The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-20
MAYOR BREAKS
GAS Rates TIE:
VOTES FOR RAISE
Cuty Must Pay IS Cents for
Natural Gas After Oct. L.
Johnson $ Request Granted.

Local natural gas consumers will
have to pay 80 cents, an increase OF
Is cents, for natural gas per 1000 Gu
bic feet, after October /.
This was decided after a lengthy
special session of council Friday night
The vote was tie until Mayor Zim.
norman cast the deciding ballot.
Byram Robbins, city attorney, in a
long talk defined the position of the
city administration. He said that
while the company's reasons already
stated, seemed plausible" the ci..
was still under the impression that the
company would be protected by 10
cent Increase Robbins, however, said
he believed that the rate of IS cents
minimum, which will be charged after
the additional Is cents is put on. would
be preferable to paying $1.25 for the
same amount of artificial gas. Artiti.
clal gas, he emphasized, does not con.
tain the amount of heating properties
OF natural gas.
Natural Gas Preferred.
Everybody is concerned in having
natural gas" continued the city at
torney. They prefer natural to arti-
fetal gas. This is said merely as to
the desires OF the people and does not
\ mean that / think the IS cent rate is
justified"
On the contention of Nimrod John.
son, general manager of the Light
Heat & Power company, it was es-
sentlal they make an increase of Is
cents, because the Logan Gas COM
pany, who supplies the local company,
was increasing the charge from % to
35 cents per 1000 cubic feet, effec-
tive Oct. l, Robbins said, he thought
the local company should go into the
matter of what the Logan company
ought to charge.
Although the city attorney said he
did not recommend that the council
adopt the rate, members sided with
Johnson, as believing that Is cent
increase would not be too much.
The contention of the opponents to
the grant of the increase, said joseph
Waterman, Saturday morning, was
that i'll fairness to the city's interests,
the figures submitted by Johnson
should be taken before the state pub
&c service commission.
1T was not debate as to whether
Richmond should accept SIS natural
gas or $1.25 artificial gas said Wal
terman, but question as to whethe r
of the Logan Gas company that it
was going to raise rates to the local
company. l yet think that the fig
ure2 should go to the public service
commission.
johnson followed Robbins and pre-
scented figures to show the present
financial state OF the company, and
his reasons for the increase
He said that as the gas company's
valuation had been raised by the state
tay commission from $450000, or
S225,0O0 under the old tax law, to
S65S,5S7, this valuation, if used for
taxing purposes, it should also be used
, as a basis for rate making.
No Gas at zoe.
Johnson said that if council did not
agree to raise the rate Is cents the
City would have to do without natural
gas, as the Light, Heat & Power
company could not stand to pay the
u cent increase without an increa Sc
in it's own rates, that the city would
have to choose between IS cent natur
al gas or $1.25 artificial gas.
1t developed that the Logan Gas
Company, is controlled by the Stand
ard Oil company, John D. Rockefellers
mint
A number of minor debates were
carried on by Johnson and councilmen
Ten councilmen, present, divided
evenly, as follows:
Ayes--Evans. Sweitzer, Won Pein
White and Schneider.
Nayes-Golden, Ford, Stegman, Wal
dele and Waterman.
Waterman, said that he voted no
because OF the wishes of his consti
tuents that sworn figures be presented
to the Public Service Commission.
Then Mayor Zimmerman relieved
the suspension, by voting aye" eX
planning his vote by stating that the
members Of the Public Service Com
mission told him that the valuation
placed on the local gas company's
property was extremely low, and tina,
they would grab it off at that price.