Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-27
WOOD TO TESTIFY
|. At GAS HEARINGS
ON MISSING CHART
Company Head Prepared to
Answer Utilities Body Under
Oath, He Says.
NAMES MAY EXPLAIN
OWNERSHIP QUESTION
Public Disclosures Would Be Fol-
lowed by Commissioners De-
cision as to Prosecution.

President George A. C. Wood OF the
Wash 'ngton Gas Light Co Will De CUES
toned at open hearings before the Puo-
lie Utilities Commission tomorrow aIteI
noon on the disappearance from the ga.
company files of an organization chart,
said to be one of the links In cnau
of evidence connecting the COMPANY
with the Central Public Service CoI I
poration Mr.. Wood said yesterday Una
he would be prepared to answer CUES,
lions on this subject under oath, pu'
declined to be quoted on IT 1or news
paper publication.
1t is said that the chart, wanted oS
Assistant Corporation Counsel Wlllan
A. Roberts as part of the evidence IN
an investigation to determine the pres
emit ownership of the gas company, was
prepared by r. H. Morrison. an ac-
countant sent to washington to revise
its accounting system. Mr.. Morrison
was sent down by the Central Public
Service Corporation. and in several OF
the letters about his mission, now II
evidence in the case. he is referred 10 as
'our Mr. Morrison" Otnclals OF tnf
Central Public Service Corporation testl-
fed, however, that Mr.. Morrison really
never had any connection with that cor
poration. except as an employe OF q
from time to time.
Tells of Seeing Names.
Mr.. Roberts said that he saw the
chart on one of his visits to the gas
company's Offices, and that it showed
Morrison as controller of the gas COM
pany. with Richard A. Ennis, who has
been the company's controller for many
years. as one OF his subordinates. r
A. Gallagher, controller of the Central
Public Service Corporation, who sent
Morrison to Washington, said he was
quite sure Morrison entertained no such
ambitions. and that he had never seen
the chart. Its absence is thus far I'M
explained.
Most of the questioning Of the re-
naming two days of the hearing viii
be devoted to getting from Mr.. Wood
and from Walter M Russell, chief en-
gineer of the local company, an ac-
count of interference by the Central
Public Service Corporation with de-
velopment plans Of the Washington Gas
Light Co This was strongly limited al
during the hearing on the question Of
gas presSures, and officials of the Cen
trail Public Service Corporation at the
present hearing have admitted frequent
advising OF the Washington company
issued any instructions. 1t was testi-
fed, nevertheless, that all of the i'm
provement plans OF the local company
we're scanned by the Executive Com
mittee of the G. p S. and approved
before they were put into execution
and that the plans underwent notable
changes in the process. One of the
plans was to spend 81 ,000, 900 on i'm
proving the east station of the loca
company This plan never went through
and more details concerning what hap
pened to it are expected at the sessions
tomorrow and Tuesday.
Submission Of Records.
After the public hearings the Utili-
ties Commission is expected to content
itself with submitting the record of the
case to the District Commissioners "fol
such action as they see fit to take. ;
This is the official way of suggesting
that an action be instituted by the Com
missioners under the La Toilette anti
merger law to compel sale of the ma
jority stock in the gas company, by its
present owners. The law, which was
passed at time when the utilities COM
mission was not in existence, makes il
the duty Of the District Commissioners
or the Department of Justice, or the
u. s. Attorney for the District, to brine
the prosecutions.
The law forbids acquisition, holding
controlling or voting of more than 2C
per cent of the stock in local utilities
corporations by foreign utility or hold
ing corporations. All of the. testimony
In the case so far places legal ownership
Of the majority of stock in the gas COM
pany in common law trust, the Wash.
ington and Suburban Companies, which
is in turn owned by another trust the
Westfield Trust, which is in turn owned
by Col Alfred E, Peirce, president OF
the Central Public Service Corporation
The Central Public Service Corporation
however owns notes in large denomina.
tons made by the Westfield Trust, anC
the hearing has dwelt at length on the
part played by that corporation and It's
officers in regulating the business of the
local company.