THE UTILITY AND THE PUBLIC - Address of George B. Cortelyou - President, Consolidated Gas Company of New York - before the Empire State Gas and Electric Association, Lake Placid, N.Y., October 7, 1927

Sep 21, 2026

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An address by George B. Cortelyou, President of the Consolidated Gas Company of New York, delivered to members of the Empire State Gas and Electric Association in Lake Placid on October 7, 1927. The speech frames the gas and electric utility industry as largely monopolistic in practice, explains consumer perceptions shaped by limited choice, and compares utility conditions with those of general commercial firms and railroads. It discusses fundamentals of public service, public relations problems, and the direction for future progress in the year ahead.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Address of George B. Cortelyou

Public service and customer benefit

Monopoly and consumer perception

Competition in price and service (utilities vs railroads vs general commerce)

Historical roots of monopolies and public attitudes

97-84109-12Cortelyou,George Bruce The utility and the public [S.I.] [1927] # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISIONBIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 308ZCortelyou,Goorge Bruce,1862-1940。Box 231The ut11ity and the mublio. 1927·19 p.33]om. "Address of George B.Cortelyou …before theEmpire state gas and electric association,LakePlacid,N.Y.,October 7,1927."cNy ED Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbla Univerity Libraries. ## RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 5mREDUCTION RATIO: //:/ IB IIB MAGE PLACEMENT:IA DATE FILMED: 6-4-9INITIALS: B TRACKING\#: 23733 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEMPA. ) 11-22·27 ADDRESS OF GEORGE B.CORTELYOU,PRESI-DENT,CONSOLIDATED GAS COMPANY OF NEWYORK,BEFORE THE EMPIRE STATE GAS ANDELECTRIC ASSOCIATION,LAKE PLACID,N.Y.,OCTOBER 7,1927 0Z 231 THE UTILITYAND THE PUBLIC ADDRESS OF GEORGE B.CORTELYOU,PRESI-DENT,CONSOLIDATED GAS COMPANY OF NEWYORK,BEFORE THE EMPIRE STATE GAS ANDELECTRIC ASSOCIATION,LAKE PLACID,N.Y.,OCTOBER 7,1927 THE UTILITY AND THE PUBLIC e7&,2e'429 Address of George B.Cortelyou,President,ConsolidatedGas Company of New York,before the EmpireState Gas and Electric Association,Lake Placid, N.Y.,October 7,1927. THE UTILITY AND THE PUBLIC MR.PRESIDENT,MEMBERS OF THE AssoCIATION,LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity tomeet here so many of my friends and fellow-workers in the gas and electric utility industries ofthe Empire State.I am sure we all have a properpride in the record of our Association,now twenty-two years old,a record made possible by the devo-tion of its officers and the cooperation of its mem-bers.The result has been a year of progress,thedetails of which have been made known to you inthe reports of the various oficials and committees.As a whole,I think our industries have taken along step forward in the past year and are in afavorable position from which to make even morenotable gains in the year ahead. We are all co-workers in the great field of pub-lic service and all are striving to make that serviceof increasing benefit to our customers,the public,as well as of profit to ourselves.For it is only aswe serve others that we can best serve ourselves.I have thought it pertinent,therefore,to discuss 4 5 some of the fundamentals of our service,to con-sider some of the problems that face the utilitiesin their public relations,and if possible to indicatethe general line along which future progress maybe expected. his business by another road that will meet his re-quirements better. But the householder desiring gas or electricityhas no such option.There is usually but one gascompany and but one electric company.He mustgo to one or the other because there is no othersource of supply.He cannot“shop around”fromone company to another.There is no competitionin the usual sense of the word.For all practicalpurposes,he is dealing with a monopoly,and it isthis feature which is apt to create a mental biasprejudicial to the utility. In the first place,the gas or electric company,aswe all know,is in a different category from theordinary business corporation and both are differ-ent from the railroads,which stand about midwaybetween.What differentiates them,from the pointof view of the consumer? Among commercial organizations generally,there is competition both in price and in service. It does not help matters much to tell him thatthis monopoly is a limited one;that gas competeswith electricity and electricity with gas,and thatboth have to meet the stiff competition of otherfuels,such as coal and oil.This is true,particu-larly in the case of large industrial users who areable to shift from one fuel to another

FAQs

Who delivered the address and on what occasion?

George B. Cortelyou, President of the Consolidated Gas Company of New York, delivered the address before the Empire State Gas and Electric Association in Lake Placid, N.Y., on October 7, 1927.

How does the speech describe competition for gas and electricity?

It states that for practical purposes customers face limited choice, and for utilities there is competition neither in price nor in service, with statements subject to certain modifications.

Why does the speaker say consumer attitude can be biased against utilities?

Because the industry operates like a monopoly for most domestic consumers, it can create a mental bias prejudicial to the utility, grounded in historical practices of granting monopolies.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Ezra