The Washington times., 1921-02-02
THREAT MADE
|NGASHEAR|NG
ubIic Service Board Doomed"
Unless Hyattsville Co. I'm
proves Service.

t0r on INC pooPio, ~
ed declared William Mines
alloy, chairman OF the Maryland
ublic Service Commission, at the
airing Of indignant residents and
! operty owners of Mt. Rainier,
yattsville and Riverdale In star
all, Mount Rainier, yesterday
yEuED THREAT MADE.
This announcement came from
,airman MaIoy after James r.
,aran. a resident of Riverdale. de-
Jared that the gas companys serVlce
ate was "tricky and misleading
kand intimated in the veiled threat
bat unless the commission enJoineo
n took drastic action against the
orporation, the next members or the
eeislature from Prince Georges
county would be instructed to Abolish
the commission.
ar. of Hyattsyille, Riverdale and Mt
Rainier are paying for air when they
! shouid be getting gas" declared
asa gan. heatedly.
1T was strenuous day Tor the
commissioners, who arrived ut Mt'
painier at 10 o'clock yesterday morn
rnr and heard the protests from the
residents and property owners OF tne
thr.e communities UP to O'CLOCK IN
ne afternoon. Most OF the pr>test-
.nts who crowded the hall were wom-
,l. their husbands being at work IN
= ashington.
DEMAND INJUNCTION.
As stated in The Times yesterday.
'he residents and property owners "i
,be three communities in Prince
- orges county. just across the DIS
~ fict line, are demanding the Mary
and public service commission en-
In the Hyattsville Gas and Electric
,mpany from continuing the present
:. tie of 81 a thousand cubic feet and
"a 80 cents a month service charge.
he 5O-cent service rate and the m
~ease of from $3.50 to 81 thousand
=. .,bic feet for gas went into effect
October !.
Not only are the residents and
property owners protesting against
he increased rate and the service
raarge, but they allege that the gas
.upply is of an inferior grade, Is IN
adequate. and Is mostly air.
"The' flow of air is. SO strong, SO
pronounced, that frequently half
dozen matches are blown out before
the gas can be ignited," declared
EaRan. A half-dozen other witnesses
before the commission made the same
statement - :, -
CAN'T COOK BOILED DINNER.
1t also developed that the flow OF
gas in most OF the homes in the three
communities was so poor that 1t was
nert to impossible to cook boiled
din ner. One witness testified that IL
.cr< thirty-eight minutes to boil
nint of water, while another declared
- t it took half-hour to toast
I'd.
agan declared that when the Hy-
Az ;ville Gas and Electric Company.
". ich he said was owned by "nioat-
q stockholders, got it's franchise 10
-rcply gas to the residents or MI.
r r. inier, Hyattsvflle and Riverdale, IT
reed to give service to the people.
Now, ii comes along" declared
d. an, "and wants to charge for THIS
b. vice. Such a charge Is unconsti-
w :tonal and directly opposite to the
pmises the company made IN nav
the franchise granted 1t. We de-
and that this 50-cent service charge
a. have been paying since October i
y, refunded to u.s.
shelby Smith, assistant CHIEF or dls-
tribution OF publications and supplies
of the Department of Labor, who was
spokesman for the indignant resi-
dents. and who is a member OF the
.tc. Rainier Citizens Association
asked the commission:
"Are the consumers of gas to pay
fr, same rate for air, and mostly the
teri"
SMITH URGES REFUND.
mith urged that the commission
le und to tho citizens and property
ners the service charges collected
~ the gas company.
Because of the poor supply Of
Y s." said Smith, "the residents have
d to use electricity to illuminate
til ,ir homes. Many who could not
ali ord to have their homes wired had
to resort to the old-fashioned lamps
sr coal stoves.
We agree that the company is
entitled to a fair return on its in
vt.tment, but II is not conducting Its
,, siness efficiently and is not giving
tfi people what they are paying for
yas.
The company claims to value it's
Cs,perty at 1928 900. We demand a
efuI examination OF the compAny's
ks, and a test of the gas being
,plied us. The present total pay
II of the company is approximately
20 a day--the total expense OF the
npany. l have learned, is $27 a
v. Its receipts average daily S<Ob.5V
q deducting the s247.00 expenses.
net daily proft is S15s.60 on tho
$4,000 investment.
COMPANY WAsTEFUL."
1--WE have found that the company
wasteful--that 1t loses approx
,tely 100 tons of coal a year by
It: that II fails to conserve as II
lid. II is evident tho company is
Der poor management
T'The company holds an implied con-
act ~ serve in this territory, and
w It wants to charge for this serv-
q. It's illegal"
Chairman Maloy stated that he had
-dered an audit of the company's
,oks and an examination OF it's sys-
m OF bookkeeping and it's manage
ent. as well as the quality OF gas
is serving the communities. Many
t the witnesses yesterday declared
hat since the commission had been
.sked to investigate the gas company
nd enjoin Il from operating the In