The Washington times., 1921-07-22
NEW PRICE
OFS S1.15 To
CONSUMER
IS IN SIGHT

Lighting Company Can Stand
Reduction, Minor Tells Public
Utilities Commission.
Washington consumers of gas will
obtain a reduction. The officials of
the Washington Gas Light Com
ipany, at hearing before the Public
Utilities Commission today, said
they can submit to a reduction Of
10 cents per 1000 cubic feet. This
would make the price of gas to the
ordinary consumer $1.15 per thou
sand cubic feet.
How Rstes Now Range.
The gas rates now in effect range
from 81 per thousand cubic feet for
the large consumers. such as lunch
rooms and hotels, where gas is used
Tor cooking purposes, to $1.25 per
thousand cubic feet for the smaller
consumers. like the ordinary house
hold.
The offer to reduce the price of
gas was made to the commission by
Benz njamin s. Minor, counsel for the
He made the statement after telling
the commission that the rate of re-
turn the company was earning on
the commissions fair valuation OF
the company's property was 6.s7 per
cent
After the hearing had opened Wit
bam Nick. Clayton, counsel for the
Federation of Citizens Associations,
asked the Commissioners, IL they
<oL Int dorQ
ing a rate, the salaries paid to. the
officers of the company, with view
of reducing them IL they thought
them too high.
Col. c. W. Kutz, engineer com
missioner and chairman of the Public
Utilities Commission, replied that the
Commissioners had no authority to
order a reduction in the salaries OF
the officers OF any public utility CON-
pany, but could take them into con-
sideration In fixing the rates they
would allow just the same as they
would take into consideration any
contracts made by the company with
other business enterprises that had
not been made "at arms length.
Defends Officers Salaries.
Minor, replying to the veiled
charges that the officers were receiv-
ing too large salaries, said that the
gas company had been investigated
by the Bureau of Standards and had
been given a clean bill of health, and
that there was no reason for even
the suggestion Of extravaganza in
officials salaries. He said the Off
GERS were good business men and
should be compensated for their work
in a measure comparable with their
ability.
The company has always been un-
der the eyes Of the Government, he
eaid, by Congress before the Public
Utilities Commission was organized
and by the commission ever since
and the commission was in full
knowledge of its methods and his
tory.
The company, however, Minor said.
could not properly function II a price
below the 10 cent reduction was or
dered by the commission. There has
been little reduction In the cost of
producing gas, he said, the only COM
modify that has been reduced to any
appreciable extent being the cost of
upskilled labor. Other estimates for
production for the remainder Of the
wear. are about the same. The com
pany is now paying sh cents for OIL.
which is used in large quantities in
the production of gas, he said. /
Luqueer Is Heard.
Most of the morning session was
taken up with the testimony of Rob
ert o. Luqueer, a gas engineer of the
firm of Humphrey q Miller. He tes-
titled as to the cost of production
during the year ending May 81 last,
and estimated the cost of continuing
the business for the remainder of the
calendar year. The net earnings of the
company for the past year were $685.
o7067. ne testified, which allowed a
rate of return of 6.97 on the fair valua-
ton as fixed by the commission.
In answer to question by Colonel
Kutz, Luqueer said he did not be-
Iieve that reduction in the price
of gas would result In any great in
crease by Washington consumers.
The sale OF gas, he said, had dropped
off during the last five months about
per cent, and he estimated the de-
crease for the entire year 1921 would
be about 3 per cent.
He went into the question of
prices of coal, coke and oil to great