Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1937-07-22
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE
OHIO FUEL GAS COMPANY

Mr.. Frank Phillips, District Man
ager, The Ohio Fuel Gas Company
Athens, Ohio Dear Sir
The undersigned members or TN
McConnelsville Council have rea'
your letter to the editors or the 10
cal newspapers, over the slgnatui'
of your local manager, relative 7.
the gas question, and desire you -
use the same medium to answer
truthfully, if you can, the folioWihs
questions in order that our citlzeh'
may have all the facts.
First: Do not McConnelsville con
sumers, under your existing rates
pay an average of 83 cents per thou
sand cubic feet for gas, while malta
consumers pay the old So cents
rate?
Second: Will not McConnelsville
consumers for the next two years
pay one dollar for 500 cubic feet OF
gas. while Malta consumers pay onls
28 cents?
Third: Did you and Mr. Tharpe,
your executive vice president, raise
ly represent to the former coun'
Gil which passed the present rate or
dinance, that within ninety days the
consumers Of Malta would pay an 80
cent rate? And was not that state
ment untrue and known by you to De
untrue at that time?
Fourth: Did not the former coun-
Gil in good faith and acting upon
the advice of Attorneys Emmett
Abel and G.. o. McGonagle, adopt
that rate ordinance in April, 1880!
Fifth: Assuming that Council or
ders an appraisal by the Utilities
! Commission engineers (without cost
to the village) will you abide by the
result of that appraisal and correct
both your tax rate and your gas
rate?
Sixth: Is not such an appraisal
made necessary by the fact that you
have listed your McConnelsvlile
property with the County Auditor
for taxation purposes at $l7,ooo,
and upon your financial statement
for rate making purposes the same
property is appraised at $95, $50?
Seventh: Do you or your COM
pany have something to hide, that
you are waging desperate cam
paign to discredit local officials ana
to defeat an honest and Impartial
appraisal?
Eighth: Your statements that you
cannot be compelled to furnish gas
to the village and that no independ-
ent producers will furnish gas are
known to you to be false, are they
not?
Ninth: Could you produce the So
called business men who were given
the information outlined IN your let-
ter, and would you also disclose the
amount of stock they hold III your
company or it's affiliates?
Tenth: Was not your statement
that an executive of an independent
gas company openly Informed TINS
council that his company would not
furnish gas to McCOnnelsville, not
only false, but known by you TO De
false at the time you wrote 1t!
Eleventh: By your reference 10
.'erroneous statements by munlcl-
pal office holder" relative to the dlf-
ferential of $4,000 between your
tax valuation and your rate valua-
ton, do you now deny the honesty
of the records of the County AUD
itor's office and your own financial
statement?
Twelfth: Do you know that the
entire program of the council IN ap-
praising your property and IN rem
edying the present discrepancies 10
rates for gas and in your tax return
will cost the village ABSOLUIEL1
NOTHING, and that the only 'erron
eous statement of municipal oHlce
holder in this entire matter has Deen
an estimate that such an appralsai
might cost the town $500?
Thirteen: We note your lnslnua
s1 10 inn nnljfJH0
with this issue. Do you deny nav
ing spent $4,000 of gas company
money in Morgan county electionS
in the past eighteen months. ana
that you are now arranging a sia.e
of officials in both McConnelsvlue
and Malta and planning to spend
large sum of money for their elec-
ton?
Fourteen: Isn't it true that the
increased rate you are coiiectlng -
being dissipated in the polltlcaI ac-
tivities of the Ohio Fuel IN eiectlng
city administrations, members Oh
the state legislature, and appolntees
to the Utilities Commission, anu
have you not openly boasted tnat
you defeated the Mayor or Chill
cothe and other public officials VINO
nave rcIuS0u 10 10 lAC UAuNAA6 -
the gas company?
The foregoing questions should be
answered by you in the next issue
of the papers, and we trust that you
will answer each of them briefly and
honestly Eyes"
The voters of McConnelsville are
too intelligent and have suffered at
yor hands too long, to be fooi-
ed by the persistent misrepresenta-
tions of your officials, and both this
Council and your company should
agree that The Ohio Fuel Gas Com
pany should either bear its falr
share of the tax burden of this COM
munity, or should pass on to the
consumers a proportionate share OF
it's savings in taxes, in the form OF
reduction of the gas rate.-very
truly yours, A. r. Adrean, w. r.
johnson, H. C. Kennard, w. e. Med
ley, Byrl Ford, DR.. c. S. Dye. A. b.
Mercer, Mayor.
To TnCATE IN CALIFORNIA