Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-07
GAS CO.
SHOWS EXPANSION
Firm Plans Addition of 800
Miles of Pipe Lines
Soon.
BY JOHN r. SINCLAIR.
cial pispatch To The etar.

~ SOhhAN As OAENSAhAAss
special Dispatch to The Star.
LOS ANGELES, Calf. october t.
Natural gas, so long wasted, will soon
be piped into every city and town in
California. It should reach much
farther.
"The Pacific Gas q Electric Co. has
constructed already 500 miles OF high
pressure transmission gas lines to meet
the situation" said A. r. Hockenbeamer,
president.
1--WE are piping gas frsm Kettlenan
Hills up the San Joaquin Valley TO
Richmond on the shore of San Fran
cisco Bay" he added. Some towns
are already receiving straight natural
gas. others mixed gas. When the sec
ond pipe line. "a inches in diameter. Is
completed, say In seven or eight months,
we will be providing Northern Cali
fornia with natural gas. It will not be
long before 95 per cent Of our half
million gas customers will be receiving
straight, natural gas service"
Increased Output Expected.
The Pacific Gas IL Electric Co, when
It's second unit is completed, will have
$50 miles of gas mains to the important
gas fields Of the State. 1t will have
cost them more than $27 500. 900. It's
QCllVEIy CuPOCiby WAA AC0SAA o@vtvVVSSS~
cubic feet OF gas per day.
I'VE have been in the gas business
q long time" continued Mr.. Hocken-
beamer 1t was, however, only five years
ago that the FIRST unit OF our present
system, the San Francisco Gas Co., be-
gan operations. This was IS years after
the discovery of gold in California. In
1879 we installed the first electric gen.
Grating plant and distribution system.
It probably was the first electric station
in the world. We have pioneered In the
transmission Of high-voltase electricity.
We probably were the first super-poweY
company In the field. So you see, we
believe that both electricity and gas
should 60 hand In hand in the devel-
opment Of industry"
II was Mr.. Hockenbeamer also who In
1914 inaugurated the customer owner
ship plan Of selling securities. Billions
Of dollars have been brought into public
utilities companies since that time by
the method, but Hockcnbeamer was the
originator.
we expect to build a network Of gas
mains throughout Northern California.
graphically, the vast network of cleo
trical transmission and distributing
lines, aggregating upward Of $4,000 miles
In length. through which We serve our
$4,000 electric customers" concluded
this public utility president.
Wastage Of Gas.
It was the tremendous vastage of
natural gas In the Ventura fields which
attracted the Pacific Gas d Electric
Co. first Then they determined TO
bring that gas. which was then being
wasted. through $50 miles Of pipe to
- hat H{r>a n
gas was discovered on Kettleman Hills,
which was 100 miles nearer to Frisco.
So the Ventura plan was abandoned and
the Kettleman Hills region. one Of the
most important oil and gas producing
areas in the world, has been made the
source of their gas supply.
I asked q member Of the San Fran.
cisco Stock Exchange just how much
of the business of the exchange, in his
opinion. was carried with the New York
Stock Exchange and its ally. the New
York Curb. For 1t has been reported in
the East that both the Los Angeles
Stock Exchanges and the San Fran
cisco ones were doing Q tremendous
business in stocks which have originated
In the West and which were owned by
Western people.
somewhere between 90 and 95 per
cent Of all Of the business done on the
WcSb CUnAb II CdtTICu Oh L bUOCAS WIASiA
are listed on the New York Stock Ex-
change and the Curb" was his reply.
Memberships More Valuable.
Nevertheless. the memberships In the
Western exchanges are becoming very
valuable. Twenty years ago one could
have secured q membership on the Los
Angeles Exchange for $50 and the price
rose to $500 in February. 1923. Since
that time the cost Of membership has
increased rapidly. It was $22.500 In
January. 1925, and Is now $4,000. This
covers q membership on both the LOe
Angeles stock and curb exchanges.
The reason for this Is obvious when
the figures are shown. In 1904 the
total amount Of business handled on
the Los Angeles Exchange totaled just
$455 900. BY 1928 the figure had moved
up to the astonishing total Of $780,
O0O. 900.
As the broker receives q commission
on all Of the shares sold, brokerage
profits in this field today must be very
satisfactory indeed.
Probably nowhere in the world has
the cooperative movement in the dis
tribution of goods attained such an tni-
portant place as In Great Britain. In
the little island the cooperative move
ment has Q membership of seas. 900.
These co-operatOrs own 1,107 retail
stores. which last year did business
Of 81 ,o32. 10000
A study made Of this unusual Or