Evening star., 1931-06-23
Washington and Georgetown
Companies to Receive
Notices This Week.
UTILITIES GET TWENTY
DAYS FOR PREPARATION
Commission May Force Court Bat
tie if Telephone Stock Is Sold
to A. T. & T.

Formal notice will be sent to the
Washington and Georgetown Gas Light
Cos. some time this week that the Pub
lie Utilities Commission intends to hold
public hearing on the general queS-
ton OF gas pressures. service and rates.
Earl V. Fisher, executive secretary of
the commission. was instructed to draft
the notice at the commissions regular
meeting yesterday.
The commission and the companies
have been. at swords points on the
question OF pressures since early last
Winter when the first of a sheaf of
complaints about high bills started 70
trickle into the commissions ofices.
The complaints seem to have started
with the change from csrbureted TO
natural gas by the company under itS
new out-of-town control and also to
have accompanied the company's in
tensive effort to sell gas in wholesale
quantities for house heating.
Limits Exceeded.
The company obtained from the COM
mission permission to let the pressure
in their gas mains vary between two
and eight inches, although the perna-
nent standard adopted previously by
the commission allowed variation only
between two and six inches. The pres
sures exceeded even eight inches in
several cases. The commission in
structed Burt H. Peck. then its enRi-
neer, to investigate the matter. but
shortly after he had written a report
on the subject he was hired away from
the commission by the company. His
report had spoken about the danger OF
carbon monoxide poisoning from appli-
ances not adjusted to the new high
presSures.
Since that time tie company has
waged vigorous campaign to adjust
appliances so as to get rid of the COM
plants, but early this month put up a
request to the commission for still high
er allowable preSsures. The conten-
ton is that. with appliances properly
adjusted, the bills will reflect the true
consumption. The pressure now sought
is to 10 inches.
On June the Federation of Citizens
associations adopted a lengthy report
Of its COMMITTEES on public utilities
after extended debate. calling on the
commission to fine the company for
previous overcharges, urging that some
way be found to reimburse those who
mad been penalized by higher bills. The
report found that 1t was useless to
claim, at that late date. that the over-
charges had been trifiing. This re-
port was sent along to the commission.
but thus far no action has been taken
high bills.
The hearing now ordered is to take
In the general questions of pressure
and service, and the question of rates
as aHecteu thereby. 1t is not expected
that there Will be any change made in
rates except that some Arrangement
may be attempted whereby the rate will
decrease with increases Of pressure over
the allowable maxima.
Inc cOmDanV iS Pnf{fIad - IN
notice OF the intention Of the commits
sion TO hold the hearing, and then 10
more days notice before the date of the
nearing, so that 1t will not be held be-
lore three or four weeks from now.
Inc commission also authorized the
washington Gas Light Co. to construct
II pits for installing pressure governors
in various parts of the City.
Test Case Looms.
At yesterdays meeting the commits
sion gave the Chesapeake Sy Potomac
Telephone Co. permission to issue ST.
100000 worth of common stock, bring
ing the company'S capitalization I'D to
$40, 100000. According to its amended
charter, granted by New York state.
the company has an allowable capitau-
zation of s25,000,000. The authority.
however, did not extend to selling the
stock TO the American Telephone S
Telegraph Co. which now owns all of
the $13,000.000 common stock of the
local company. The company has no
bonded Indebtedness.
1t is thought that II the company
does sell this stock to the A. T, L. T.
the commission will bring an action
in court to test the validity of the
sale under the La Toilette anti-merger
act, prohibiting purchase Of the stock
of local public utilities by foreign pub
lie utility or holding corporations. The
A. T. & T. has previously been de-
clared by counsel for the commission
to be both foreign public utility cor
poration and a foreign holding cor
poration within the meaning Of the
act, and former issue of $4,000, 600
in stock to the A. T. d T. by the
local telephone company was ruled
illegal. That issue was subsequently
Cancelled.