
alone there are five thousand lights bur they are
used only about two hours day. II is recognized
IN the electric hight business that the charge for
Snort hour business must be greater than for all
day service"
Let suppose that the city is treated as \
single customer" Mr.. Hughes suggested. What
ould the current have for the sS7 50 kilowatt
hours
'It is not conceivable began Mr. Williams
Well let us conceive it. II It does not horrifv
you TOO much.'' counsel re5oined.
We have a customer in a single building who
used more current than the city uses in ninety
nine buildings If the service and installation could
he vvhf rFa -ir,-
pay S5Oo instead Of $4,000 the years service
Mr. Lieb when he began 10 testify said that to
ser1e one hundred buildings would be one hundred
times more costly than to equip and serve
building.
How many separate buildings does your COM
pany serve in New-Yorz City7' counsel asked.
We have about forty-fve thousand meters and
from thirty-iye thousand 10 forty thousand sep
erate customers
And The average cost Of service. according to
your statement Of SATURDAY is 3s1 cents per kilo-
watt hour?"
Yes. sir
at the rate Of l1-86 oents2'
Yes sir. the difference is in the individual In
Btanation."
Mr.. Lieb said that the company supplied sss arc
lamps in Manhattan. with underground feed wires
a. 81 cents kowatt hour. s14s a year for each
lamp and LIZ arc lamps IN The Bronx with over
head feed wires AT IS cents. The cost to the CITY
of the electric street lights I'm Manhattan in 1en4
questioned him closely 10 the actual cost "a the
company Of supplying the current for arc lamps
and got him 10 admit that the cost was a bout 2
cents kilowatt hour.
Witness and counsel figured on the arc lighting
price a. N46 10 the city and arrived the ronclu-
sion that the city paid so cents kilovatt hour
Tor service that cost the lighting company, in
Guiding interest the $40 bonded debt and
q reserve for depreciation $40 cents klowatt
hour on the basis of 2s6S lamps I'm 1908 in Man
haitian the company charged according 10 Mr.
O. ogeiaton Plus reserve fund and interest charges
an The Bronx the of price over cost the
witness admitted, WAS pa cents koWatt hour
single 5Ts lsgs ol of 81 PI2 @ TO the company on LIZ
M Edwsrds. The asditor Of tho Edison company
onlcsseo his Inability TO explain the details Of the
which are given as SSi 10000 in round n1mbers
he said there had been no Inventories when 1be
eonlpaIly TOOK over the capital stocks Of COM
paniss which were merged in IL
, 5. sanborn, Of the Mutual Gas Light Company.
q 1905 above an expenses was s6s2 2SS not incIId5s
,i N sum oI g5e5g set aside that year for de-
'scrappinE of four holders" 80 " '0
she company never had divided its excess r 9ar ise
Troyi5es t ana sJoekhoIders as is charter
serve surplus amounting TO more than $4,000 had
panys oficiais 10 rebuild oTstiCui OF ne com
plant out OF the earnings Of the COMPANY "
Nj Sanhorn said the $4,000 reserve had been ax
srn machinery etc ana V6nfeered tbs WIN mod
TUn 1hf a. i6slaent m So 9S5alaWay had told him that be-
complete the rebuilding now contemplated ~
80 ot LIINs az the Sums set aside for
,-els-e-I NV ug YOU get AZ the 6gures2
49, o66-s @o1 -Ni'l@ 'iie ns9Ies $4,000. why
did So ~ 'ei" sum- ahd
But is there not some system in making m the
sum called for depreciation % H -F ''7
Ar SanbOrn said there was some s,star, t,,. b.
could not explain il clearly ~ "
NOW. as matter Of fact asIe Nrr TT,,,l.o-
con you first ind out how much money Won 49,.
MADE. then what dividends YOU want ~ nsy -
set aside the excess over dividends ana ev,a,,g[-
as q reserve fund for depreciation9 -
Mr.. Sauborn fought against giving wee. -
no answer, but finally admitted thai Tho ss,,-,,,
Non ot Ny Hughes he nls in oorrect '
ne cenlnlttee viii continue the inquiry to-nor-
row and following days of the week i,sIne ~
Aioeimaric Chamber when the Board oF AI5err5s,oC
does not meet Chairman Stevens saf5 1-aete-5e,,l
fe thought the inquiry would last al leas zen 49,,
longer. In the expectation that Charles 2 AII,rrL
o. some or the city officials would he called -
testify, many persons than fle1IoI atren5eS
the investigation yesterday
AssgIn bSiaan Apgar Was the only member Of The
committee absent yesterday He MS IN ,itb
tonsillius al the Murray HUI Hotel.