Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-20
HefIin Would Have Attorney
General Sue Power Company.
INVOLVES LIGHT CONTROL
Would Recover Alleged 0vercharge
for Past Ten Years.
FOR A LOCAL HOUSECLEANING
Alabama Member Of Congress Thinks
Prices Charged the District
Are Too High.

There will be q general housekeeping
in the District of Columbia when the
democrats get in. This is the prediction
made today by a number OF democrats
In the House, among them Representative
Helm Of Alabama.
Mr.. Helm directed his criticism Of at
fairs in the National Capital principally
to the relations between the District and
the Potomac Electric Power Company.
which furnishes current for lighting pur-
poses to the municipality.
Mr.. Hef1in thinks the District has been
greatly overcharged for electric current
during the last decade. He believes that
the Potomac Electric Power Company.
by laying down" on its contract to fur
nsh one-thousand-candle arc lamps and
furnishing arc lamps which the COM
pany's officials admit are only Of seven
hundred candlepower each. has done the
District out of great deal OF money.
He thinks steps should be taken at once
looking to the recovery of the sum that
may be determined to be due the District
on account OF this alleged non-fulihll-
ment Of contracts for the past eight or
ten years by the Potomac Electric Power
Company.
Resolution Directs Suit.
And that is the reason that Mr.. Helm
has introduced in the House drastic
joint resolution directing the Attorney
General Of the United States to take &C
ton to recover from the Potomac Eiec-
trio Power Company and the Washington
Railway and Electric Company certain
money for the District Of Columbia.
The preamble of Mr.. Helms resolution
declares that the District of Columbia
has been paying for one-thousand-
candlepower arc lamps for nearly ten
years, and has, in fact. been served with
even-hundred -candlepower lamps: that
every District appropriation act from
1901, when the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES lamp
were installed. to 1910. have contained the
specific provisions that arc lamps must
be of one-thousand-candle power" and
that lin the face of this, the Potomac
Electric Poyer Company. which Is SUBJ
sidiary company of the Washington Rail-
way and Electric Company, put In seven
hundred power lamps In 1901 and has
used them ever since. but always collected
the full amount of its contract until No
vember 1. 1910"
The Hefiin resolution concludes as fol-
lows:
THAT the Attorney General of the
United States be, and he Is hereby, d.
rected to take such action as Is neces-
sary to recover from the Potomac Elec-
trio Power Company and the Washington
Railway and Electric Company for the
District Of Columbia the difference in
money which should have been paid on
the basis of the 700 candlepower and
that which has been paid on the basis
of 1000 candlepower."
Commenting upon his resolution TINS
NJ Mr. HAHN said
Means a Housecleaning.
"My resolution marks the inception Of
2 plan for q general housekeeping In
the District Of Columbia. The govern
ment is paying too much money on con-
tracts of this kind. l cannot see the APP
plicability of the contention Of the cleo
trio. power company that 700 candle pow
er is better than the 1000 candle power
contracted for. II the facts are as I I'M
derstand them to be, the Attorney Cen
eral can recover large sums of money on
account of the insufficient current sup
piled for the past ten years.
II have received assurances which have
led me to believe that will get my reso-
luton through at this session.
A member Of the House appropriations
committee made the estimate today that
II an attempt is made to recover from the
Potomac Electric Power Company on the
basis of the Helm resolution that a good
deal of computation will be necessary be-
fore 1t is possible to determine with the
accuracy requisite in proceedings at law
for the recovery of money under the con-
ditions described what sum shall be sued
for. He made q rough guess. however.
that the sum would be between four and
S.,o h,,n hnr nd 1oll tic
be too high. as the figures would have to
be worked out.
This question of the alleged over
payment to the Potomac Electric Power
Company was discussed at some length
before the District subcommittee of the
House appropriation committee during the
preparation of the District bill. 1t de-
veloped at that time that Maj Judson,
the Engineer Commissioner. had gone
into the matter to some length. The
opinion was expressed by Maj. Judson
to the subcommittee that he doubted
whether recovery at law would be pos
sible. Apparently 1t is the intention OF
Mr.. Hefiin and some OF his colleagues to
test the case in the courts.