New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-02
CHEAPER CITY LIGHTS.
NO Gas BIDS MADE.
Ste0ens Lac Effects Big Saving in
Cost of Electricity.

ry with the provisions of the Stevens law.
erecting an annual reduction In Manhattan and
The Bronx of about 100000 year on arc lights
alone. There will be a proportionate reduction
III the Borough of Brooklyn. The Consolidated
Gas Company and its allied corporations are
suing the city TO recover bills for lighting dating
from the spring of 1903. amounting to about
Ss0poo This old account is not affected by
the bids submitted yesterday.
The Stevens law reduced the price OF electric
lighting from $40 light for arc lights to 500
a light This the company has decided to meet
The Stevens law lowered the price of gas for
public purposes from 80 cents to 40 cents a thou
sand The company will not meet this figure.
it is advised by its engineers that it cannot
ply with the pressure regulations laid down in
the statute
The law prescribes a pressure OF one and one
half inches for street lights. penalty Of $1,000
is imposed for each infracton Of this pressure
provision, and under this law Commissioner
Oakley last fall brought suits TO recover $500
go in fines. This apparently has scared the
company and it submitted no bids yesterday for
supplying the city with
By refraining from submitting bids the COM
pany avoided the risk of mourning additional
fines. Under the Law the company Will be com
PEELED to go on furnishing to the city. but it
will not have to comply with the pressure reg
ulations The city will have to pay for the gas
it uses. but the amount to be charged. now that
there is to he no contract. will be left to COM
promise. The reduced bids will not be acted on
until the CORPORATION Counsels office has re-
ported them.
To furnish gas to the mantel lamps in build
ings in Manhattan and The Bronx the con-
solidated Gas Company bid 81 month lamp
a three and a half foot burner. Gas experts
who calculated the bid smiled at the figures.
A three and a half foot burner for 1850 hours
burns 1925 feet At 10 cents the legal rate
the cost would be rather less than $40 %. mo
price bid for the service is 81
H NJ. Edwards. auditor of the New-1ork
Edison Company issued a statement as follows
with reference TO the bids submitted by his
company:
In expectation of largely increased business
in connection with the lighting of the citys
streets schools and other public buildings the
New-York Edison Company yesterday IN SUP
hitting it's bids for the eleven months ending
February /. 1907, reached a yearly rate as low
as $50 an arc light. At the present time there
are in the boroughs OF Ma I'M i ana In. Inc
Bronx something less than 5000 lights as com
pared with 10 297 in Philadelphia, with that
city's population only 023 900, and 5000 lamps
in the metropolitan district of Boston, wnere
the noDuIation is about 100000. Under the law
which passed by the New-1 ork Legis!atu I
and which went into effect on July /. ISuo: '.e
charge 500 for each standard arc lamp or 500
watts and $3.50 year for two lamps a post,
hour for incandescent lighting and'poWer IN the
public buildings.
to charge the city $100 or the legal rate. for
= 600 Iamps The price Of each lamp In excess
OF 5000 is SO until the total number or lamps
reaches 1900 when the price OF all the lamps
becomes 500 including the original 5000. When
the number of lamps reaches 10000 the price
1f oil +ba larnns is reduced TO 500 When 1880
lamps are reached the price becomes $50. ana
when the number Of lamps reaches l3Ooo the
price OF all the lamps is reduced 10 soo a laIlp
a wear This is a reduction OF so a lamp peioW
the present legal rate as fixed by the lesis'd'-
ure. -. a.. 80 >-,,,.
York Edison Company offers in connection win
the lighting OF the schools and other public
buildings The present legal rate for this service
is 10 cents a kiowatt hour, and reduction or
u per cent is made under the new bid
reducing the city's price to ~ cents kiioWatt
hour This price includes incandescent lamps
the supply Of carbons and the trimming of arc
lamps The price for power service IN the pun
lie buildings under the New-York Edison com,
panv's new bid is reduced from 10 cents 10
cents a kowatt hour-a material reduction.
The representative Of the Queens lighting com
Uanv reached the offices OF Commissioner Eli
son too late to submit his bid. He was only two
minutes late He made eloquent appeal To he
allowed to submit the bid, but Commissioner
Ellison said thumbs down to him. and probably
another advertisement will be printed TO get
the bid properly before the department.
Charles F. Mathewson. representing the Con
the following statement:
No bid for supplying gas 70 the city lamps
nut in for the reason that the gas companies
were confronted with a condition impossible TO
meet In speaking Of this an official said
THE bids and proposed contracts for public
lighting call for what is ordinarily considered
by experts TO be wise regulation. This pro
yides that the gas pressure at the lamps shall
not fall below one aud 0ne-haf inches and the
penalty for infraction Of this provision Of the
contract would lie practically n forfeiture as
liuuidated damages OF what is practically equal
to one-harf of the amount of the contract. The
State law prohibits a MAXIMUM pressure or
more than two and one-half inches. and fixes the
pAralty at 81 900 for each violation. Should the
gas companies make contrast with the city.
In accordance with the requirements OF he city.
thew would compelled at times to violate the
State law I'm order 10 keep above the minimum
of one and one-half inches as required by the
municipality This condition practically puts the
gas companies between the horns ~ a dilemma
They must refrain from bidding to supply gas
10 avoid the state penalty on one hand. or by
ilfractiou OF the city contract incur the heavy
neuhIty provided In the proposed contract At
the present time the city is suing the companies
for what the companies claim 10 be unavoidable
violations of the maximum limit Of two and
half inches pressure ana TO-DAY they ask the
pre ss,Ire not less than onA and onehalf inches.
at The lamps Compliance with the city'S re-
0uircments would necessarily create a violation
OF the State law
r. Momand, general manager of the Ameri-
can Street Lamp and Supply Company. sent
tho following letter to Commissioner Ellison:
We had fully intended to make a formal bid
for furnishing and maintaining incandescent
gas street lamps 10 the city. After careful con-
sideration of the terms OF the specifications is
sued by you, under date OF January 20. are
reluctantly forced to believe that fl is not the
intention to secure or TO permit bona fide com
petition on fair and usual terms. and
therefore obliged with much regret TO refrain at