The New York herald., 1922-05-23
O'BRIEN FALSIFIES,
SAYS PRENDERGAST
Attack on Service Board on
Gas Rates Made 'fOr POliti-
cal ReasOns.'
CASE TO REMAIN CLOSED
Letter to Corporation Counsel
Says His Distorted Version
Is MischievOus.

William a. Prendergast. chairman Of
day charged Corporation Counsel John
p. O'Brien with attempting to distort
and falsify affairs concerning the COM
mission for entirely political reasons"
The accusation was made in a letter to
Mr. O'Bren, who had alleged high
handed methods in the commissions
handling OF the Queens gas rate case.
This case is closed and 1t will remain
closed" Mr. Prendergast wrote. 1T is
perfectly clear you do not want this or
any other case settled The reason is
that when the cases are settled there Is
no opportunity for the exercise of your
noisy and futile but sometimes baneful
activities"
In answering the charge that the gas
hearing was ended abruptly in secret
session Mr.. Prendesgast said:
your letter is another attempt to dis
tort and falsify the facts concerning
matters affecting this commission. There
was nothing secret about the closing Of
The case on April IA. 1t is we'll under
stood by all persons who have the slight
est knowledge of the operations of your
department that your purpose in writing
your letter was an entirely political one,
as the record in the case shows that you
have no valid grievance or ground OF
complaint"
The Corporation Counsels complaint
stated that the commission made no
attempt to enforce Its subpoena direct
ing the Queens Gas Company to pro-
duce it's books and records for examina-
ton and asked that the company be
requested to open it's books and plant
ha ft,'e 1a
office.
Mr.. O'Brien was represented at the
hearings by Mr.. Jackson, an assistant.
MIR. Prendergast, quoting the record,
says There was not even the sugges-
ton of n protest by your representative
that anything further remained to be
done in any phase of the case" He
adds that II was the Corporation Coun-
sells duty to insist that the enforcement
OF the subpoena and the examination of
the books be cleared away before ap-
proving the closing.
When the subpoena was issued last
summer and given to the Corporation
Counsels Office to serve and it devel-
oped that the service of the subpoena
was irregular another subpoena was is
sued. In the hearing the representative
OF the Corporation Counsel was advised
that he was failing to lay a proper
foundation for a contempt proceeding
against the gas officials for not answer
Ing questions properly. The Corpora
ton Counsel's complaint that the COM
mission had refused to grant perms-
sion to the legal officials to go through
the gas companys plant was because
the commission had no such authority
"as you very well know and always
have known the Commissioner stated.
He added:
Your remarks upon this phase of
the subject are wholly mischevous and
misleading for another reason. The OBJ
vious impression which one unacquainted
with the facts would derive from your
letter is that the gas company has re-
fused to permit its books and plant to
be examined. The contrary is the fact.
While IL 10 true that the company
would not let your representatives >nLt
its works, there has never been the
slightest interference with the activi-
ties of this commission In that respect.
so that the public should understand
that the gas companies do not refuse
to permit their books and plants to be
examined by duly constituted authori-
ties. but you know. as we'll as / do. that
your office Is not one of those duly con-
stituted authorities. / have known OF
public officials who try to do things
outside the law. but they invariably
meet with their merited fate