IIAMASSING THE GAS INDUSTRY.
At the Annual Meetings both of the Commercial Gas Com. pany and the South Suburban Gas Company, the Chairman, Dr. Carpenter, while he was able to report in both cases an increase in the companies' activities, made a protest—. which appears to be thoroughly justified by the facts—against what seems on the face of it to be a very unfair handicap to the future activities of Gas undertakings. As Dr. Carpenter quite correctly said, when speaking at the Meeting of the South Suburban Gas Company, the past and present import- ance of the Gas undertakings has been for years recognized in many ways by the authorities, and the Gas companies, it is well known, work under special restrictions as to capital and so on, and have to fulfil certain specified undertakings arranged in the interests of consumers. The complaint which is made, however, not only by Dr. Carpenter but by the Chairmen of other Gas undertakings is that munici- palities in their desire to push the supply of electricity—some of the companies concerned in which are partly municipal undertakings—are making it impossible in certain districts for tenants occupying new Council houses or other buildings erected by the municipalities to have gas laid on to the premises if desired. It is, of course, quite natural that the dwellings should have every possible facility for electric light and heating, but that is no reason why the tenant should not have the opportunity, if it is desired, to have a gas service as well as electricity. In the matter of cooking and even of fires, there are many who prefer the gas service sometimes on the ground of economy and sometimes for other reasons.
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