Perth Amboy evening news., 1908-11-18

Public Service Corporation yesterday
afternoon. The price paid for the
Citizens company was $4,000, and
for the Conduit company S25, 900.
The sale, which has been pending
for the past two or three weeks, was
effected at A o'clock yesterday after
noon In the directors room of the
First National Bank. All of the big
Public Service men, with the excep-
tfon of President McCarter, arrived
here shortly before 2 o'clock and i'm
mediately went into conference with
the directors of the two com panies.
All of the stock of the Citizens con-
Germ was turned over to the Public
Service, as was 95 per cent. of the
Conduit company's. The remaining
S per cent. was retained by William
J. Lansley.
The deal took about two hours to
complete, after which the full
amount of the purchase was turned
over by the Public Service. The local
directors Immediately made Harry
Conard, cashier of the First National
Bank, trustee of the money, and he
will pay the former stockholders
what is due them early next week.
The New Directors.
The directors of the Citizens and
Conduit companies then resigned
and the following officials of the pub
lie Service, all of whom were present,
were chosen as directors of both /:
ant to President McCarter, Percy
Farrand, General Superintendent
rlA
d. H. Gillmour, General Agent H. p.
gaert, and Superintendent of the
Perth Amboy District William HUFF
nagle. -
The new directors elected officers
as follows: President of the Citi-
zers' Electric Light Company, Cen
d jeral Comptroller p. s. Young, of
Newark; secretary and treasurer,
Percy Ingals, of Newark, who is
President McCarter's assistant. GEN.
eral Manager Dudley Farrand, of
Newark, was elected president of the
Perth Amboy Conduit Company, and
Mr.. Ingals was elected secretary and
treasurer of the latter company as
we'll.
The Public Service Corporation
took possession after the sale and
transferred the Office of the Citizens
company from Boynton Brothers
Office at 81 Smith street to 156 Smith
street, in charge of Superintendent
Hufnagle. The Office of the conduit
company was also ordered trans
ferred from the Hudson & Middlesex
Telephone Company's Office at 72
Smith street to 156 Smith street, and
placed in charge of Mr.. Hufnagle.
The directors of the Citizens COM
pany present at the sale were George
F. Reynolds, president; John X.
Sheehy. vice president; Clancy D.
Boynton. secretary and treasurer;
Fred ]. Cox, Walter Hanson,
Louis BRIGGS, B. Goldman, A. p.
Kennedy, G. A. Sexton, Harry Conard
and Peter Floersch William ]. Lans-
ley, president of the Conduit COM
pany, and Ira r. Grouse. director,
were also in attendance. Mr..
Floersch, Mr.. Reynolds, Mr.. Cox and
Mr.. Sheehy were also directors Of
the Conduit company.
1t is understood that the former
stockholders of the light company
will receive profit of about SIS on
every share that they held. The
shares were sold originally for $25,
and the purchase by the Public Ser
vice raised them to about $40 in
value.
Career of the Company.
The first steps towards forming
the Citizens Electric Light, Heat &
Power Company were taken on jan
uary 5, 1905, when a number of mer-
chants met to discuss the idea of
having plant OF their own. Under
the name of the Merchants Associa-
tion other meetings were held and on
the uight of January 19 the Citizens
Company was organized with the in
tention of supplying light to the mer-
chants at ten cents per kilowatt hour,
five cents less than the Public Serv-
Ice Corporation charged.
On February 81, 1905, the COM
pany was incorporated with capt.
talization of $125.000, with $1,000
paid in. The stock was divided into
5000 shares at $25 each.
After numerous meetings and dis
cussions, on August 21, 1905, thel
Board of Aldermen gave the Citizens
Company a franchise and Mayor
Brace signed 1t the next day. In the
franchise, which was for twenty-oneI
years, there were many conditions,
one of the most prominent being that
the company could not sell without
the city's permission.
Active work followed and on No
vember 10, 1905, at o'clock in the
evening the directors and stockhold-
ers held celebration in the new
power house at Pearl place and De,
Kalb avenue, when the current was
officially turned on.
Since then many merchants have
received light at ten cents per kilo-
watt hour and the city purchased
current at z " cents. The capacity
of the plant was doubled last year
at considerable cost and recently the
directors decided that large sum
was necessary to further develope 1t.
AS the directors, being business men, |
could no longer bear the burden, and |
as the city did not desire to purchase
the plant, when the Public Service |
Corporation made an offer, the Cit /
izens' Company asked the council for
permission to SELL
After the Board of Aldermen had
secured an agreement from the Pub
lie Service in regard-to the cost OF
Noth private and munici lighting
IN case they bought the II conn