as a matter of fact. The man who does business on the corner is the man who pays the franchise tax; while it is indirectly paid, it is paid just the same. Therefore, the franchise value there does contribute to the taxes. Another thing in regard to the franchise value of property. A gas company has a plant, and as I understand it here, it means a plant in more than one way. It can not be removed; once down it is there for good. Take that plant and deprive it of its franchise or of its right to do business, and it is not worth taking up. It is hardly worth its junk value. It would cost nearly as much to market it as it would be worth when it would be marketed. Therefore, when the gas company's mains are taxed or assessed at their value, the franchise of that company is considered in that taxation. There may be some more franchise value to be assessed, but nothing like the amount referred to in this paper as being appraised; that is the difference between the tangible value and market value. I can not recall a case now where a turnpike company or any other such corporation was assailed and taxed in that way, that went to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the court held it was legitimate that they should be taxed in that way. When this franchise matter came up in our State I got an opinion from our attorneys, who said, you have to pay the franchise tax. Then I asked, how will we arrive at the value. They said, any way in the world, just so you get it as low as possible, because any means of arriving at the value of a franchise seems to have been sanctioned by the courts of the country. It doesn't make any difference how they arrive at it, just as soon as they say that is your value, however. they fix it, the courts seem willing to sustain it. He said, it looks like they can tax you anyway or anyhow and as long as they please as long as you are a public corporation. Why not confiscate the franchise if it is the gift of the people? Unfortunately it seems to be the disposition of the country to try the confiscation plan. I have given some study to this, and unless some means other than a directly antagonistic fight to this disposition is found that sentiment is going to grow. I size it up this way, that the franchise owner or the public is either going to exercise his own franchise or he is going to control it in some way or other. It seems to me the problem now is to find some way that he can control it to an extent that will enable him to realize something out of its exercise.

MR. ENRIGHT-There is many a good feature in Mr. McLean's paper. Say, for instance, the constant howl made in regard to the exclusive and special rights of gas companies. As I understand it, we have no special or exclusive rights. The majority of us

simply have an ordinance passed by a city council that gives us a franchise to do business, and there is nothing on earth to prevent them in two weeks from giving the same thing to another fellow. Of course, matters of this kind vary materially in the different States. In our State, as I understand it, our new law has no reference to the real and personal property of the different corporations that are being handled in the old and regular way, but it is simply a new and special law taxing franchises. I have talked with several owners of companies throughout the State and they do not seem to have any objection; on the contrary, they seem to think the majority of people in many localities will find out there is not as great an amount of value attached to those invisible things as they now believe.

MR. A. E. FORSTALL--In closing his remarks, Mr. Miller said. something that I was very glad to hear him say. It followed just in line with what I said to this Association at its last meeting, that the time was soon coming when we would be controlled, whether we liked it or not. I went on to say that in view of that state of affairs we had better see that the control was exercised in a shape in which we could get something out of it. If we do not, it will be exercised in a shape in which we can not get anything out of it.

MR. JNO. D. McILHENNY--On the question of taxation of gas companies, it may be interesting to note that, in a certain State in this country, a bill was recently introduced to tax the capital stock of gas companies 5 mills upon the dollar. Up to this time the bill has not been finally acted upon by the legislature, but a very fortunate expression was made regarding the tax, and in a line it seems to me that gas companies will finally have to come. One of the influential gas companies in the State stated that if the tax were imposed the gas consumers would have to pay it, in that it would defer an equal reduction in the price of gas, or possibly cause an increase in its price in various localities. In other words, should gas consumers and the public generally be caused to understand that they will have to pay a tax imposed upon gas companies or other corporations there will be less clamor for its imposition.

On motion of Mr. Miller a vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. McLean for his paper.

The

ELECTION OF OFFICERS.

President announced that the election of officers would be the next business in order. Messrs. C. M. Keller, J. D.

McIlhenny, Jas. Forbes and E. E. Eysenbach were appointed as tellers. The result of the balloting was as follows:

President-Mr. Thos. D. Miller, Dallas, Tex.

First Vice-President-Mr. A. H. Barret, Louisville, Ky. Second Vice-President-Mr. F. H. Shelton, Philadelphia, Pa. Secretary and Treasurer-Mr. J. W. Dunbar, New Albany, Ind. Directors (to serve two years)-Messrs. Geo. F. Goodnow, Waukegan, Ill.; Wm. McDonald, Albany, N. Y.; H. L. Doherty, New York City; John Gimper, Galveston, Tex.

Editor Wrinkle Department-Mr. Wm. E. Steinwedell, Belleville, Ill.

SOME RESPONSES.

Mr. Miller, in responding to the announcement of his election, said: Gentlemen of the Association, I hardly know how to express myself to adequately convey to you my appreciation of this honor, because I do regard it an honor to be singled out by such a body. of men as their presiding officer; and I sincerely express the hope that I may merit the confidence and esteem expressed by this vote. I thank you, gentlemen, sincerely.

Mr. Barret did not say anything.

Mr. Shelton said: I may just frankly say that I appreciate and enjoy greatly the compliment you have just paid me. I feel also that it is a particularly pleasant action on the part of the Association (with our membership made up from an extended area, South, North, and West, and East) for the East to be represented in the officers of the Association. I think as an Association act it is exceedingly gracious to thus recognize the far-dwelling portion of the membership. I do not feel, however, that I am only an Easterner. I have been in the West a good deal, as you know. I have spent several years in Chicago, losing some hair there, and gaining some experience. Furthermore, many of the best friends I have. in the business I made in the West. I feel that, having thus lived in the West, and with two or three substantial business interests that I have now in Indiana and the Mississippi Valley, I am almost as much a Westerner, as far as being a gas man is concerned, as I am an Easterner. I have always "pushed" for the Western Association, and I always expect to. I think, further, that it is a reciprocal duty for a member if he becomes one of the managers or officers, then to push all the harder, and I certainly will try to reciprocate your courtesy by pushing all the harder for the uplifting, broadening and pushing ahead of the Western Association.

Mr. Dunbar said: Gentlemen, it is with pleasure that I receive this continued evidence of your confidence, and I trust I will fill the position in a manner acceptable to all, and that, as Mr. Shelton has just expressed it, the Association, with the aid of the new members that we have elected at this time, and by the assistance of the additional amount of push and energy that Mr. Shelton will instill into us all, we may go forward to new fields of conquest, and may ultimately reach that state where we will be an Association the peer of any other in the world. I thank you, gentlemen, very much.

The President introduced Mr. A. H. Barret, Engineer of the Louisville (Ky.) Gas Company, who read the following

MEMORANDUM OF SIX MONTHS' OPERATION OF INCLINED RETORTS, FOR THE MONTHS OF OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1900; AND JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH, 1901.

Mr. Barret prefaced his memorandum with the following words: Mr. President and Gentlemen-In presenting this paper to you I thought I would omit any description of the plant, since last fall, at, the Denver meeting of the American Gas Light Association, I read a description of it, and doubtless most of you have read it. In addition to that, the interest centers entirely on the detail of the results that are being obtained.

Coal carbonized (approximately), 25,000 tons; coke sold per ton of coal carbonized, including lump and broken, 24 bushels; tar sold per ton of coal carbonized, 13.3 gallons; ammoniacal liquor sold per ton of coal carbonized, 220 liquor ounces; average candle power for the entire period, 17.42; coal carbonized per stoker, 10% tons; labor per ton of coal between storage and the bins, including crushing and distribution, 7 cents; coke labor per ton of coal carbonized, being all labor from the discharging of the retorts to the storing of the coke, including quenching and other labor incident to the transportation, 6.6 cents.

The average yield per pound of coal has been from 4.60 to 4.70 cubic feet. The grade of coal used has varied from "mine run" coal to 50 per cent. nut and slack; and also, from Pittsburg coal to some very low grades of local coal. No trouble from slipping has been experienced, except from occasional pockets of dust, either dry or wet. A part of this candle power is probably due to the fact that some of the local coal carried a streak of cannel, which "boosted" it up a trifle. I think, though, without that aid the candle power would have been 17.

DISCUSSION.

THE PRESIDENT-The statement of facts from Mr. Barret, which is not the less valuable because of its briefness, is before you for discussion. I think a little "experience meeting" is in order now, and we would be glad to hear from any who have a desire to debate the subject.

MR. STEINWEDELL-Mr. Barret, was the 24 bushels of coke a weighed or measured bushel?

MR. BARRET-2,688 cubic inches, measured bushel. We measured it all.

MR. STEINWEDELL-I would like to know whether in Mr. Barret's experience he found the yield per cubic foot in inclined retorts was greater than with horizontal ones?

MR. BARRET-I do not really see any difference in yield. The grade of coal we are now using is so much inferior to what we were using with horizontals that I was prepared for an apparent decrease in yield. You take a good grade of screened coal as compared with nut and slack, and you have 15 per cent. less available coal in it.

MR. STEINWEDELL-About what yield would you get with this grade of coal in the inclined retorts as you are running to-day? MR. BARRET--We are getting now from 4.60 to 4.70.

MR. NORRIS-With departures from conventional lines difficulties are always experienced, and if it comes within the scope of discussion at a place like this, I think it would add very much to our information if Mr. Barret would consent to give an account of the difficulties, structural and otherwise, that he has encountered in bringing the plant to the present method of running, and how he overcame those difficulties. If the rest of us should put in inclined retorts we would like to avoid some of those difficulties.

MR. BARRET-I hardly know how to answer the question, for the simple reason that the difficulties were so few. Having demonstrated the fact that the charging apparatus was all right, and that we had adopted about the right grade of coal, there was nothing left except to heat the benches uniformly, and to get rid of the coke. As many of you who have seen the plant no doubt observed, when a bench is discharged there is every appearance of a pretty bad charge coming out, and for some little time that disturbed me a good deal or until I found it was simply unavoidable. There is always more or less tar in the mouthpiece, which tar, dropping on to the coke chute, spreads itself, and as it is immediately followed with this charge of hot coke it flames up as any of you may have. noticed when there, just as when you throw a small lump of