Evening star., 1920-05-30
PUBLIC UTILITY LAW
CALLED D. c. NEED
NJ. B. Westlake Says Gas
Rate Decision Seems to
. Be the Last Straw.

The District of Columbia needs a
lake. president of the Federation Of
Citizens Associations. asserted last
night
in favor of a new utilities act and
has drafted a bill OF the subject
which it hopes to have enacted ~ the
next session of Congress.
Mr.. Westlake gave out statement
sitting forth his views on the in
creased gas rates granted by the Pub
lie Utilities Commission yesterday. He
made it clear that he was not speak
ing for the federation. HIS state
ment follows:
Says Law Is Weapon.
'The gas rate decision seems to me
to be the straw that will break the
camefs back. The present utilities
regulation law in the District of Co
lumbia is dangerous piece of legis-
lation which should be removed from
the books as quickly as Congress can
take actken.
THE law was designed to place the
regulation Of utility rates In the
hands of a commission, but with the
changing conditions it has resolved
itself itto weapon with which the
TO pay costs. expenses and prohts
without regulation as to those costs
and expenses.
sees Two Solutions.
~Tr other words. the law simply
enables every public utility to pass
the buck TO the public. and | can see
but two ways to solve the problem. !.
one Is for the government to take over
all OF the utilities and operate them
for the benefit of the people. and the
other is a new utility law which Will
put the actual management OF the
utilities under a commission which
will have some power beyond the
raising of rates upon demand OF util-
iry corporations.
THE burdens Of the people OF the
District of Columbia are already so
heavy that this increase will, in my
opinion, be felt throughout the city
IN a manner so serious as to cause
reaction which Congress will recog-
nize as a danger needing immediate
attention. The injustice of any law
which provides for such increases of
rates to the private consumer and al
lows the government rate to remain
at much lower figure does not need
comment"
Private Households Suffer.
The Commissioners do not expect
that Congress will raise the rates
paid by the United States and Dis
trict governments for gas before the
recess The city heads assume that
rider in the sundry civil bill calling
for study of the quality and price
of gas in the District by the bureau
of standards means that no action
will be taken on the governments
gas rate until December.
Under the new rates the private
households of the District will pay
s1.25 per thousand cubic feet for gas.
while the federal government will
continue to pay 20 cents per thou
sand. For street lamps the District
pays 81 cents per thousand.
1t is recognized that with a serious
shortage of oil in this country the
use of coal is more economical in
manufacturing gas. and the WASH
ington Gas Light Company has plans
under way for coal-gas plant on
AnaloStan Island.
With existing high prices, however
it would take S5,000,000 to build the
plant and the company would have to
pay 10 per cent for money to finance
the project. In the face of this stu
alton Howard S: Reside. president
of the company, has deemed it a bet
ter policy not to start the coal plant
until building costs drop.