The New York herald., 1921-02-19
CALLS 80 CENT GAS
RATE CONFISCATORY
Masters Report Made in Suit
Against Public Service
Commission

The law that decrees that the Brook
lyn Union Gas Company may not charge
more than eighty cents a thousand
cubic feet is confiscatory, according to
the report of James @. Graham. special
master in the gas company's suit
against the Public Service Commission.
the Attorney-General of New York
State and the District Attorney of
Kings county. A summary of the con-
tents OF the report was made public
yesterday by attorneys for the COM
pany, but. contrary TO report, the find
ings OF Mr.. Graham We're not read to
Federal Judge Mayer. Judge Mayer
will receive the report this morning
II he has recovered sufficiently from
the indisposition that kept him at horne
yesterday to be in court.
If the courts concur in the Graham
report Brooklyn may be called upon
TO pay as much as Si.25 thousand
feet However. no sooner had the sum-
mary OF the report become public prop
erty than the gas company's stock
came to life and indulged in a jump
from 5l1s TO 81. More than 400 shares
changed hands early in the afternoon.
In his report Mr.. Graham recon-
mends that it be adjudged and decreed
that chapter 125 of the laws of 1906. In
so far as il provides that the plaintiff.
the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. shall
not now charge or receive for gas
manufactured, furnished or sold by 1t
a sum per thousand cubic feet not ex-
ceediug 50 cents, Is Illegal and void
because il is in contravention of the
Constitution of the United States OF
America. and that the plaintiff, the
Brooklyn Union Gas Company. have
the other and further relief against
the defendants prayed for in the COM
plant"
The report finds that in 1919 the cost
of manufacturing and delivering gas
was 1856 cents a thousand cubic feet,
last year 1913 cents and at the present
time more than sl.H. This, it Is cited,
is without any return on the capital
invested in the gas company. Mr..
Graham reports that the Public Ser
vice Commits ssion had approved the
plaintiffs capitalization or sl5,Ooo,U
mortgage bonds, 100000 debenture
bonds and sls,0oo.o0o stock. 1t is fur
ther cited that the assessed values OF
the mains, pipes and the book costs Oh
meters and the floating capital aggre-
gate more than $2s,0co.c0 upon which
the company was entitled TO fair rate
of interest. This rate of interest Is set
down by the report as per cent
At a hearing before the Public Ser
vice Commission yesterday counsel for
the Newtown Gas Company and the
Woodhaven. the Richmond Hill and the
Jamaica Gas Light companies were
granted postponement for a week in
which to prepare new evid dence in con-
nection with the four years litigation
concerning more than $1,000, 900 col
lected from their customers In rates
higher than the statutory eighty cent
rate and impounded by counrt pending
the upholding or upsetting of the
statutory rate. The new evidence. Il
was stated. IL to consist OF a statement
of costs OF operation and distribution
for the period June 80. 1918. TO May l.
1919, which would complete the record
of the companies evidence.
NJ Baldwin Fertig, assistant Cor
poration Counsel opposed the commits
sion receiving the new evidence. be-
cause he feared the gas companies pro-
posed TO reopen the case of the New
town company with a view to accom-
plishing retention Of the impounded
money. which in that instance amounts
TO $4,000