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Show THE CITIZEN 12 Industries Fighting Natural Gas PLEAD FOR INVESTIGATION Coal and Other Industries ask Delay in Granting Franchise Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen of the Commission: v You have before you the difficult problem of carefully and dispassionately passing upon an application for a natural gas franchise, the way for which has been paved by a publicity campaign and by advertising propaganda holding forth to the citizens of Salt Lake the lure of the realization of their cherished hopes for a smokeless city, promising industrial growth and expansion, and all at a cost to the to one-ha- lf public of from two-thirless than the present fuel bills. The men here representing the Ohio Oil Company are of outstanding ability in their field and ar skilled and experienced in securing franchises from public bodies. With all the force and pressure they could bring to bear they have sought to rush this franchise through and are violently opposing any serious consideration of its terms and consequences on your part. Naturally, it will be a splendid piece of business for the Ohio Oil Company if the franchise can be forced over exds actly on their own terms, without and to be assured that rates will not be lowered, raised or shifted from one group of users to another at the whim of the gas company, to stifle and drive out economically legitimate competition to the end that ultimately the natural gas interests may have the field to themselves. If natural gas can be brought here with advantage or profit to this munity, the Coal Producers will join with the public in welcoming it, and must meet its competition as best they may. We do not propose to stand in the way of progress or to oppose those who will spend their money in a sincerely honest effort to bring this about. But we do say that the city should not blindly give to these applicants an unconditional monopoly on whatever terms they may specify without regard to what they may do with it in the future. As a matter of fact, this is Salt Lakes one and only chance to see to it that natural gas . you. There is no doubt that we were prompted to take this action because we believed our industry was threatened. Without such an impelling motive, very likely we would not have paused to analyze the situation, but pn reading the full page propaganda ads would have joined heedlessly in the general hurrah for the millenium promised by Messis. Deming and Yet, while it was the imminence of our own danger that set us in also not the slightmotion, there is ' in est. doubt that, excepting so far as our own interests and the interests of the public are the same, we have no place whatever in the picture. We are convinced, however, that it is both to our interests and to the interests of the citizens of Salt Lake to see to it that natural gas is required to come here and to continue here, on an economically sound basis Mc-Fady- en. -- FABIAN PRESENTS PROTEST. re- strictions or limitations of any kind and without safeguarding or protecting in any way the rights of the people to be served. It is an elementary principle of bargaining that the more eager the buyer, the greater the profits of the seller. The present sales campaign has been adroit and effective. What is everybodys business is nobodys business. Hence, no one was crystallized into action until the franchise was actually applied for. Then action became imperative. And the Coal Producers appeared before you asking for time in which to bring here some one, other than the applicants themselves, qualified to advise with you in this situation. You granted us this opportunity and this is the time designated for us to report back to com- and the only relief will be such as the public may find at. the hands of the Public Utilities Commission. Today, the City Commission can determine and dictate the fixing of a fair gateway price at Salt Lake City which can be made a matter of private contract with the Interstate Pipe Line Company which no Public Utilities Commission can upset. Today, the City Commission can require the price of gas to be fixed by private contract at the wells in Wyoming. But without the fair and just exercise of this power by the city now, BEFORE THE FRANCHISE IS GRANTED, the price at the wells and the price at the City Gate can be fixed and changed from time to time at will by private contract with the well owners and with the pipe line company and without the control of the Public Utilities Commission. And when our citizens in the future ask for relief, their fight must be with an intrenched utility before a Utilities Commission that must accept as its basis for rate making, these privately changeable contract prices at the wells and at the City Gate. As citizens of Salt Lake, we believe we were unquestionably justified in asking the City Commission to - At a meeting of the City Commission Monday, a plan was ap- proved to bring together a Round Table discussion of the natural gas interests, Mr. H. J. Hoover, Consulting Engineer, brought here fromCincinnati by the Utah Coal Producers Association, and a Representative of the Utah Gas & Coke Company. This meeting will be held Monday, August 27th, in the City Cbmmissions offices at 10 a. m. At last Mondays meeting Mr. Harold P. Fabian, representing the Utah Coal Producers Assodation, presented a solution to the contro- -versy now waging over the natural gas franchise of this dty. ..A complete test of the case presented by Mr. Fabian is reproduced herewith. SiillllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIMli'llliniMIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIlHIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIMIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIMI.H comes in to Salt Lake City on an economically sound basis, on a rate structure that will insure to the people here not only a present cheap and desirable fuel, but a continuation of such a rate structure over a period of years, so that after the home owners have spent some three or four million dollars in natural gas appliances and their old equipment has been junked and coal competition has been eliminated, they will no.t then be faced with a series of rate raises, so that the rate to the individual homes wilLbe so adjusted that the home owner will pay for the gas that he uses but will not pay a part of the charge that should be borne by the industries here or elsewhere along the lines of the pipe line company, so that a continuation of adequate service and pressure will be guaranteed so that the citizens of Salt Lake will be assured of the fulfillment of the promises now so lavishly made by the applicants and will not be relegated to the full page advertisements in old newspaper files as their only hope for compelling a fulfillment of these promises. Today, the City Commission has the absolute power to see that these things are guaranteed to its citizens. Tomorrow, if the franchise is rushed through as the proponents seek to have done, Salt Lake Citys opportunity will be gone, s that will be encountered. If the local ' ' gas company is willing, to purchase the natural gas at the City Gate at the fate thus determined, the natural gas company should be required to sell its gas at that rate to the Utah Gas & Coke Company for distribution through the latters main in Salt Lake City, and a new rate structure then should be established for Salt Lake City by the Public Utilities Commis- sion giving to the citizens the full benefits of natural gas at its cheaper costs and requiring the homes to bear.1 their proportion and only their just proportion, of the cost of bringing the natural gas from Wyoming to the Salt Lake Valley. If the local Gas Company is unwilling to accept the natural gas at the City Gate at the seasonable rate thus determined, then the franchise should be granted to the new Distributing Company on the same conditions and with the same safeguards as those to be required iiucase the local company will accept the natural gas. There has been highly recommended to us, as one of the most competent and experienced gas engineers in the profession, and we have brought to Salt Lake City, Mr. H. J. Hoover of . Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Hoover has served as one of the presidents of the Natural Gas Association of America with Mr. Denning serving as its under him. We believe Mr. Hoover is amply qualified to sit around the table with Mr. Denning, and that, with the benefit of the data and advice which these two competent men (together with an engineer or rate man from the Utah Gas & Coke Company, if that Company cares to join in the proceedings) can give you, you can speedily and intelligently arrive at a fair determination of the questions involved. While Mr. Hoover has been brought here, and will remain here, at our expense, we do not ask that he be under our control. We feel that we have done all that it is in our power to do in the furtherance of the public interests (and therefore in the furtherance of our own interests )m if we can provide for you, and if you will accept, the services of a man with a skill and experience in this particular field equal to that of Mr. Denning and his asoodates. We tender you the services of Mr. Hoover. We do not ask for further delay nor for further opportunity to be heard. On the contrary, Mr. Hoovers charges to us are on a per diem basis, and we ask that as soon as possible you call Mr. Denning and his assodates and the engineer for the Utah Gas & Coke Company to meet around the table with you and Mr. Hoover, and that you re- . be-quire that all the facts be placed fore you arid subjected to the analysis and discussion of these qualified men meeting with you. And we believe the result will be a sound decision fair to all concerned. vice-preside- "1 pause and carefully to consider the matters involved in this franchise before closing the door against further municipal action. It is also important to determine which Company shall distribute natural gas here. There is already in Salt Lake City, serving its homes and underlying its streets, a gas distributing system. There is an adequate artificial gas plant ready to serve as a stand-b- y plant in case of temporary failures of the natural gas, and to take up again the burden when the natural gas field is exhausted. adjustments due to the lessening of rock pressure and other known factors It would seem absurd to permit a second company to come in and tear up all of the city streets, to lay a new distributing system and render useless and destroy the present system and plant. We believe the solution is not difficult and can be made expeditiously and in fairness to all parties concerned the public, the natural gas applicants, the local gas company and the other industries affected. When the are gas supply and financial set-u- p established to your satisfaction, the fair and proper rate to be required at the wells and at the City Gate should be determined. These rates should then be required to be fixed by a contract for a definite period of years with proper provisions for necessary nt |
