New-York tribune., 1920-06-30

force compliance with this require
ment.
eve are convinced that a charge
of 81 per 1000 cubic feet of gas
Will leave the plaintiff :. moderate re-
turn upon it's investment. Therefore
the preliminary injunction will be
granted upon condition that it charge
not more than the 81 rate
cations of the Consolidateds subsid-
iary companies-the Central Union
Gas Company, East River Gas Com
pany New Amsterdam Gas Company
New Mutual Gas Light Company
Northern Union Gas Company, and the
Standard Gas Light Company, make
the same provisions.
Applies to Kings County Company
The Kings County Lighting Com
pany, an independent concern, which
against the state and county authori-
ties and the Public Service Commits
sion, and which supplies gas TO the
3Oth and 31St Wards of Brooklyn, also
was awarded temporary restraining
order against the enforcement of the
SO-cent gas law on the same terms.
The first I'M junction restraining the
municipal authorities from enforcing
the statute of 1906 was granted to the
brooklyn Union Gas Company several
months ago, since which time it has
been charging 81 cents.
Commenting on the courts decision.
Robert E. Livingston, of the Consoli-
dated Gas Company, said about $4,000
automatic meters now adjusted to the
80-cent rate will have to be changed
to the 81 schedule. The July gas bills.
ne said, will show the SO-cent charge,
and the charge under the new schedule
a1ter July l. He also said that, owing
to the loss of at least So 100000 by tht
Consolidated in 1919, due to the in
creased cost of labor and material. a
reasonable return on the company's in
vestment would be a rate of $l.25 to
S1.30 per 1000 cubic feet.
Corporation Counsels Statement
Corporation Counsel O'Brien said
last night:
"As the gas rate litigations stand
to-day, the Consolidated Gas Company
case, which took seven months to try
and which involved $1,000 pages of
testimony and over / 900 exhibits. will
be argued at length before Judge
Learned Hand beginning at 10 a. m. on
July 6. Briefs covering the whole case
were exchanged by counsel under the
direction of Judge Hand to-day 1t is
expected that the argument will con-
sumo three days. Judge Hand will
spend his summer vacation in coming
to some determination as to whether
or not to confirm the masters report
or to sustain the exceptions made to
that report by Corporation Counsel
John P. O'Brien, Deputy Attorney Gen
eral Chambers and Colonel William
Hayward, special counsel to the Pub
lie Service Commission. Corporation
Counsel OBren is very confident that
the exceptions will be sustained and a
new trial ordered.
when the decision of Judge Hand
is made, if it be favorable to the de-
PENDANTS contention that the 8O-cent
rate has been compensatory, the de-
PENDANTS will Immediately make appli-
cation to have all of these preliminary
injunctions just granted by the Fed
eral Court vacated upon the ground
that the court has relied to large ex
| tent on the report of the special master
in the Consolidated Gas case. 1t is
expected Judge Hand will hand down
his decision in August.
"The consumers fight has just begun.
There is 100000 impounded from the
difference between the 80 cent rate and
the 95-cent rate allowed by the Federal
| CuuTC ny tue Mugs CouHIy NdS OolH-
pany, and large amounts with the
other companies, amounting easily to
s2,000000 of the consumers money now
held by gas companies. Of that $430-
900 remains from the rites impounded
blythe Consolidated Gas Company, and
which never has been and never will
be collected by the consumers who paid
it in. The same thing will happen in
these cases. While the difference be-
tween the statutory rate and the rate
allowed by the court is impounded and
kept in the custody Of a master pending
the final decision of the cases. the
great disadvantage to the consumer is
that many of them either lose their re-
ceipts or move away and do not return
and the companies have fund left
vore more than enough to recoup their
losses in litigation expenses, etc. That
solMated cases when the impounded
fnud was released in 1918 and S430, 900
was never return to the consumers who
paid it in"
If the application for new rate
filed yesterday in Trenton, N. j., by the
Public Service Gas Company of New
ark, is granted by the Board of Pub
lie Utility Commissioners, household
consumers of the company, which
serves North Jersey as far south as
Camden, will have to pay S1.55 a
thousand cubic feet for gas instead Of
$1.15, as now paid This request for
an increase of more than 33 per cent
came week after the company had
been denied an increase based on its
application for an oil differential
price. Newark will oppose the appli-
cation.