Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-31
CONSUMER WOUlDPAY
Cost Millions to Change Gas
-. Making Plant.
EXPERTS GIVE TESTIMONY
What Straight Coal Basis Would
Mean to Public.
HIGHER PRICE UNAVOIDABLE
Hearing on Commissioners Mon
.-:l. p;l1 pofore tho
EXPERTS GIVE TESTIMONY
HIGHER PRICE UNAVOIDABLE
Hearing on Commissioners Mon
oxide Bill Continued Before the
House District Committee.

Alfred Forstall. manager OF IL New York
gas company and a recognized consult
ing gas engineer was the principal wit
ness before the House District committee
Yesterday at the continuation OF the hear
ing on the Commissioners bill proposing
10 limit the carbon moncXde in the il
Eliminating supply of the Washington and
Georgetown Gas Light Companies to IL
per cent. Mr.. Forstall made the state
ment that it would cost from S7.00.O0C
to s1O.oOo,OOO to change the present water
gas plant of the local company to a
straight coal gas basis, and that this
straight coal gas could not be furnished
to the consumers of Washington fer the
present rate of 81 a thousand cubic
feet and still leave the company faif
return on it's investment.
This additional outlay necessary would
ill itself. Mr.. Forstall explained. increase
the price of gas to consumers by II
cents Il thousand cubic feet-the interest
charge for the additional investment.
After The Stars report closed Friday
afternoon the committee. sitting in a
resumed session of the monoxide gas bill
hearing, heard considerable additional
testimony. The transcription of the
stenographic notes follows:
STATEMENT OF JOHN MILHENNY,
CONSULTING ENGINEER OF THE
WASHINGTON GAS COMPANY:
Mr.. Tay!or--I infer YOU are here at the
request of the gas company?
Mr.. McIlhenny-I will say a little fur
ther than that: that l am here at my
own request
Mr.. Moore-Are you not manufac turer,
also?
Mr.. McIlhenny-Yes. I am here be-
cause l would like to see justice done
the business that l have devoted my
life to. ] suppose there has never been
corporation organized in this country
that has been subject to more investi-
CATION than the Washington Gas Com
pany I have been connected with that
company about forty years. one way or
another. My brother was a former presi-
dent of the company. and was an in
valid. in bad health. for long time. and
IL required somebody to come here and
look after its interests, and 1 used TO
do that for him.
Resident of Philadelphia.
Mr. Goldsborough-You reside in Phila-
delphia. do you not?
Mr.. McIlhenny-Yes After his death
the company elected me its consulting
engineer. and 1 try to do for them all
] can in that position. l would like to
say to you gentlemen that have never
been associated with a great many peo-
pie in my time-who are more anxious
TO do right by the public than the men
who have control of the Washington
company. 1t is constant anxiety and
care. and even squib in the newspaper
annoys them for fear they have not
been doing the right thing by the people.
The matter of expense has never been
considered. We keep men in the office
ri oya6 1StyEt lie ,aT0
has a leak in his house he can tele-
phone. and the man will be there as
fast as taxicab can, carry him. or a
horse and wagon, to fix it for him. We
and ! do not believe there is d better
service rendered in that line in the
United States than is rendered here in
Washington, and / have been in this
with several other companies like this.
But the anxiety of the people here to
serve-1 suppose it is probably the eye
of the Congress Oh them; it. might he
that: il might not be any desire to do
better than other people; but at any rate
they are always trying TO do the best
they can and to give the people the best
gas that they can make. the purest gas
Accidents in Coal Gas.
l am not going into the question OF &C
cidents, but there are many accidents in
coal gas, just as we had all the time be.
fore we made any water gas. but we were
forced into the making of water gas
against our will. The people were moi
content with Is candlepower gas, and the
newspapers publishing all the time tina,
other places were giving 20 candle
gas and % candle and "A candle gas, and
here we were subject to an outrageous
corporation that only furnished To- max
ing minis OF money out of The people AND
giving noth!ng in return, that forced us
to spend millions of dollars TO furnish
water gas. We could have got along with
making coal gas, but the popular idea was
that the water gas was the best, and il
is the best for the people. there is nc
doubt about that. There have been some
lives lost. and deporably so: nobody car
have anything but regret for such con
dition as that-loss of life. Every man
with heart in him deplores anything like
that and no amount of money ought &c
stand In the way of protecting them. We
all understand that. but everything seems
10 require human sacrifice, ! do not care
what 1t is. When we had coal gas people
would get suffocated. explosions toob
place. and with water gas IL is the same
thing 1t is the same in all branches ol
business have newspaper clipping
risht now OF an investigation i'll Pittsbure
lately where 800 men lost their lives ir
the iron works. That is a deplora bis
thing. but legislation cannot stop it, anG
people are not going TO stop making iror
on that account. If you were To paSs this
law today and put Us out of business as
the passage of such d law would, we coulC
not go TO making coal gas now. If yol
were 10 put us out of business now the
people would rise in arms against such Z
law: they would not have IT, and befor,
say what ] am going to say ! want I,
give YOU another side of the gas business
IL Is a beneticent one. and remarkably so
too. II has actually heightened men ) day:
ard made their service at night valua ole
and until the Introduction of the eIectri,
hight there was other illuminant bu
gas. But there is one direction in which
II has been vast benefit to society. Ii
reading MISS Earle's book the OLE
Colonial Days in New England and DIR
Cooks book the I.atimers, YOU. will
ind that the condition of our grandmoth
ers DAYS was of drudgery cookins
down on low hearth on "A hot summeI
day in "A Dutch oven for the family Til,
wood stove came along and was grea
relief. 1t lifted them half way out o
that drudgery. Then along comes tn,
gas stove. and for urban people there il
nothing that has happened OF late year
that has SO elevated and lifted the char
acter of the woman the gas stove Sh
can lie in bed an hour later in the morn
ing, because she has a gas stove to cool
her husbands meals on. She can <,
and cook with gloved hands. and witt
her white dress on. She never has t,
stoop. That industry has become so pop
ular IN that direction for cooking that i
You were to try to blot II out by any Law
1t would not be recommended again
MI Sims-Could you not cook with Goa