Evening star., 1919-03-17
NO HIGHER RATEF0R
GOVERNMENT GAS
Utilities Board Not Expected
to Recommend That Dis
elimination Be Abolished.
95-CENT PRICE TO PEOPLE

Although District taxpayers are re-
quired to pay for gas at the rate Of
s5 cents a thousand cubic feet, as
compared with seventy-cent rate
assessed against the District and fed
eral governments. there is no indica-
ton the Public Utilities Commission
will renew it's recomm endation to
Congress to abolish the discrimina
tion.
r. This is because the commission Is
inclined. to rssard the cheaper severn-
merit price az in lieu or a tax on the
com uany. and also because the In
creased earnings Of a uniform ninety
fice-cent rate would not be sufficien mt.
it is stated, to materially reduce the
charge to individuals.
The gas company sells about 10000
600 cubic feet of gas to the District
government at the present time
approximately 120.000.000 feet to the
United States and something like
/, ,0O0, COO, ,0GO feet to individuals.
Effect on Earnings Noted.
Sales of gas to the two governments
on the 95-cent basis would. 1T Is said,
about $4,000 annually. II this in
crease were taken into account In
figuring out a price that would enable
the company to earn per cent on the
fair value Of it's property. which the
commission has decided to be fair
rate of return. it would benefit con-
sumers to the extent of d reduction
OF about one-third OF one cent
for every thousand cubic feet of gas
sold calculations show:
In other words, individuals would
have to pay 94A cents per thousand
cubic feet to make it possible for the
company to earn per cent under pres
ent conditions.
President Howard s. Reeside of the
company believes that the District and
United States should pay for gas at
the same rate that i: charged individ-
uals. The commission is on record to
the same effect. However, the COM
mission is convinced that it would
benefit the private consumer little, if
any.
View of Congress Considered.
IT is pointed out by the commission
that if Congress intended the cheaper
federal rate, by which the company
loses about $4,000 in revenue annual
ly, as in lieu of a tax. the effect upon
the public treasury and the taxpayer
is the same as though a higher rate
of taxation had been assessed against
the company and the government re-
In short. the commission sees no
difference between af increased tax
that would produce $4,000 annually
or a cheaper price to the government
that would deprive the company of
revenues to the extent of $4,000. the
net result being the same in either
case as far as the United States
Treasury and the individual consumer
is concerned, it is claimed.
With gas rate revision in pros
pect at the end of six months, the gas
company, President Reeside said to-
day, will continue it's efforts to manu-
facture gas at the lowest possible
cost, having always the interest Of the
consumer in view.
Testimony of United States bureau
of standards experts before the Pub
lie Utilities Commission was to the
effect that gas manufacture and dis
tribution in the district has been
conducted on highly efficient and eco
nomical methods
Data Before Utilities Board.
Data before the utilities board
show that, as the result Of a four
year oil contract made by Mr. Rec
side in 1914, on an average basis of
3 cents a gallon for oil. it was pos
sible for the company to save about
a million dollars in the cost of manu-
featuring gas during the greater
part of the war period. Had this
contract not existed and the COM
pany been forced to buy Oil in the
open market when it advanced to
and 10 cents a gallon, q much higher
gas rate to local consumers probably