New-York tribune., 1909-03-02
GAS REPAYMENT BEGUN
FIRST CHECKS SENT OUT.
Nine Thousand Consumers RecelUe
500 ,OOG-Crozcds at Offices.

The nine rebate disbursing Offices Of the gas COM
panjes in Manhattan and The Bronx were crowded
yesterday from O'Clock in the morning until CLOS
ing time. O'Clock, with more or less eACileeu
men and women, demanding money lntorhatloi
blanks 10 be filed out and checks. They got pleh-
ty Of information and blanks, but no cash OF
checks. for the rebate will be sent by mail II was
estimated that nine thousand checks hau oee. .
mailed up to o'clock representing ABOUT sl'o'oo'
but only one three hundredth of the total OF chech
to be sent out the number OF accounts on the
books being 2,7ON0O At that rate the WORK VIII
not be completed in much less than year.
At No. l.S43 Madison avenue, old Madison Hail.
ard Nos lO4 and 166 Chrystie street, there was .
ricN all day long, but the many CLERKS anu
interpreters managed keep the outbreaks iIA-
tied to excited demands and threats Al the I'm
tie street Office soon after noon there was i' W.. W
outcry from a man with a flowing beard. MS
pocket had been picked of receipts entitllng nm "
about s25. 1t took long time to convince the MAJ
that the thief had had his trouble for notnlnF d
he couldn't get the money. 1t was eHpIa4"eu -
the troubled consumer that he would get MS IeoIS
all right and there whoop OF JOY from Iiie
old man. ,.
At the Chrystie street office women with chHoreh
were in the majority. The youngsters were IS
posted OF benches and window sills Vhl!e me-!
mothers battled for place at the counter o..
when the applicants for rebate had peen t'-aus
to understand the process they were sstished anu
went home carrying blanks and addressed en-
velopes.
The blank to he filed out where there has oeeh
q change of residence caused a good deal or con-
f,s,on New ones viii be printed. The punctua-
ton led consumers believe that their toriiisi
dress should be written the second hhe' "i-eI
il should be on the seventh line. The oIa'iH
I reside at No. -- in the Borough u
Manhattan. city Of New York from etc. lHeie
should have been period after New YORK
There will he confusion also because OF oeuol
tlons from amounts due the gas oolnpanle9, l
MANY consumers are paying the bills 'heH ndHe
for re deHIt
ton of the rebate so that the consumer WI" =
second check for the amount Of the hli 'Ls.
Henry ]. Cochran head auditor u"
sioner Shields said Yesterday that the deolcIoiS
urorId he avoided wherever possible # had been
arranged that clerks al the regular pIdil0iie'
should inform the rebate stations of P7S s -
ceived SO that the vouchers could ce GU
fore cheeks were sent out. Mr. Cochran Salu ais
that he would make report TO the -
each morning and al the end Of each "e5N- ~
Commissioner will SEND his check 10 ''e - So
panv for the pa,n1ents on Mondays un''i 1i'' ~
burserrent has been completed -,,
Robert 4 Carter, vice president 81 we .,,
dated with F. R Barnitz. his assistant
their inspection OF the offices YESTERDAY noiIule
! O'Clock. They have eight hundred men q, 80
Of whom four hundred are audt's'
FIVE checkbooks At each Office ana ee'"
must he signed by assistant super'h'7"Iy "1E,l..
the cor7rsny and bv one Of the ele' en- asslS an
auditors employed by commissioner Shis'os. ~
checks are Of a special color for eacn orsi''' 1
on the back Of each is the following;
This repavn1ent is made in compliance Vim @ S Ia
directions of the United States Circuit IA csrt
without prejudice TO a further test oi ne ~ The
gas act pursuant 10 the opinion and cecIee VI "
I nited States Supreme Court
The crowds were not confined YESTERDAY 20 '''s
rebate ofHces. At the regular places for the pc
n7ent Of accounts there were eNel'eu
u-bo had received bills for gas used from beoern-
Der 10 February / They we're puzzled py ''7
largeness o. the amount. and II had 70 oe eA
rlained 10 them again and again that tne O'''s
we're for two months gas consumption. laF-n 81
IN all il was dav Of much turmoil for me regu-
1ar and rnAoIs, eroploves Of the gas companies
The Committee on the Prevention of Iuoerculee
sis Of the Charity Organization society mas s@ @ oc.
taiped large number OF blank assignment rorrns
from the gas companies, and these VII Se -
an uith requests that the rebate money os con
tributed the committee