Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-21
NEW YORK. Saturday

gas rebate fund shall be returned to the resi-
" dents of New York who during the last thirty
two months have been paying 81 thousand
cubic feet for gas instead of the legal rate Of
hty cents and tn distribution of this great amount
OF money will begin very soon, but
What will the average gas consumer say when
he is told that in 1922 it will not be inapropos for
him to ask his nelghbor-"Got your gas rebate yet?
That is just what is going happen and it is not
at all certain that the last of the fund will reach
the pockets Of those who entitled to their rebate
much before 1925
This rather startling statement is fully warranted
by facts and figures obtained in the Office of John A.
Shields, Clerk of the Circuit Court of the United
States for the Southern District of New York, who
as Special Master charged with the custody of these
millions and their distribution, has his hands the
tremendous task which WILL under the present order
of the Court, fully occupy his time for the next
of fifteen years
And this great task will fall the shoulders of a
man now nearly seventy years old and nearing the
end of fifty -four years of service in the Clerks office
Everybody knows Commissioner Shields-at least,
everybody who has had anything to do with lawyers
and legal matters generally. Probably man in
New York has been more often pictured in the public
prints. His tall figure, military bearing and nearly
white side wiskers have been familiar Broad
way for thirty years at least.
The original court order under which Mr.. Shields
will act and which put upon him this arduous duty
says that in order to facilitate the of the money
deposited by the Consolidated Gas Company and the
five subsidiary companies which have been compelled
to make restitution to their customers Mr.. Shields
must ascertain and report as to the amounts to be
paid to each individual claimant and the identity
of such claimant" The order goes to say that
Mr.. Shields is thus selected Special Master al
though Clerk of the Court, for the that the
claimants of the fund will be extremely numerous
and their identity and the amount of their claims will
have to be established by ncessant references the
sworn statements of the gas companies filed in the
Circuit Court and kept in the Clerks custody 1t
the opinion of the Court that such reports could be
expedtously and economically consulted by
Special Master whose place of business was in the
Federal Building
The Case of the Companies.
For many months there had been six suits pending
in the courts identical in all respects regards the
deposit of this surplus rebate fund except that in
all but that of the Consolidated Gas Company, recently
decided in favor of the people by the United States
Supreme Court, the companies still continue to
charge 81 for gas md to deposit the twenty cents
surplus in the custody of the special Master.
Perhaps every gas consumer in the city knows that
the case of the Consolidated Company heard be-
fore Arthur H. Masten, Master, and by him decided
in favor Of the company. Then it before Judge
Charles NJ Hough in the United States Circuit Court
and he also held the Gas be unconstitutional
From Judge Hough's decision appeal was taken to
the Supreme Court and there the unanimous opinion
in favor of the people To go little further into
the history of the matter in March, 1905 following
his final decree in the Consolidated Company's case,
Judge Hough denied motion made by Attorney Gen
eral Jackson to require the company to continue
deposit the surplus fund the Court holding that the
fund already in hand with the interest which had
accrued would without doubt suffice to pay all
claims.
The other companies whose suits have remained in
allegiance, but which will ultimately follow their
leader, the Consolidated the Northern Union the
New Amsterdam, the Central Union, the Citizens and
the Standard Gas Company.
The $9O000O0 which belongs to New York's gas con-
sumers is now reposing in the vaults of six prominent
New York city banks The Citizens Central National
the Hanover National the Seaboard National City Ma
tiona National Bank of Commerce and the Mer-
chants National have each shared in this huge fund.-
which has been steadily accommodating since May 16
1906 All this time interest has been running at the
rate of two and half per cent which will mean an
addition to the fund without further increase Of prin
cipal, of $225,OO0 year.
No better proof of the gigantic task which Mr..
Shields has before him be had than by taking a
peek at the great pile of duplicate gas receipts which
have been pouring into his office month by month since
June, 1906 AS fast the gas bills have been paid
the clerks employed by the six companies have tied
them up in bundles containing from 1000 to 5CcO
each. and these have been sent under guard to the
Federal Building where Mr.. Shields has given re-
cepts for them and stored them away. There are
now nearly 1000 of these bundles In the crowded
condition Of the old Federal Building it was no easy
matter to find storage for this great mass of
valuable documents At first Mr.. Shields believed
that big closet 10 feet wide and Is feet long, the
door of which is almost directly behind his Office desk
would hold all the receipts that would be sent
him. 1t did not take many months to point out his
error The bundles have overfowed this closet and
other have had to be pressed into service in
various parts of the building. Each storage is
carefully guarded by federal officer day and night.
Vast Job 40 Tackle.
1t is to this great collection of gas receipts that ref
erence will have to be made in verifying each receipt
presented for rebate. Before dollar of the money