Omaha daily bee., 1911-03-18
COUNCIL NAMES A GAS PRICE
Offer Of SEQ a Lamp and No Interest
is Declared Final.
LAWYERS DELIVER OPINIONS
Counsel for Company Urge ArbitrR-
tion TO Avoid Expense OF LitiER-
tion-Many Are Opposed
TO Compromise.

The city council, without a dissenting
vote, submitted an offer OF t22 a lamp per
year. without interest to meet the offer
OF the Omaha Gas company, which seeks
to compromise its claims against the city
on a basis Of 81 a lamp per year and in
terest
The councils offer came yesterday aft
ernoon after testimony had been intro
duced and arguments made in the special
hearing to effect compromise II possible
The gas company will be given time to
reply to the councils ultlmatum. reso-
luton embodyine the t22 price will be in
troduced Tuesday night by Councilman
Lee Bridges, who made the motion yester-
day afternoon.
The afternoon session Of the hearing was
given over to arguments. T. w. Black
burn, w. A. Glider and David O'Brlen pro-
tested against any compromise, advising
the council to let the gas company carry
its claims to the district court
Attorneys Herdman and Connell for the
gas company pleaded the cause of the
company suggesting that compromise
should be reached IL possible to avoid the
expense of litigation.
! l. ]. Dunn. assistant city attorney, spoke
at length on the legal phase Of the situa-
] tioi "ANAiOuh NOiHAiilliuB ne ely > position,
c. j. smyth told the council that the
| gas company would recover for Is services.
but 1t could only recover the actual cost
! attending the service. Smyth cited su-
preme court decisions to sustain his point.
The councils offer OF compromise came
after an informal session and was based
on the figures submitted by Charles F..
Crowley, gas commissioner, who said the
! xiuutfFn nrtgR
S24 a lamp per year and the minimum S22.
and on the statement of Mr.. Dunn that
the company was entitled to no interest
over the amount in litigation.
Council VIII stand Pat.
The council declares 1t will stand pat
on the $22 offer. II the company does not
want to take this amount 1t can go itsAN
the court and recover what 1t can the
members say.
Earlier in the day the council members
decided at an informal caucus to offer the
company $2S a lamp with per cent in
terest, but after argument they decided on
the lower prices.
The gas company, through Frank Ham
ilton, it's president, submitted it's first
offer Of a compromise Friday morning,
when 1t agreed to settle the claims aFainst
the city for street lighting for the last five
years on the basis Of 81 q lamp per year
and interest
Crowley on stand.
Gas Commissioner Crowley was nut on
the stand during the morning and testified
that the maximum amount which should
be paid per lamp was S24 a
year and the minimum about $50.
Crowley bases these figures on mainte-
nance, labor and gas. Crowley declared
that gas should not cost more than 81
cents thousand feet and that the com.
pany would make fair profit at this fig.
ure. Based on 10000 cubic feet OF gas Der
year to each lamp, the cost Of gas would
run SIG a year, which, added to the main
tenance and labor charge, would make the
total cost $24. Crowley did not advise this
figure as compromise price, but stated
that in his opinion it was the maximum
amount which should BIZ allowed.
On oross-examinatloh the attorneys for
the gas company went into Crowley's fig
ures at length on the cost Of gas produc-
ton. After they had put him through a
; stiff examination, the company was in
! vited to put it's own expert on the stand
! to refute the statement OF the company
But the attorneys again refused saying
that what could be collected for Eas.-was
simply a legal question. The gas com.
pany's attorneys relterate that they would
stand for the franchise price Of SIPS 9
thousand cubic feet.
; limitations that the gas company Nigh
, make further offers Of compromise wa.
made possible by query from Mr.. HamiI
ton, who wanted to know II the council
had agreed on the highest price per LAM
II would pay. The council refused TO max,
any reply to the query