The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-24
Judge Reed Seeks to Iron Out
Kansas Natural Case.
Try to Eliminate Lawyers and
Statutory Procedure.
MAXIMUM AT EIGHTY CENTS?
Reed Holding Conferences Here
With Doherty Agent.
Company Will Accept 100000
Cubic Feet Leakage.

After nine years of litigation and
dispute. Judge Clyde NJ. Reed of the
court of industrial relations will seek
to settle the Kansas Natural Gas COM
pany rate troubles without Iawers, le-
gal technicalities or statutory pro-
cedure. An effort to work out an
to be fixed on zone basis for various
city distributing companies-is now
under way. f. C. Hamilton of New
York, consulting engineer for the Do
herty interests, is in conference with
Judge Reed relative. to rates and
problems.
The conference today followed a
conference with Judge Wilbur N.
Booth in Minneapolis several weeks
ago. At that time the industrial court
| judge laid his plan before the federal
| judge. Conferences are to be held with
engineers and gas experts relative to
a plan for fixing reasonable rates for
| the various towns. In all of these
conferences, tho. lawyers are to be
barred. Judge Reed, who is the lay
man member of the industrial court,
| will direct the holding of the confer
ences.
Big Leakage Shown.
after all these years of litigation.
We will try to work out a solution of
the gas problem and II begin by
eliminating the lawyers Judge Reed
| stated today. "I believe there is a
fair chance to succeed"
Hamilton stated today that the
Doherty interests were willing to ac-
cept a 100000 cubic foot basic leak
age per mile of pipe for their distrib-
uting company lines. This basic leak
age is far below the present average.
iOf1 oh fI1A r,f-
mum leakage for northern Kansas
| towns has a record three times in ex-
cess of the proposed basic allowance.
| The Lawrence record is an annual
leakage of 100000 cubic feet per mile
of three inch main.
In Topeka the leakage is 35.17 per
cent of the entire supply delivered to
the city. This is an average of 1, BAL
600 cubic feet per mile of three inch
main. Leavenworth's record is 54.6
per cent leakage or 2,572,000 cubic
| feet per mile of three inch main.
"In spite of the showing in Topeka" ="
Reed said today, the record for 1919
shows the company earned a net re-
| turn of $96.759, after allowing $50, 900
| for depreciation. Instead of using the
| money to repair mains, it seems to
! have been distributed in dividends
/ 1t was admitted today that diff
Guilty is being encountered in fixin 6
basic standards. In Topeka and other
! nOTLHeIn Kansas towns, the COnSulIl p
| ton for the average family is $4,000
cubic feet In Wichita and other
| southern towns it runs as high as $780,
| 900 cubic feet a year.
"Gas in some of these towns is sold
at 81 cents" said Hamilton. "and we
are asked to bring this supply from
| Oklahoma where the commission al
lows a rate far in excess of the Kansas
schedule
Maximum Around so Cents.
/ Judge Reed pointed out today that
the Kansas Natural furnishes "a mill
lion cubic feet of gas in 1912, but will
deliver only IL million cubic feet this
year. He argues that basic expenses
are changed but little when a maxi
mum supply is delivered and that
| small deliveries mean higher prices.
And higher prices mean reduced con-
sumption" he said. The court Judge
/ believes a ma ximum rate in the neigh
| borhood of 80 cents should be fixed.
A schedule similar to the zone system
| will doubtless be worked out - but
without aid of the array of legal talent
| in