Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-30
Who Owns the Gas Companies :

Who Owns the Gas Companiesa
When you pay your gas bill at the
end of the month, who gets the money!
The hearings before the Public Util-
tiles Commission, now coming to q
close, may have developed nothing that
the Public Utilities Commission did not
know as regards the ownership OF the
washington gas properties, but they
established certain facts as matter OF
record.
One of these facts is the contention
by counsel for the gas interests that
the Central Public Service Corporation
of Chicago does not own the gas COM
panies here.
II not, who does?
The Westfeld Trust Of Illinois is the
owner of the local gas properties, &C
cording to the arguments Of counsel,
and Mr.. Albert E. Peirce is the sole
owner of the beneficial interest in the
Westfield Trust. Yet the Westaeld
Trust, owner of the local gas COM
panies, is not able to pay bills rem
dered for such services as printing A
5000 bill for printing, according to testi-
mony at the hearing last week, rem
dered the Westheld Trust by creditors,
was paid by the Central Public Service
Corporation, Is were other bills for
divers services, the reason being that
the Westfield Trust has no money to
meet such bills. And throughout the
enlightening testimony yesterday by
George A. q. Wood, president Of the
washington Gas Light Co., 1t was not
the Westfleld Trust but the Central
Public Service Corporation that was
pictured as the arbitrary dictator Of
policies and personnel Of the local gas
company.
Who, or what, is the westfeld Trust?
Some one hundred and nine thousand
shares Of the 10000 shares Of COM
mon stock in the Washington Gas
Light Co. are owned by the Washing
ton and Suburban Companies-once
known as the Seaboard Investment
Trust. The washington and Suburban
Companies also owns the controlling
stock in gas companies In Alexandra
and Hyattsville and on Staten Island,
New York.
Six and q half million dollars worth
OF bonds In the Washington and Sub
urban Companies have been issued to
bankers for sale to the public. These
bonds pay interest at five and half per
cent, and part of your gas bill goes into
that. Seventy thousand shares Of So
cumulative preferred stock in the WASH
ington and Suburban Companies are
owned by the Southern Cities Public
Service Company, which Is q subsidiary
of the Central Public Service Corpora
ton Of Chicago. Part Of your gas bill
goes to paying dividends on this pre-
ferred stock.
Common stock in, the Washington
and Suburban Companies Is owned by
the westfeld Trust. A note Of the
Westheld Trust, amounting to 49,
TBS, 900, is held by the Central Public
Service Corporation, and, in addition,
the Westfield Trust, which does not
pay its own bills, has issued six million
dollars in bonds to various bankers
these bonds being secured by the COM
mon stock of the Washington and Sub
urban Companies, guaranteed by the
Central Public Service Corporation, and
hi Soy IN l.
trail Public Service Corporation.
Mr.. Peirce, member Of the board
Of directors Of both the Georgetown
Gas Co. and the Washington Gas Light
Co., Is the sole owner Of the beneficial
interest in the Westfield Trust. He is
| president of the Central Public Service
Corporation and Is president OF the
Central Public Service Co., which in
turn owns the controlling interest in
the Central Public Service Corporation.
1t would probably be considered I'M
lawful for the Public Service Corpora
ton TO acquire control or ownership OF
the Washington gas companies, being a
foreign corporation. The La Toilette
anti-merger law forbids such ownership
and control by q foreign corporation.
But the Westheld Trust is not cor
poration. 1t may be perfectly legal for
the Westfield Trust to own the Wash
ington gas properties, and 1t may be
perfectly reasonable for q concern that
owns the gas companies and can Dor
row thirteen million dollars from one
corporation and borrow six million dol
lars from the public not to be able to
meet 9 two-hundred-dollar printing bill.
But it is passing strange and confusing
to the man who pays his gas bill. The
financial structure that he must help TO
support, through his gas bills, will ex-
act every penny that 1t can. 1t needs
the money.
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