Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-31
GAS AND RAILROADS
Hearing Before the House Dis.
trict Committee.
Mr.. MADDEN EXPLAINS
His Bill for Putting Down Price Of
Gas to rs Cents.
HE GOES INTO STATISTICS
Covering the Entire Life of the Gas
Company in the District
Touches on Transfers.

The first OF a contemplated series OF hear
| ings on the various bills now pending in
Congress affecting public service corpora
| tons in the District was held this morn
ing before the District of Columbia COM
| mittee of the House. The committee was in
session for two hours, and the entire time
was occupied by Representative Madden OF
| Illinois, for many years member of the
Chicago city council, who explained in de-
| tail his reasons for introducing the bill to
reduce the price of gas to 10 cents a thou
Sand cubic feet and his other measure.
| providing for universal transfers and for
! increased street railway facilities.
| President Dunlop of the Capital Traction
| Company, Gen. Geo. II. Harries, vice presi-
| dent of the Washington Railway and Elec-
| trio Company; Attorney Goldsborough OF
| the Washington Gas Light Company, and
| a number of representatives of various local
| citizens associations were in attendance.
| Except for a spirited clash between Mr..
| Madden and Gen. Hariies there We're no
| features of particular moment in the hear
| ing, although Mr.. Madden presented
| statement OF the gas question which was
| heard by the committee with the greatest
| interest.
| At a brief executive session of the COM
| mittee following the hearing 1t was decided
to continue the hearing next Wednesday
| morning at 10 O'Clock. An earlier date
| would have been fixed. save for the fact
| that most of the members of the commit
tee will be kept busy with subcommittee
| meetings during the remaining days of this
| week.
| MI. Madden on the Gas Company.
| AS soon as a quorum of the committee
| had been obtained Chairman Babcock told
| Mr.. Madden to go ahead and make his
statements. Mr. Madden announced that
he would take up the gas question first
| and would speak on his bill to reduce the
| price OF gas TO Is cents thousand cubic
| feet He began his statement with u re-
| view in brief of the public service corpora
| ton in question.
THE Washington Gas Light Company"
| said Mr.. Madden, was organized in lS4S
| with a capital of $4,000. August 2, 1852,
| this capital was increased by authority of
| law to $350,C0o; January 3, 1857 the capital
| was increased to $4,000; May -, 1866, to
| 81, OO0,OO0, and May 70, 1872, to sl,201O0O.
stock increased in curiously irregular
| amounts, follows: 1873, S29,666; 1874.
s59,142; 1919, $6,S16; 1876. s275. los; 1877.
s4os. OOO; 1878, sl233o5; 1879, $3.50; 1880.
.l23.OSO; 1881, s2.2l5; 1882. s123.600; 1854,
| 81, 400 These total $SO0,0OO, bringing the
| capital up to $2,CO1,G00.
| 1T has been stated in reports to Con-
gress," continued Mr.. Madden, that the
| first five hundred thousand was paid in In
| cash, but upon examination of the officers
Of the company it was developed that their
| information was based on inference and
| hearsay.
"The books of the company showing the
! money paid into the company and by whom
| paid, including stockholders and the dis
! position of tin other words, showing the
| financial transactions of the company for
| eighteen years, 1913 to 1S5G-were sold to
| Philadelphia poper house for $lC0 to be
| used in the manufacture of paper. and thus
| the records of the company We're de-
+. stroyed 1t is admitted that $4,000 OF
! stock was issued at one time without any
1 of
| company. How much more no one has been
| able to discover.
Paid in Dividends.
| 1T is admitted by the officers of the COM
| pany that from its organization to 1856 1t
| paid in dividends to stockholders S,21l,sl2.
OF this sum there have been declared and
paid since January 1, 1896, dividends
| amounting to s5,699,OG2.
! "Thc increase in the capital from 1872 to
1888 was evidently without authority and
| from earnings OF the company about the
| dividends the stock for which was issued
| without payment into the treasury by any
| one." g.
| Mr. Madden then read from statement
which showed that in 1850 the dividend
paid was per cent, that in 1851 and 1852
| no dividends were paid. that from 1880 to
| 1863 10 per cent was paid. He said 1t had
| been alleged that no dividends were paid
| in 1864 and 1855, but that he had been UNI
| able to ascertain the truth of this state
| ment.
paid on 100000, and in August per cent
on $1,O00,0O0; in 1867 and 1S6S 10 per cent
| had been paid: in 1869, 20 per cent; in
| 1870. 10 per cent: in the three succeeding
| years. 15 per cent; in 1874, 55 per cent: in
| 1879 20 per cent; in 1875 Go per cent; in the
] next four succeeding years, 10 per cent; In
1881 and 1889, 10 per cent; 1883 80 per cent
! on $2,O0O,0CO capital; in 1854, ~ per cent
rand in 1885. 121a per cent although the
company earned 17h per cent ,,
1.-The treasurer of the company, said
1aft
Samuel ]. Randall. in February. 1881, that
for thirty-one and a half years the aver
| age of cash and stock dividends has been
| Is $40 per cent
ut was said in the letter referred in 1881
| that the probable near approach OF the
/ advent of the electric light for street and
| house illumination has seriously affected
! the value of gas works property. and It's
| final success must cause the owners some
still further injury. should it not render
! their property almost yaiueiess- Under
| these circumstances t.,e board OF directors
| of this company have deemed 1t duty TO
the stockholders they represent to prepare
| for this contingency. and they have re-
| tanned and invested a cash balance OF $1Jo.-
OOO to be held in reserve. to enable the
! company to make such additions to their
works as will allow them to reduce the
| price of gas to Its lowest point. both for
| Illuminating and fuel purposes. in the hope
| that a very large Increase Of consumption
may compensate them for the outlay.
1.-THE fear of the electric light company
| evidently vanished in 1888, as had also the
1 intention to expend such money in addi-
| TONS so as to allow a reduction of the price
| of gas to the lowest point, for in 1888 this
| 100000 and much more besides was divided
| among the stockholders.
| Rates OF interest everywhere throughout
| the country have gone down in the last
| few years. Dividends on capital invested In
! every kind of business have been reduced.
and 1t seems to me that this company
| should not expect or demand that 1t should
| be permitted to charge forever the people
| OF Washington and the government Of the
| United states a price for gas and gas serv-
| ice which shall enable them to earn divi-
| dends SO much In excess of other invest
ments
The spooner Investigation.
are me-. believed n, 1SSS when the Senate