Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-05-05
Fifth District Congressional
Candidate Made Record Cedar
Rapids Fight
GREAT SAVING FOR PEOPLE
MarshaIltown Pays s1.45 for Inferior
Quality, and Cedar Rapids Was Pay
ing SIPS - Shown That Gas at 90
Costs Only so Cents to Manufacture
Goods Exhaustive Research.

Mr. James w. Good, Of Cedar Rapids.
candidate for the republican nominal
ton for congress, arrived In the city
this forenoon for several days cam
paigning in Marshalltown and Mar
shall county. He visited the soldiers
home this afternoon, and speaks at a
political gathering in the east court
room this evening. Mr.. Good has been
holding some very enthusiastic meet
ings in the eastern counties OF this
district, and reports have come ahead
OF, him to Marshalltown that all in
dications point to his carrying his
home county, Linn, and Jones county,
with very strong possibility of car
rying Benton county as well.
In Cedar Rapids, Mr.. Goods popu-
larity may fairly be said to be intense.
owing to the most notable victory he
won as city attorney in the litigation
of 80 cent gas, which the city coun-
Gil has succeeded in establishing for
Cedar Rapids. This case is given po-
litical prominence largely because Mr..
Goods opponent for the nomination for
congressman was also his defeated OPP
ponent in the gas case, as attorney for
the gas company.
How Case Was Won.
Mr.. Good was asked by the Times
Republican how he went about 1t to
secure 90 cent gas for Cedar Rapids,
when the consumers had always been
charged e1.25, and the people of Mar
shalltown have been paying $1.45 for
gas OF very inferior quality.
Mr.. Good replied that the committee
Of the council. with his assistance.
made careful inquiry as to the cost
of producing gas, in which inquiry 1t
was ascertained from scientific author
tiles that 10000 cubic feet OF gas could
be produced from q ton OF coal costing
S., and that this ton OF coal would
produce one-half ton of coke at $3.50,
coal tar at 35 cents. ammonia valued
at IS cents, leaving a net cost OF 96,-
900 cubic feet Of gas upon liberal es-
innate not to exceed 80 cents. They
then allowed the company an earning
OF per cent upon 100000, which
was the company's own valuation of
their gas plant, and 1t was almost Is
per cent upon the actual cost of con-
structing the plant.
The company, OF course, enjoined the
enforcement of the ordinance, and the
litigation arose over the trial for a,
permanent injunction. Mr.. Good sue
ceeded In forcing the company to put
UP a $4,000 bond, and ito give two
receipts to gas consumers during the
determination of the case. One receipt
at the 80 cent rate, as established by
ordinance and the second receipt Tor
the difference between the 80 cent
rate and the rate which the company
was charging, with an agreement on
the part of the company to pay back
this difference, with per cent interest,
in case the ordinance was allowed to
stand in Law. This protected the con-
sumers to the extent of some $4,000
during the year consumed by the trial
Exhaustive Research Into Business.
Mr.. Good then filed an answer In
court containing forty interrogatories
propounded to the gas company. ques-
tions as to the cost Of producing gas,
such as any lawyer might PROFOUND
to expert witnesses in the trial. Under
the code the company was forced to
answer, and It developed in the trial
that It's officers had misstated the
facts, and had actually doctored their
books in order to substantiate their
claim of over 81 per thousand feet for
tho cost Of manufacture. Mr.. Good had
made an exhaustive study of the gas
business, and was go thoroughly l,oss-
ed on the subject, that he was compe-
tent in the trial to meet the gas men
upon technical grounds. He examined
the evidence in every gas case that had
ever been tried IN the United States,
and made an immense chart, which in
dexed for his ready reference the
names Of the gas experts who were in
the habit of testifying in the behalf of
gas companies. and the substance of
their testimony in previous cases.
When the Cedar Rapids gas company
finally produced seven expert Witness
es, he was able to riddle their testi-
mony with the printed record and sub
sequent disclosures of all their former
testimony.
Does Not Cost Over so Cents.
The gas company was forced to pro-
duce its books in court and a firm OF
expert gas accountants employed to
thoroughly examine the records Of the
company, an examination which con-
sumed six weeks of constant work.
From the disclosures revealed in the
books of the company and from the
testimony Of the company's own ex-