Chicagoland Power

James Simpson, a Scotsman from Glasgow, was shooting tigers near Bhopal, India, in 1932 when a cable from Chicago caught up with him. Big businessmen and bedraggled bankers begged him to hurry home and assume three basic posts in the ravaged Insull empire. Back to a dreary city in 14 days came James Simpson from India. He resigned as chairman of Marshall Field & Co., in which he holds more stock than even the Field estate, replaced Samuel Insull as chairman of Commonwealth Edison Co., Public Service Co. of Northern Illinois and Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. A $450,000,000 company, Commonwealth Edison has a virtual monopoly on electric power sales in Chicago's 210 square miles, has never missed paying a dividend. Public Service is a $226,000,000 company serving 6,000 sq. mi. of territory including Cook County outside of Chicago, north to the Wisconsin state line, south to Kankakee, west to the Illinois River. Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. is principally concerned with selling gas to Chicagoans, gas made from coal and gas piped in from the Southwest. From this company James Simpson retired in 1935 because he felt management of gas arid electric companies in Chicago should be distinct. Last week, three days before he was 63, handsome, grey-suited Utilitarian Simpson went before a special meeting of Edison stockholders, asked for permission to put together all the old Insull utility companies in Northern Illinois except Peoples Gas into one great Chicagoland company reaching to the Mississippi River --a Commonwealth Edison Co. with $746,000,000 resources. Two court suits seeking injunctions against the management were disposed of before the meeting and the plan James Simpson and his engineers had been working on for two years was put to vote, overwhelmingly approved. Involved in the plan besides Commonwealth Edison and Public Service are Western United Gas & Electric Co., serving prosperous but not swank west suburban communities, and Illinois Northern Utilities Co., having customers in most of the territory west to the Mississippi River. All common stock in Western United and Illinois Northern is owned by Commonwealth Edison.

To secure preferred shares of these companies Edison will offer new Edison stock in exchange. Likewise, the two-thirds interest in Public Service not held by Edison will be acquired through an exchange offer. Edison stock, now selling at $133 per share, will be split four-for-one, the authorized issue doubled to provide the stock needed for the exchange offers. To redeem stock not exchanged and to refund some debts of Edison and its affiliates, a $13,000,000 issue of convertible debentures was authorized.

Affiliation of the Chicagoland utilities was not dictated by a corporate grandeur complex, but by demands of operating efficiency and the level of Lake Michigan. Litigated for eight years, the flow of water into the Chicago River was finally determined by the U. S. Supreme Court in such a way as to curtail the tremendous water supply needed for Commonwealth Edison condensers. The company felt it was not justified in building new plants within Chicago, went outside for half its electricity. Most purchases have been made from Public Service and companies in which both Edison and Public Service were interested. Connection of lines and interchange of power between all Chicagoland utilities became a necessity. The next step was financial. Said James Simpson in proposing the plan last week: "The main objective ... is to bring ownership of electrical generating and transmission facilities in Chicagoland into line with the comprehensive system which sound engineering and operating has developed."

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