Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-30
introduction

introduction
No story of civic struggle for relief
from an oppressive and intolerable
monopoly carries more of interest to
the people of Los Angeles than does
the breaking of the ALIEN GAS
TRUST (the Lo= Angeles Gas and
Electric Company, owned by the Pa
cific Lighting Company of SAN
FRANCISCO by the City Gas Com
pany, which has just inaugurated it's
new gas service, insuring the gas con-
sEmers of this city speedy relief from
the wretched gas service imposed upon
them in the past.
The Gao Famine of 1906-1907
The gas famine of year ago is of
too recent memory to demand any
save passing reference to some of the
Inconvenience suffered by the citizens
of Los Angeles as consequence of this
acknowledged incompetency of the
Pacific Lighting Company of SAN
FRANCISCO, through it's local repre-
sentative, the Los Angeles Gas and
Electric Company, to give satisfactory
gas service. 1t was at the very height
of the holiday season, when the city
was entertaining thousands of winter
visitors, that the miserable gas service.
which had been growing steadily
worse for months, suddenly gave out
entirely. Homes were plunged in dark
ness through the shutting off of light,
and those families not supplied with
wood or coal stoves were given the al
tentative of eating cold meals or pat
ronizing the restaurants. The serious
Inconvenience suffered during the
first few days of this absolutely mex
cusable gas famine soon turned to ac-
tual suffering with the setting in of
the cold rains. In a typically weak ef-
fort to placate an outraged public the
officials of the gas trust at this time
gave an additional evidence of their
incompetency through the inauguration
OF the ION and off system"
With an utter disregard of the pub
lie safety, whenever o sufficient guam
tity of the ulphur-impregnated gas
could be accumulated to fill the mains
the supply would be turned on. When
this supply would become exhausted
within a few hours the gas would be
turned off. The tragedies incident to
this dangerous folly are still vivid in
the public memory. All complaints
made to officials of the gas trust
against this intolerable treatment by
their patrons were me- with either al
irritating Indifference or a direct in
suit. The situation was rapidly ap-
preaching a municipal crisis when the
officials of this ALIEN GAS TRUST,
finally realizing the gravity of their de-
linquency, in abject despair publicly
acknowledged their incompetency to
-cffer relief. And no relief was offered
before the setting in of the warm
months, when the demands on the
wretched service were necessarily
light.
Organizing for Relief
In view of this acknowledgment of
incompetency by the Los Angeles Gas
and Electric Company, group
of representative citizens, fearing for
the future welfare of the city, met to-
eether and organized the City Gas
Company. The sum of $1,000.000 was
Immediately subscribed as nucleus
with which to commence the building
of a modern gas plant, capable of pro-
ducing and supplying the very best
quality of gas in sufficient quantity to
meet the immediate necessities and fu-
ture demands of the city. The reader
is respectfully referred to the list of
names of these gentlemen subscribing
to this amount which appears below.
No more convincing evidence Of the
fact that the City Gas Company is a
nome enterprise tliU bhctt Olliy lIC DCOt
methods will mark it's conduct could
he offered than the names of these
gentlemen responsible for its organiza-
ton.
The City Gas Company was not or
ganized as a money-making corpora
ton only, but also as municipal ne
cessity. If the Pacific Lighting Com
pany of SAN FRANCISCO. through its
agent, the Los Angeles Gas and Elec-
tric Company, had in any>measure met
it's obligations to the city of Los An
seles, the City Gas Company would
rever have been organized 1t was thu
necessity of saving the city from con-
tinuing at the mercy of this ALIEN
TRUST which demanded the organiza
tlon of a home company, controlled by
residents of Los Angeles who are in
terested in the city's welfare.
Entirely unmindful of the immeasur
able harm they had done the city and
the inconsistency of their position in
view of their but recent acknowledge
ment of incompetency to give the city
an adequate gas service, the officials Of
the gas trust, otherwise the Pacific
Lighting Company of SAN FRAN