The Oregon daily journal., March 01, 1906, Page 3, Image 3

THE OREGON DAILY- JOURNAL PORTLAND, THURSDAY- EVENING, MARCH 1, v 1806.
GAS COUPAUY DE11IES EVERY CHARGE
ilGlilOST
. V .
Says It Has Cold Dollars or Full
"Value'lor JEVry;Shars
A; of Stock.,
v .'
' HAS NOT. BEEN CRAFTING :
THROUGH SLOT MACHINES
It Not GettSntTRIch pnTpepoaitt
nffers'tn R-n Plint n CitY it Any
Time ' for Fair Conaideratlon--
Scores Oregonlan for Unfairness
1 At the meeting of th council lnve
tlgation committee last night Jo eon
; elder' the affairs of tbd'TOrtland Oas
-company snd look tnto It 'management,
r. Anwnintf - MntUA tn the pharrs
; .hlok have been mad. 'agamst by thai
j. Oregonlan. denying each allegation, , and
giving reasons. The answer la full xol-
lowsr ' . -
To tha Honorable the Council of the
City of Portland. Oregon
The charges made by the Daily Ore
gonlan against the Portland Oaa com
s pany. .divested of personalities, art sub
stantially t -, -i . ,-
Ftrst-vrnat thta company has wa
tered its stock. This Is not true. The
k- company haa got gold 'dollars or. full
- Talus ror every share or stock outgtand
j ing, ; . .' v ' ,'.
. Second That this company haa "been
S Browing . rich on deposit exacted for
, thause of . meters. - This IS not true.
The deposits are only .required in the
rase of atrangera and those -who will
ajive no guaranty, ;-. ; - -.
- Third That thla, company haa been
working some kind -of -graft-through
, slot meters. This is not true. The use
x of slot meters la not encouraged by thla
company. "" . ....... ... ........ .. t ,-
Fourth That-thla company "is1 pro-
'. poalng a reduction in price in prder to
nead orr investigation. Thla is not true.
-The price Of gas haa heretofore been
-voluntarily reduced and will ba reduced
again. In. accordance with thla pelley-a
T" "T heretofore announced by this comoan v
; Fifth That thj gas -furnished by the
company la of low candle power. This
la not true.. It la above the average,
though It has fluctuated' In quality and
probably will agalic Perfection la not
claimed. .
-' i Sixth That this eompany Increases
,- the pressure In order to force a greater
, consumption of gas. To any ona fa
miliar with gas distribution, and with
the pressure used in this city,, the state-
i ment is absurd. The company, by ex
' : cesalve pressure, is the -greatest loser
through unaccounted-for gas. The con
sumer can absolutely control his con
; sumption by tha atopcoclr at the Jet.
': This company deelrna at this time fo
,' rail the attention xf the committee and
. the publlo to tha following facta: Thla
..company la a public. utility corporation,
. , and it ought to be open to investlga
. tlon'ln the interests of tha public. That
i "vaatlgatlon. should ba a fair one to as--'T
certain fault a and remedies. - It should
;. - ; not be a mere vehicle for personal spite.
4 As. this company haa.. a publlo fran
rhlae, so baa the Otf gonlan. . The duty
' .-oX Xh.OrsgonUii to-tall tha truth la aa
- great as the duty of this company to
, rurniaH boneet .gaaT. The duty of the
i!. Oregonlan not to depreclate-aird'rnln any
great enterprise-In this city la aa areat
...aa tbe duty of this company-to a-tve
the publlo gaa at the Joweet fair price.
'-. Thla company will never oppose any
' fair Investigation by the -council - or
f other body representing the cltlsens of
-Portlaadi And -In-the-oplnloti-o this
: company the untrue, exaggerated and
iBailclpu. statements of the Oregonlan
were not necessary to any honest in-
vestlgatl" 'v'r t the Interest of the
, TJubnrr Such Investigation -' upon any
" r )ionest complaint would have been met
In a friendly spirit by this company at
'. any time. . For It cannot be made too
eraphatlo that thla company recognises
the rights which tha publlo has In It
. -- - and ita dutiss to the public. Thla com
pany recognises that . whenever? a mu
. . nlclpallty dealrea to own and operate
V ita own gas works It .ought to have the
'right to do so; and thla company, la
' willing at any lme to turnjTrlo the
; city for' municipal ownership and opera
tion Its entire plant af that fair price
..which - both . constitutional , right , and
" common, fairness "between men guaran-
, tees. " ... ' V
This company Is not a monopolist
but has'ompetitora f or lofh light and
power, and, its own semaniiuerean aa
jwell a what "it bellevee-to be its duty
to the publlo oompels It to give the beat
. service It can at the loweet rates. It
1 1 nftlTTntiTimers and haa waves vetlAiunist 1. Ift04 zMXt : Sftonft
-been In a fixed condition, but is always
ng its plant and endeavoring . to
Improve 1L Therefor. It does not hope
to always please everyone, but It doee
the best it can. It has never claimed
to give perfect satisfaction. : It wel-
comes svery bonest complaint aa tending
rvoppen Its own eyes to Its own peaeible
defects, and It always has and will con
tinue to try .to reduce the complaints.
. As it must be perfectly apparent-irom
. the undignified personalities and venom
of fjte Oregonlan's attack that the Inter
est bf the publlo has not been thereal
motive of this attack, thla eompany sub
mits that the Integrity of purpose of the
- Oregonlan and ita honest effort to pub
lish only true facts in the Interest of
the publlo Is morally quite as much on
.trial before .the -people as la ths effi
ciency of this company.. Instead of
- producing proof cm the charges of graft,
dlshonestmethods and- bad gaa, made
over .and over again by the Oregonlaa
In its columns, the Oregonlan finding
that It must be the complainant In thla
:' rase la seeking to befog and obscure
the real laauea by aummonlng this com
pany to brine before the committee 4i
franchises, all Ita tiobka and documents
showing amount of money received from
' sale of gas, all Us book and documents
showing money expended for manu
Tacture of aras. all books and documents
showing money expended for construc:Tlhat manner they had accumulated a
tlon and maintenance, all capital stock
books, all receipts and vouchors for
' money expended for . conetruetlon or
maintenance, and Ita tax receipts for
1 ivajrears jiaat wThla jon?Pny..rlinnothB. fact the entire -amount that aaid om-4
- see where tnese documents snea ine
' sllgbtetlght on the Issues msde bjr
. the Oregonlan; Dut wnenever ins com
..mlttee shall conclude fhat? sum tnfor
... matlon la nacasssry It aillJnnd that tiITO.t
, franchises of this company are puniio
arts printed In the-reforda of thta atata
and as accessible to tha Oregonlan oy to
any cltisen aa to thla company; that the
' assessment and taxes paid by this com-
JIRVING'S BUCHU WAFERS;
t-nr iff KUnsf TrtiiBIHTHno pals 1s Hie ks-.
'ni tram f . afhtimn Is the erlne ImpflMlhle
' ' and srtuallr rebuild ths sbrunksa wall of the
i. kMners. T- euntsln Jot wkst Is wanted tn
r. remore the dUM-SM,, heal the ears spot tnl
f, rtilha ta whole orsan. TheT Br fsll
1 in erlns rVt wllMa a fsw hours sad cars
ta stay eSrad. Sole at BO a boa hy T
U. 4. Rrlaner Cto imisTtsta, J8I
. Tkiit st sole agents for Voraiana, Or.
IT BK OREGOtlllII v
pany are public' records and open to
any ons, aa ta the assessment of every
other taxpayer. The auditor of the city
has "been , asked Jo 'inspect . tha bopka
of this oompany and make hta public re
port, to bring all these books., paper
aod voucher before , the committee,
covering -a they -do a period of aaarly
14 years, and deposit them here would ba
a useless thing, would seriously cripple
tha business of this company. and would
certainly result la much, complaint:. The
present Issues ara whether or -not"' tha
statements made "by the Oregonlan are
that evidence should first be directed,
and in support of the foregoing denial
this '"impariy nmlt In separata
articles its more .deAnue; and extended
answer aa follows: -..--i,- . .
Watering ajtook- .
Oh the lzth.day of January. 106,
tinder a ' heading- reading aa follows,
"Greedy Gas draft WIU Cut Price
Vlt Will Also Further Water Its Stock
to Conceal Ita Dividends": '.'Promises
mei)ollar Rate" ; -""in order to
hide He big profits from the consumers
t'' J,lt:i'. .5"
ao again," said Dally Oregonlan printed
published and circulated amongst other
things In connection with certain repre
sentations as to ths increase In the capi
tal stock of said .company set out In a
circular letter Issued by said company
ron January I. 1I0. the following state
ment, "and (meaning aaid gas oompany)
refralna from explaining satisfactorily
why last year the capital 'stock wits
ralaed or watered 140,000, and why
S26O.0O0 more water la to be added next
month. If not to afford a means of con
cealing big prof i tanAnd- thera are other
cunning trlcka in the pamphlet, made
up to deceive an easy public," and fur
ther states. "A favorite method of cor
poratlons that make big- profits off the
public, of concealing their, graft, la that
of Increasing or watering! their capita)
stock so that the heavy earnings can- be
disbursed tn dividends. I Con
sequently the gaa company-swelled its
capital stock o as to keep down the
dividend rate and hide- its profits from
the .public Thla method j la pursued by
public service corporations all over the
United 8tate In order to, pull the wool
over the eyes of the public." That tn
and by aald article the aald Oregonlan
charged and Intended to charge that in
the year 1905 the aaid aras xompaoy .In
creased its capital stork 1400,000 with
out receiving value therefor, and In-
tended In the month of rebruary. lto,
to Increase It to the extent of 1260.000
more without receiving value therefor,
and that nothing was paid for said stock
so Issued In 1905, . and - that nothing
would be paid for tha stork Issued In
10, In order that aald company might
declare and psy -dividends thereon and
tajthat way deceive the. publlo by pre
tending to declare low dividends while
In truth and In fact they were paying
large , dividends on the actual Investment.'-.
' V
'That thereafter and on the thirtieth
day of January. 1000, on the ssme sub
ject matter, under the beading "'How
to Btop the Gas Graft," and heading a
paragraph "Watere Ita Btoek." the said
Dally Oregonlan . printed, published and
circulated the following statement:
"The Portland Gas company ,ls pursu
ing the usual stock-watering plan that
is adopted by public service, corpora
tions to conceal exorbitant earnings so
that the people cannot demand lower
rates. ' By Injecting water Into Its stock
and falling to retire 1tsr bondw the com
pany -pays -big dividends without 'rais
ing Ita dividend rate; for example,-. In
the last two years It has Inflated Its
capital stock from $400,000 tov 11,600.
000 and kept ths dividend rata on the
stock down to 4 per cent, thereby dis
bursing among the stockholders exorbi
tant profits more thsn twice ss large as
Swo years -ago under - the guise of
legitimate dividends.'.' Other reference
are made thereto, tha "Intent and purpose
of the same being to create the Im
pression smongst tbe customers of said
company and the publlo generally that
the . officers and stockholders 'of said
oompany wsrs deliberately, intentionally
and purposely Issuing stock of said
company without value forHhe purpose
of being-1- enabled : thereby to charge
exorbitant-amounts for gas consumed
in order to pay dividends on the stock
so Issued.- That saia statements - so
published, and ..circulated and each of
them ia false end untrue. That In truth
and In fact the number of ahares issued
by said oompany since August 1. If OS,
la as st out below, snd thst for saoh
and every share-oo- issued said eompany
received the par value thereof, to-wit;
One hundred dollars -4n money and no
watered or other stock was issued or
issued for any, conalaeratlon. than aa
aforesaid. - .
; '. "" JtoaibrTsf ' K.ont
Pate ;. et Bbrfc Y
On. as a emit
Anftist 1. lo3.:..J.l(W -' . $100 " t210.000
ISunaeripUoDS for two-yesr bond eoaTcrted
Inte stork.)
February l.-lsnO, .I.tXH) too - 2.V).ouo
Fsbrasry 1, .2,800 - - 100 . 360.000
' Tnuii :T.7rr.T.T7. .". r. . r.-. . . . . aoo.ooa
That ssld auraa of money so received
have been used in acquiring property,
bettermnnta and making extensions In
connection with the plant of said com-
of watering stock that tha. aald paper
referred to In the statements just here
inabove quoted. - That-as' a matter of
fact there la now a continuous demand
for improvements and new mains, par
ticularly In that portion of the city ly
ing on the eaat aide of the Willamette
iHver and Improvements are now in con
ftemplation involving the expenditure of
not less tharf $174,000 during tbe year
U0 on aaid east side. .
Deposits by the Oonsnmers of lCoasy
; T-Vt Wttk, the Oaa Company. - ,
That on the fifth day of January,
f lo)i,-the-sald dally Oregonlan printed.
published ' and circulated a statemsnt
headed "Grow Rich Off of Public's
Money." and In -said article made the
following statement: '33aa meterln
14.661; value or gas meters to
company; $(0,8(0; deposited by tbe pub-.
He for use of meters, $87,766": and in
said lartlcle' further charted that aald
company " required " deposit for Ita
meters from Its consumers and that in
fund amounting at th date aald article
wasvPUbJUhed to . $67,766. That aald
statement so made and published Is
false and untrue. That tn truth, and
pany . had on deposit from gas ron-
aiimara nn " the first day of January.
1904. waa the sum of $$.880.15 and aald
sum was not deposited for the use of
obtaining many years before the pres-.
ent owners ofaald company acquired
tha same, said money Is carried under
aft account entitled "Meter Deposits."
That It la the custom of aald company
tt -nil times where a customer Is tin
nwtt to riufre either satisfactory
reference or a email deposit to covsr
ths payment of such bills as may ac
crue.' and said sum l the accumulation
of .deposits so made. That as a tnattsr
of fact -the officers of the company pre
fer and encourage In every way' they
ran the furnishing of 'references, or
guarantees rathecihan the making of
deposits. That during the year ltOK,
notwithstanding aald deposits, tha aaid
Everyone Should Know How lo
-U- Cure Croup and Be Ready .
i-rrl-W'teo tbe Attack v
" Coraes; ; r
A Kotber'a Darling avda4 Want
he Baya.
TMOUTX AOTIOsT aTBOBBflAJlT.
feel that God haa blessed Dr. Acker
with snaclal knawleda-e to DreDare that
rtrand medicine called Or. Acker's Eng.
lah. Remedy for Throat and L.ung
Troubles. .. It savea children every urns
when they are attacked by Croup. Every
mother should know about It, -end I will
tell you about my experience. I had a
darling boy of four years to die with
CrouD. "My doctor did all he could, but
1 thachlld.couJd.jnot be jnade tovomlt,
That was before
i Knew or ur. acner a
After I did hear of it
English Remedy,
r,-mnnha-nil rlrl vii stricken with
Croup. I gave her this medicine, and in
Ida nf twentv minutes she vomited and
was better right away. During tha win
ter aha had Crouo four, timea, and it
brought her through each time all right.
I, myself, had Bronchitis pretty bad
and Dr. Aoker"a English Remedy cured
ma -completely. - Before I close, I want
to tell you about my neighbor's boy,
named Jobs Nana.' He had Bronchitis,
too. He got worse all the time. My
husband wsnt over to his home and told
htm ahmit mv caaa. Than his mother
went to town, got a SO-cent bottle of
n Acker's English Remedy and 'he
took it. He came over to our liouss" a
few daya later and aald ne waa ail rigni
and also said two. doses relieved him
from the start. You can understand
by my letter why I think so much of
Dr. Acker's English Remedy. . I repeat
that God's . blessing must really have
been bestowed - upon Dr. Acker.
(Signed) Mrs. John Teager,. Rochester.
Pa." -' . - - --i--
. No need to-add anything more to
euch testimony only to say that Dr.
Acker'a English Remedy is the fore
most medicine of the world for all
throat and lung troubles. Ton can
prove this for yourself and it will not
cost you one penny if It falls. All drug
gists sell Dr. Acker's English Remedy
on a positive guarantee to do all we
claim for It or your money will be re
funded to you at once. Could you ask
ua to do more? Try It today.
- Be sure to ask tot
BB. ACXXB" BaTOtlSX 1
, - - 'a ra.'l. :
AU Druggists tBo, aoo, Bl-oo.
company - lost accounts amounting ' to
$1,717.47. t.
Blot Keter.
' On the fifth of January, 1900, the aald
Daily Oregonlan printed, published and
cireu-leesd'
"Then followed the alot machine metera.
It Is tha aim of the -oompany to place
slot meters tn every-house, and In a
great many Instances It .has prevailed
upon consumers to allow them to be
placed in their homes.- Gltb-tongued
agents for the company made house-to
house canvasses In behalf of the alot
meters, with the plausible story - that
when It cents, is deposited In' one of
tbe meters the consumers got full value
in gaa Those, who . have - used sucM
meters soon got wise to the fact that
they were furnished with about 1$
cents' worth of gas for their 2$ cents,
and tney also learned that they were
not receiving the. benefit of the reduc
tion te $1.1 6 -per 1.000 feet., but were
paying the old rate of $1.60 per 1,000
feet.! That the facta. so published In
reference to . said alot metera are so
commingled that' they have to be sep
arated In order to make an intelligent
denial or explanation. The gas com
pany denies that its agents at sny tlms
ever made a bouse to house canvass for
tha use of said metera and deny that
they encourage their use. That said
metera ara placed, sometimes In houses
where customers rent their rooms to
other tenants who desire the gas com
pany to collect for aa used in such
rooms in this way. That in other cases
said metera are used at the request of
the eustomer and In other cases where
customers desire. gaa but do not wish to
give a reference or make a deposit. Thai
It la true that the price for gaa used
through aald alot meter Is fixed at the
present time at IU0 per thouaand, but
that no deception or fraud or mlarep
reaentatlon of any kind waa aver made
to. any cuatomer or uaer of auch meter
as to the amount of gaa he waa to re
solve for a - given amount of money.
That on the contrary, in order that they
may understand the use of them and
the amount of gaa they would secure
for their SS cants, the facts ara always
fully stated. That the amount of gaa
a customer receives at present through
' alot meter rorg s centa isapoutiBD
feet, .That aald "alot metera cosFabout
t wloa Who - prleer-ofan-ordinajpy meter.
That there la considerable loss In the
use -of them through parties causing
them, to work by false .tokens . and
spurious coins and that additional time
la required in looking after, the rol and
for these , reasons the price was not
made the same - that where a cua
tomer uses a regular meter and paya Ma
bill regularly.
That O" the eleventh flay or. J-nruarr. I
ltOS. Under
a heading Hlot Meters
V"How the Greedy Gas
Latest Steal.1
Company Filches From ths Public by
This Method." said paper published th
following statsmenU- 'At a, conserve,
tlva estimate axhe aald company haa
about 6.000 of theee metera In Portland,
using from' 1,000 to $.000 cuble feet of
gai each month. Taktngtha"maxlmuin
figure of .000 subscribers and eetlmst
lngv the gas consumed through each
meter at $.000 .cubic feet a month, th
gaa company will thereby receive an ex
cess from escb subscriber of 70 cents
a month. A total sum of $$,600 on the
month, or a total of $42,000 a year. In
10 years it will be aeen the unsuspect
ing patrons of the gas company would
be filched under this conservative esti
mate of very close, to half av million
dollara."
" That under the heading "Will Probe
This Steal," satd paper' states: - "This
phase of the company's dealings .with
the publlo will probably be included In
the items to be prooed by a special
committee on Investigation recently ap
pointed by -the council." ,
That aald statement so set out above
is false and untrue, and was made for
the purpose of creating the Impression
In the minds of the customers of said
company and of the publlo generally
that they ' wwr being wronged and
stolen-' from by said gas company. That
aa a matter-of-fact In January, -1804,
the .number of prepayment metera in
use- was 1,207 and not 6,000. . That the
amount of gas consumed per meter for
said month was 711 cubic feet and not
t,000' euhle feet -and-tho-average- uae-of
gaa through aald metera per month for
that year itftfi waa about 0tt nuhla feet. I
Conducted on safe, lines that have stood -the test "of time. Profits
of the business paid to policyholders at the end of each year. '
L. Samuel, Manager, Macleay Building, 288 Washington St.,
Portland, Oregon.
'--, I 1 .V' ... '
That lnateadof there being an exeea
collected from each subscriber af 70
cents a month, amounting to a total
aum of $$,600. or any other sum. ths
enllreBJnountot, cash received. fromJ
said meters for the month of Deceraoer.
106. was $:,$41.80, or an average of
$1.0$ a meter, and that' aald gaa ooat
the customers using said meters lees
than $1.60 Her thousand, cubic feet.
' BedaettoB la trio. ' - '
On the 12th dsy of January. 1804, tha
aid Deity-Oregonlttn published and
printed under the following . heading,
'Greedy Gaa Graft Will Cut Price."
"Promise .'Dollar Rate." the following
statement:. ."Extortion by tha ga graft
has ralaed such , a storm of popular
wrath that the graft will try to pacify
-the people by reducing the rate from
$1.15 a 1.000 feet to $1. Aa already
pointed, out ' by tha Oregonlan sven a
$1 rate will make a fat rake-off for
the 'ga company, because the cost. of
supplying tha gas as shown by expense
half that price.". "The get-rlch-qulck
raft t'-r'ai arnrdr huldi ta the f'rm
of Portland and hopea that by giving
up a' trifling shars of Ita profits it will
be able to allay the popular indlgraae
tlon."-- - - - .
Tha aald company denies 'thai It Is
a greedy or any kind of a graft, or that
It baa promised a reduction for the pur
pose of allaying -popular wrath or te
pacify the people r for any other pur
pose than In accordance with Its aettled
pollCTvJif reducing-the prlc to th con
sumer . aa rapidly as ths same can be
dona, and denies the ooet of supplying
gaa la leea than one half of the present
price" or propogedredoction. On the-;
contrary, allege It la largely in axoeea
thereof. That the following voluntary
red uctiettsltr price have been made by
said company since the year 1$81:
" Price per thousand from .
August, IMS, to May, 1H8. .............. .$280
May, 1863. to August, 1000 126
August, 1000, te August, lo.. ....... T. , 1W
August) MOt. te August. 1004. . 1.64
Auust. 1K04. to MoTsmber. 1906 l a)
November, 1SOS 1.18
- That regardless of this Investigation,
It la and was the Intention of the eom
pany to make, further reductions In the
price of gas as rapidly as the business
and consumption thereof warrants, and
this company haa already, in pursuance
of. this polloy, announced its Intention
of'raaklng a reduction of $1 per 1.00Q
feet dining tha current, year. That thla
reduction can only be safely made and
In based upon an Increased consumptions
of- gas." Thst -aa - compared" with the
price charged for gaa throughout the
United States In cities of like also and
similar-coildltlonfh pric charred"
for gaa In thla city ia aa low and lower
than In the majority of euch cltlea.
Cbargwa for storting Bteaara.
That amongst various other charges
made and published in said paper are
some to the effect that charges are
mails ., .by sald.,jCOtDPAny..fpr. jstUag
meters; that It encouraged Ita work
men to aa pipe the houses as to create
leaka and that headlines published in
Said paper during- the time mentioned
were so worded as to charge that "gas
consumers are bunkoed," aa well as
other statements too numerous- to- re
peat, reflecting on the Integrity of Its
officers and aald company, and its busi
ness was constantly and contlnuonaly
preferred to as a "graft" and "afeal."
xnai aaia onarges were maoe in suen
a way that it la difficult to make' spe
cific answers thereto. Thla company
alleges . that - auch statemente and
charges are-Talse. untrue and malicious
and thereabout allege that they place
meters In tha houses of all consumers
without cost; .that they -test and will
test the piping in houses where meters
at;e placed without coat; tbat In every
wiy" possible they seek to avoid leaka
or other causes for complaint; that they
maintain at very "considerable- ex-4
penes' a force for tha purpose of 1n
vestlgatlng complaints and testing
meters,. snd. while as afact there are
eome meters i which do not register ao
eurately, t-heee Instances are rare, and
said company seeks to. maintain and
does maintain their meters so that the
measure - corroctly-end only correctly
the amount of gaa consumed. - That
during the year 1805 said eompany ex
pended for the - purpose of setting me
ters, ; investigating complaints, - testing
pipes and-'work of a like nature thf
sum of $11,894.8.
--rrr "" Quality of OaaC , "
That said paper lias published com
plaints aa to the quality of the gaa
furnished by this company. In reepectj
to' tnis complaint saia company alleges
and will show that the gaa it furnishes
Is of as high a candle-power aa that
furnished by any gaa company on thla
coast "and much higher than furnished
by ths majority of auch plants. Bald
company admits that at all times said
gaa has not been of the same or equal
candle-power. That there has been
hie beyond -tho-f
control of the company at the Ume to
handle; such: as large rmprovements
then and now under way, varlattona in
the character of oil, etc That not
withstanding these dlsadvantagea more
or leas temporary the candle-power of
said - gaa has - been-substantially- main
tained at from $1 to II candle-power.
. Fartloolar Complaints,
. That aald paper printed, published and
circulated a number 01 Individual oom
plalnta respecting the charges made by
said company for gas and quality there
of. Some of aald complaints were
anonymoua, and All that could be were
investigated, and thla eompany will
submit under-oath the result of such in
vestigations. -This company has about
14,000 consumers and It la ita purpose
not.xtnly-t satisfy said -consumers- but
to Induce-further consumption - of its
product with new customers. That It
baa active, energetic; and Intelligent
competition both for lighting, heating
and for power, and the officers snd
stockholders of this company are more
interested than by any possibility any
one else could be In aeelng that its pa
trons receive proper service and courte
ous treatment, and are satisfied both as
to quality and price.- That while con
ceding It makea mlatakes, and while
conceding- that it is possible that those
not familiar with - its business may
think that if theylhad It in chargethelr
would operate, it differently. It does
claim and allege that there Is nov ad
van tags taken of ita patronanmd that
ita officers labor diligently to keep And
maintain only.frlendly .relations with
its customers and to fire them satisfac
tion.
' That since the organisation of aald
company to and including the first day
of January,' 10. Ihera. baa .been paid
dividends amounting In all to 81 per
cent, as follows: '
10$ dividend per cent. ..
1803 dividend I per cent.
'1004 dividend per cent.
lfl dividend "per cent.
. t OoBolnsloB,
Thla company instate and it thinks
every Intelligent cltisen wlltrrecogniae,
TTI
UJ
, . -
' . '
Artistic
Hctere
I I ... ..'.;...,',. . , , .
. C " XlH1 Great
hTtY . .Vjr-HOl ' Tarn
nxwi i- !. . w i t
.15,000 yards aH-6ilk Me9saline ' Ribbon, 5
, :ncne3 wide; the brilliant soit! finish. The
"ribbons that are so popular for millinery
purposes, -sashes,: belts and neckwear.
T Most extensive rangeof ? newest colors:
', ever shown. A superb value- at -'85c;
most decided bargains, at;.. efciC
Fashion's Favorite Wash
, Mercerized, Poptinette 20c.
- One of the very prettiest wash goods of the
ninn A hio-hlv mrceriied cloth with OODlin
"wearevSolidtrolorsrT'avyr
4 l.l a
ngnt Diue, green, lan, wnue. .
Novelty Ginghams 18c
Hardly-trr be--distinjruished 'from-theTnost-expensive
- foreign productions" Checks . and
plaids in a most Varied assortment of colorings. ,
jyew Colored Dress JSoods
' SM OF POPULAR NEW 50c DRESS GOODS .
5M
44-Inch Gray Panamas, plain and plaid, tailor suitings; sll - wool f flfl
beiges, vlgoreaux. etc all shades of gray; special at. yard........
New French and Novelty Plalda. exclusive atylea, at. per yard. 51.00
Et-lnch Cravenette Coverts,' now colors, per ysrd ;,.......... .Sl.TS
Novelties In Gray rress Goods: We show ths latest weavea and newest de
alms invisible plaids; checks, stripes, mixtures, overplaids. In light snd
i-medlum grays, twilight gray and the popular black and white tXKQ
effects; pMeee--raefronupejysTd1.00 to. ...... .,...,fr.r."'v
: . : , NFW BLACK DRESS GOODS i m -i
44-lnch Slack Tropical Panamas, a pew weave, lightweight, per.
431nch Black Wooi Taffe'taa, per yard. Se to. ......... .1
44-lnch Black Shadow Check. and Plaid Tolle; very stylish and .
-new, per yard. $1.00 and. ...... .i ........... ...VL. ...... f.
44-lnch Black French VoUee. $1.00. $1. and..... 1. ........
44-lnch Black Shadow, Check Sicilians ...
a, i-k T..k iii.wiMt Meirnaa. Cunella. Artsola. Prunella. Peau
d'Boie, Bolld Convent Serge, eta. per yard ... ..-...u. .....
44-inch English Mohair Sicilian, high lustsr; too quslltyl per
a yard. ......... i .......... i
that though Ita method of eonduotlns;
Its business may not meet the approval
of everybody; though men of-ea great
skUl and sxperlence aa those who are
now running the business of this, com
pany may honestly criticise, and If thev
had the matter In charge would do dif
ferently; yet. after all, ao long aa tha
methods Dursued by the present mats-.
)rwnOTt ro honest, being responslbls
for results they must De me juages ji
how they Will run their own business,,;
That If this, council-neuevee uiai me
time haa-come when the city of Port
land ahould own Its gaa plant and the
bualness of producing gaa for ths bene
fit of the cltlsens should be tn the
hands of a commission- representing the
cltlsens, then this council should say
so and steps should be. -taken to that
and. and thla company- will meet such
a mdveTSPTubUc-sptrtted :way, sees.
Ing to protect Itself only tn one thing,
that it gets the same fair price from
the city that it would get from any
other purchaser, - If mere Is complaint
that thla company Is -violating Its duty
to the publlo, it would expect this com
mittee to be given full Informalon as
tor' alt thos:thlnsawhIen"c6noern the
public- and are needed to- protect - the
people'e interests. But it does not
recognise the right or wisdom of Inves
tigating Ita business except for an bon
eet public motive and only along the
linea Indicated by the necessity of serv
ing the public For example, in the
matter of coat of gas, the bare actual
cost of manufacturing gaa can be ar
rived at within a certain margin with
eomoarattve ease and certainty, but the
kcompertaon between one city's cost and
another's 1 worthless, because laoor
i may be cheaper, fuel may be cheaper.
L0UtpuU.muchgreater, acceaaiDlllty to
natural gas or petroleum may oe avail-,
able, and that City which lias fh great
eat number of consumers per mile of
main will always hsve the, ad vantage,
1 others thtrnrs-belngequal.over' a city
with fewer consumers per mile of main.
But the mere cost of making tbe gaa la
not all of the coet of the gaa, so far as
furnishing It to the consumer Is con
cerned. To this eost of manufacture
must be added laying pipe In new dis
tricts, vearlv -depreciation in plant, re
pairs and other Items very difficult of
exact determination ana on wnicn non
rat men could differ. - This oompany
has eadeavored-to make the coat of gaa
to the consumer as low aa possible, con
sistent with the full and safe protection
fof its stockholders and bondholders... ft
has received full par value on ita bonus
mA It. slnrk. sad has nut' 41
reeds into this plant, and It haa steadily
reduced Its price whenever It was
thought It could be safely done. Tbeee
facts are the best evldenca-of the in
tegrity of Its Intentions, r In the future.
ss in the peat, it will voluntarily reduce
the price of gaa when with justice to
Its bondholders and stockholders It can
do an. it recosnlses 'Its duty to the
public but U also, owes its duty to those
whose money It has solicited and need
for the benefit of the public.
PORTUAND OAS COMPANY.
By C. r. ADAMS, President
, The North Jpend Harbor advocates
the consolidation nf that town. Marsh-
fjfiaM and Empire City., 4
You Can Save
of
Kid
SU5t$1.50,iU5
KID CLOVES
TViia ia oreit Ki'cr
H tloLKi& Glovtii SWOapair to select from all sixes ; all
I V colors. One and two-claso Paeue Glace kid Rlovesi
oointsUtciune;
tans, modes, reds, grays, white, cream, black. These
are the best kid glove bargains we -have ever offered.
-"We had planned this sale
are such superb bargains
sale began this morning
2500 Pairs $1.25, $1.50, $1.15 Kid Gloves at 98c
Point de Venise Lace Capes
: And Novelty Collars, $6 Values; $1.$5
iPoint de . Venise and Novelty '..Lace: Capes and
"Collars ; 6 to 12 inches deep, In white, cream
- and ecm. This season's yerr newest de-
" signsr-Xalues to $6.00; for
this special sale at. ..... .......
6-lnch AlWnen Suiting 35c
- ' An- excepionai-value. in an all-linen fabric
Medium weight. Colors are light blue, pink.
redr black,-pink,-
tan, Alice blue.
.Bhepherd riaida, all awlora. -'Vlalda
and Shepherd Flald Bio hairs.
Bew Flaids with solored dots.
All-wool rrenon. Ohalllea. '
44-lneh BngUsh Mohair iotllaas. ' ,
Tailor Baitings In Bew Mlztares.
Ail -wool Albatross and Bum's VeUlnga.
All-Wool Colored Fanamaa.
$1.00
:. .sijm
$1.55
...91M
...SlS
.11.25
; . 9c
JWfelabk Prrparationfor As
similating iteFoodandBetfuIa
ling (be Stooaths andBowels of
Promotes DigesHon.CheerPu
ness arid ResLConlalns neither
OpiumXorphine norfliieraL
1VOT 2fARC OTIC.
AojjM-siftvxiJmBx
Aperfecl Remedy forConstipa
Tlon.Sour Stonwh, Diarrhoea
Worms .CoTTVutsiorts .feverish-:
ness arid Loss OF SLEEP.
FaCSunilo Sidnahtra of J.
v XEW YORK.
WORK OF VOLUNTEER
FIREMEN APPRECIATED
(Rssrlsl Dtajtc Is The amraal.t
' Adama, Or.. March 1. M. A. Fer
guson, chief of the Adams volunteer Are
department, atatfi't'-at tha managers ef
the three wsr -..
Which were ssved
through the i
t rort of the tiltl
1 10. and Jo"T
1 i ve t'"t I
sens hava
ctanaiat ,
hi. -i nf - ' 1 is'i m. "11 8
I
1 , ') : ..
' - --" vwa 1 iiiti lis sisia vaMsW8C--r-7?--
77c fo 27c on Each Pair
Kid Cloves
. . . .V.
heartv riealtrtv. vlffntwni Bale)
Knfirlisn waliunz loves, browns.
for Saturday, but the gloves
that we could not wait, i ne
at 8 q clock snarp.
at Little Prices
Glove Sale
dftsfe:':-
a7Ut
p- White Mercerized Waisting 25c :.
Poplin weave with or without designs. Plain
weave ground with raised dot, figured and
flowered designs. -.:
(ellei
Tailor-Hade Suits
Here
Superbly tailored, full of the dis-
. tinctivenesi'that. finett design
ing and workmanship can give
them and that women priit to
- highly?' Early Spring daya are
..the days to enjoy most fully the
rwearirig-ef - smart, new, tailor
made suit, and : the Lipman-
Wolfe, .stock contains : adl tha
beautiful styles that particular
Women will be most proud, to
- wear. Every fabric and color
that is favored by fashion, ;The
. fit, fjnish, workmanship the
best that money can provide.
We will make a apecial exhibit
today ol models ranging in
'-price fr;oni
f 22.fcO to
$70
Jlllld
. For Infanta and ChndroC
Tho Kind You iiavo
Always Bought
ForiOvor
Thirty Yoars
Rl
sacks of wheat which he had stored In
the warehouse, contributed 124, all of-
whlch will be used fer better f.r rro-
tectlon In the city. Im
the Interior eomp-. '
vator company a i '
company were ''
forts of the
r
:; .- . " -- ' aw
Bears V
In
iiK (Iso
a - air --