The evening world. Newspaper, April 18, 1922, Page 6

JFENS PROTESTS AGAINST FOISTING OLD WATER PLANT ON CITY AT MILLIONS’ COST Water Company Owners of the other water companies, and we are circulating a petition asking the Like Owners of Antiquated city to parallel private water com- : e ,| pany lines,"* if Ferries, Would “Unload’’| © since 1900 the campaign to have the eae geal eity buy or cond the Citizen’ i on an “Easy” Municipality. | water Supply Company plant. har t been pushed. The controlling head was then Cord Meyer, oe... 4h as ; a millionati Waolvic Association Warns] tnd a teading Democratic politician, 4 Against Acquiring, by Con-|J. Edward Meyer is now its chief 4 c ; {. demnation, Plant That Will] “On °c, 2, 1918, report. aoat- |, Have to Be Rebuilt. Ing with the Citizens’ Water supply Company of Newtown was prepared by Delos F. Wilcox, Deputy Commis- That a coterie of private water|sioner of the Department of Water panies consider the time ripe to itate ferry companies in unloading and inadequate plants upon the Supply, Gas and Electricity. It stated that the company's plant in- eluded large areas of lands which ne could be used for water pur- poses and that ih some sections it constructed its pipe lines and main- tained and operated them without ever having secured the necessary consent of the Board of Estimate. The t insisted that the com. pany had no legal right to maintain these lines The report further stated that the company's outstanding capitalization of $4,000,000—comprising $2,850,000 in stock and $1,150,000 in bonds--in- cluded inflations to the value of at least $1,830,000. The company, the report declared, “is now paying 6 per cent. dividends on its inflated stock and for many years prior to the latest inflation paid 10 per cent. divi- dends."* Wilcox's report pointed a feasible way for the city to introduce its own plant, ‘The city already had in the Hecond Ward, Queens, it said, an in- vestment of approximately $725,000 in trunk mains which could be used the nucleus for a local distribution }Bivio Association of the 4th Werd, Waueens. ‘The city has already brought emnation proceedings to take |) ®ver the plant of the Citizens’ Water | Bupply Company, which serves about 0,000 eonsumers. A commission of three membe | @ach of whom will receive fees of $50 | & day, has been appointed to begin i mnation proceedings in the case * bf the Citizens’ Water Supply Com- Bany. The Allied Civic Association the 4th Ward, Queens, has sent Protest to the Board of Estimate inst the purchase by the city of vate water companies. On April & mass meeting will be held at the lode! School, Jamaica, to voice the ist of a considerable part of the ulation of Queens. “What sense is there in the city ying a big price to a private water pany and then having to go to the system, For about an additional $1,- $00,000, the report urged, the city could complete an independent dis- tribution system adequate for all pub. le and domestic service in the Sec- ond Ward, the new portion of which as physical property would be worth about $500,000 more than the exist- ing distribution system of the com- pany within the Second Ward. During the first years of Mayor Hylan's Administration the matter of burying or condemning the Citizens’ Water Supply Company plant was held in abeyance, But last year It was prossed toward consummation, On Mareh 23, 1921, the attorneys for the Citizens’ Water Supply Company sent a letter to Mayor Hylan, offering to sell the company's property for the sum of $4,400,000. Its property con- sisted largely of trunk lines and dis tributing mains, together with 402 acres of water ring lands and bufldings, machinery and other equip- ment. These it valued at more than $7,000,000. On the same date the Board of Es- timate appointed a special committee to report on the matter This com- mittee was composed of the Presi- dent of the Borough of Queens, the President of the Board of Aldermen and the Commissioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. Before this committee reported, a second and final offer was made on July 14, 1921, by the Citizens’ Water Supply Com- pany. It agreed to sell its plant for $4,250,000, The letter making this offer made it appear that the city would gain noth- ing by not accepting the company's figure. “If,” tler read, “the properties we acquired through condemnation the company would be entitled to their present fair value, which is far in excess of the price stated. The amount asked for all the properties desired by the city is ap- proximately the cost of duplicating the distributing system in the Second Ward. * * * It would cost to transfer consumers’ service connec- tions to a new system an average of $75 to $100 per tnp, or a total of at least $1,500,000. The company, there- fore, offers to the city for $4,250,000 properties which could not be dupll- cated and connected for service for less than $8,000,000." A majority and a minority report came from the special committee ap- pointed by the Board of Estimate. The majority reported against the city in- stalling a duplicate system and fa- the vored acceptance of the company’s offer after an appraisal of its property, COMPANY'S VALUATION BY ITS OWN FIGURES. The minority report was signed by Borough President Connolly of Queens. It cited engineers’ reports that the sizes of mains of the Citi- zens’ Water Supply Company were generally under the standard of sizes approved by the Department of Water Supply, Gas‘and Electricity. Leaving out all questions of the de- terioration of the company’s mains and assuming the mains to be in as g00d condition as new mains, Borough President Connolly's report said: “It will be necessary for the clty to re- Place at least 63 per cent. of all the mains of said private company and no doubt « portion thereof. In this connection it may be borne in mind that through the heart of the territory now controlled by this com- pany the City of New York maintains mains as large in diameter as 48 inches, whereas the largest main of the private company—and that lo. located in the Third Ward of the Borough ‘of Queens, constituting 1.1 per cent. of their total mains—is 24 inches in diameter, and but a total of 7.2 per cent, of such mains being of a greater diameter than 12 inches,’* Yet, Connolly pointed out, these in- adequate pipes for distribution com- prised the real property of the com- pony for which it was asking millions from the city, He belittled the alleged value of {ts water lands. “In v i. he emphasized, ‘‘of the existen the Ashokan source of water supply, the proposed Schoharie extension und in view of the proposal of the Com- missioner of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity to utilize the water now -being wasted over the Croton water- shed, it is questionable whether the City of New York will require this Janc Borough President Connolly's report further pointed out that the city already had mains traversing the 2d Ward and at places actually paralleling the mains of the Citizens’ Water Supply Company, and that an emergency connection already existed between the city's mains and those of the company. In the greater part of the territory of the 24 Ward com paratively few ot the streets had ater THE EVENING WORLD, TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 1922 permanent pavement, ‘and it would, therefore, not be an expensive process for the city to lay {ts own main: Borough President Connolly's report then riddled the valuation which the company put upon its property. He wrote that the sum that it demanded for the sale of its water-bearing lands and distribution mains ‘cannot be reconciled elther by the assessed valuation of the property or by the sworn statements of the company’s The company's return to Department of Taxes in 1920, Connolly's report sald, placed the value of the company’s property in Queens at $5,010,811.67, and the value of replacement of mains, gates and hydrants at $601,697. ‘Testing this valuation by assessed values, Borough President Connolly showed in an analysis that the value of the company’s property would great- ly shrink. ‘If, therefore,"* the re- port read, “the statement of tie it to the value of the repro- its mains was accepted it $601,967 and the value of all che Borough of Queens was twice the assessed land in the wet at a figure valuation, the amount would then be put $2,218,011, which amount would still be less tham half the value placed upon all of the property of the company for taxes. In this con- nection also it might be helpful to point out that upon the affidavit ef the Treasurer of the private water company, verified Nov. 28, 1911, the total gross assets of the private water company, including real estate, debts due, cash in the bank and goods, wares and rchandise, was the sum of $1.81 : “Connolly's report was adverse to buying, but it did suggest condemna- tion When the matter finally came up before the Board of Estimate on Aug 1921, three resolutions were offered One resolution rejecting the Citizens’ Water Supply Company's offer to sel] its property for $4,250,000, was unanimously carried. A second reso- jution was that condemnation pro- ceedings be instituted. The other resolution, offered by Comptroller Craig, was that an appropriation of $1,200,000 of corporate stock be au- thorized to allow the extension of the city's water supply to that part of Queens covered by the Citizens’ Water Supply Company. Comptroller Craig's was the only vote for his resohition All of the other members voted for condemnation, including Borough President Connolly. Dellatae Division to discipline Muniojpal 2D WARD, QUEENS, GETS CITY WATER TO-MORROW. | xt the “teauost vot former “pees | counse! aiding Justice Almet ¥ Jonks Mayor Hylan W! Ce ny—Cit! Loses in Fight. Open Mains at of the Appellaate Division, attorney for —Justice Strahl, the watter was " Company adjoulneg until May 1. tlee Jenks nor Mortimer W, to the Grievance Cornittec, would discuan the cane, said the charges were Inatigated some one he offended wnon he ran for the Supreme Court bonoh tn 1920, Neither Jus- Byers, Justice Strahl by After a year and a half of consistent agitation, the people of the Second ‘Ward of the Borough of Queens, com- Drising Ridgewood, Elmhurst, Corona, ‘Woodside, Maspeth and other residential sections, will obtain a city water sup- ply, beginning to-morrow night, when Mayor Hylan will turn it on at a cele- bration in Public School No. 93, Forest Avenue and Woodbine Street, Ridge- wood. On Jan, 21, 1931, the Citizens’ Water Supply Company, then furnishing water to the 250,000 consumers, announced a 50 per cent. increase in rates. ‘There was a united refusal to pay the In- crease. Civic organiaations, chief among them the Ridgewood Community Council, demanded the city take over the 210 miles of pipe and the plant of the Citizené” Company and extend the city water system to the ward. A decision to do this finally was ar- rived at, and the city is acquiring the plant and pipe system by condemnation. ‘The elty will collect $360,000 a year, whereas the Citizens’ Company based its Increase on a required revenue of 760,000, James B. Emerick, Chairman of the Ridgewood Community Council, will preside at the celebration to-morrow night. Plain or Sport Styles. Gi epee > BROOKLYN BAR IN PROCEEDINGS TO DISCIPLINE JUSTICE STRAT. The Brooklyn Bar Assoclation yester- day brought proceedings before the Ap- SILK HOSIERY Specially Priced for Wednesday The introductory offering of our Hosiery Department willconsist of a 20%discount on the prices of our regular stock. and colors. Black, white °FIFTH AVENUE™ $0 th Street ~$7th Street ‘NewYork G. Altman & Cn. { nse of paralleling its lines?'' said i illiam 8. Corbett, President of the ‘Allied Civic Association, ‘If the Plants of these water companies are hased the city will have to scrap) 8 soon a8 they are bought. ir mains are emall and totally in- i uate to serve the needs of the if nt inhabitants, not to mention ‘future growth of population. _ “When recently the Nesco Mills, on ingfield Avenue, Springfield, were fire, the firemen had to notify the iter company that there was not th pressure to fight the fire. To i! ide this pressure the company ifthe to stop the supply of many » which were left without water | for hours. | “Even ordinarily many homes have Only the poorest pressure. Not only the street water mains small, but - single one-inch supply pipe has to wide the water for a number of . Cases are not unknown where For to-morrow (Wed nesday) Boys’ Reefers & Washable Suits at large reductions from former prices OPPENHEIM.C_LLINS &C 34th Street— New York ate tS, In order to make room for incoming assortme a number of models have been taken from the regular stock and marked for immediate disposal, as follows: Boys’ Washable Suits sizes 3 to 10; reduced to $2.25 & 2.95 Tomorrow—Wednesday ~ A Remarkable Offering Several Hundred Sport, Tailleur and Costume Suits For Women and Misses Drastically Underpriced Much Below Regular Value man, in order to shave, has had to lephone his neighbor to suspend ng water. The housewife has muoh rae troubles. ‘For this poor service we have been rged exorbitant rates, There are eral other private water compa- . When the wells of one of them low, I have been authoritatively id, the company buys city water at game rates that the city charges holders, and then the company it around and charges consumers Meer nt rates for the sity water it it it thus buys. a TRYING TO FORESTALL OTHER WATER COMPANIES. _ “In view of the city's condemnation ings for the Citizens’ Water yply plant, we are trying to fore- stali similar proceedings in the case Boys’ Reefers of blue serge, blue cheviot or black-and-white checked velour sizes 6 to 10; reduced to $7.50 (Sixth Floor) Decidedly smart Tweed Suits in new tailored and sport models. Sale Price 25,00 671— Black GlaedVase with Women’s Free tars Tailored slenderline Suits of fine . ecineanes ie. aaa sane: French Lingerie Blouses (ha: made) comprising attractive models developed i seasonable materials sOVINGTON’S “ The Gift Shop of Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue at 39th Street Custom-Tailored Tricotine Suits, Hairline Stripes and Twill Cord. Sale Price 48,00 Espectally featured are blouses with the surplice rolled collar, some trimmed with filet lace; amd blouses of colored cotton In dainty Spring tints, including frilled effects. : The prices: $2.90, 4.95 & 7.50 offer remarkable values (Third Floor) Three-piece Costume Suits of fine Tricotine in cape and coat effects. Sale Price 68.00 yen Twill Cord and Tricotine Suits, cus- tom-tailored, some with embroidery, Sale Price 75.00 Madison Avenue: Mitth Avenue, New Pork Thirty-fourth Stree Chirty-litth Street | ir ‘AS Drag, Dept, and Grocery Bteres PROOF PRODUCTS CORP. 100 Broad St., New York Telephone, Bowlin Green 7967