Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/282

 252 FIFTYFOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 335. 1896. same shall have been presented, said company may charge and collect from said consumer so failing to pay said bill as aforesaid one dollar and nity cents per thousand cubic feet for the gas furnished said consumer during said month. niummung wm Sec. 3. That section one of an Act entitled ‘*An Act regulating gas "Q,'f,f‘fQ’P_,.,.,_ works," approved June twenty-third, eighteen hundred and seventy- four, is amended so as to read as follows: “That from and after the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, the illulminat ing power of the gas furnished by any gaslight company, person, or persons in the Districtof Columbia shall be equal to twenty-five candles by the Bunsen photometer, using the Bray slit union burner numbered seven, consuming five cubic fectof gas per hour; and such gas shall not contain more than twenty grains of sulphur in any form in one hundred cubic feet, nor more than five grains of ammonia in any form in one hundred cubic feet, and shall be free of the impurity known as ‘sulphureted hydrogen} said impurity to be determined by passing the gas through a glass vessel containing strips of bibulons paper moistened with a solution of the acetate of lead, and if any discoloration of the test paper is found to have taken place this is to be held conclusive as www to the presence of sulphureted hydrogen in the gas. When the illumi- °'••*°'° nating gas supplied by any company, person, or persons in the District of Columbia shall at any one time be of less illuminating power or of less purity than according to the standard just heretofore given, it shall beso reported by the inspector of gas and meters to the company, person, or persons supplying the same, who shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars,_to be recovered beforethe pw tribunal and paid into the treasury of the District of Columbia a oresaid for each mm. and every day during which such violation shall continue: Provided, prudence, but was occasioned by some unavoidable causes, then the said penalty shall not be enforced." . m fw Min Sec. 4. That any gas company or person placing a gas meter in serv- '"‘ "‘°*°” ice in the District of Columbia that has not been inspected, proved, and sealed, as provided for by the Act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventytliree, entitled “An Act making appropriations for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and 11inety- four, and fhr other purposes," for each and every such violation of said Act shall be subject to n penalty of one hundred dollars. to be recovered before the Pmnt. proper tribunal of the District of Columbia: Provided, That if the "°“‘P°"""’ ““°· United States Inspector of Gas and Meters is unable through press of business, or any accidental cause, to test and inspect and seal meters, proposed to be ser, then the company shall be at liberty to place an unsealed gas meter on any premises. the same to be replaced by a sealed meter ps seen as seitleld meters can be procured from the inspector, not later t ian orty-eig it ours. sewn umass. Sec. 5. That neither the Washington Gaslight Company nor the Georgetown Gaslight Company shall hereafter issue any greater number of shares of stock than shall be equal to the actual cash value of said plan ts and necessary cost of the construction of future extensions or future enlargement of plants, which cash value and cost of extensions shall first beascertained and authorized upon petition therefor to the supreme court of the District of Columbia, under such regulations B¤¤•i•- as the chief justice and the justices thereof shall prescribe; also if either of the said corporations shall desire hereafter to issue bonds upon their property, secured by mortgage or otherwise, upon petition therefor to said court, setting forth the necessity thereof and the amount of stock issued and outstanding, it may and shall be lawful for said court, or the chief justice and justices thereof, as the case may be, or one of them, upon public notice, to be prescribed by the rules of said court, to permit moo. k d the issuance of such bonds and mortgage as desired: Provided, That t,,,,,,,,, °' “°“ "' the amount of stock and bonds issued shall not exceed the actual cash
 * °·=**•¤*·· however, That if it shall appear that such deviation from the abovenamed standards could not have been prevented by ordinary care and