Arizona republican., 1898-09-10
GAS IN PARIS.
Time and Rcd Tape Necessary fO
 Get It.

daughters, who lived in Paris, the Americans paradise for a winter, among other things, tell of ,he ob- st;cles they overcame in getting the gas turned on in their apartments. They wanted gas, so Mrs. Brown went herself to the company's office to sub scribe for 1t and to say that she wanted it immediately
 "'You sl all have it within the fort night. madam" said the clerk.
 Can't 1 have it before that?'"
 Not day, madam. We have to obtain permission from the city before we can consider your application. Then we must aiso have another permit to put it irt These things require time, madam The following day the comp troller O. the gas mains in that arron- dissement made a call, with a port folio full of papers to sign. An hour after he was gone the deputy comptrOl- Ter arrived with three workmen, who examined all of the gas fixtures, called for pen and ink, sat down and wrote cut his otflcial report of the inspection, which he signed and called upon Mrs. Brown to sign. Then he took his workmen away. The same afternoon boss plumber. notified by the gas company came with two more work men and made another inspection Mrs. Brown signed an application for this plumber to examine the gas burners and piles and see that there was no leak, and gave Mrs. Brown a copy oe it. There vas, an interval of two days; then the deputy comptroller arrived talCne) with another copy of the certi- 1>r0coodnd tn oh ha .Iy of the plumbers; he also made cut a paper stating that there was no leak. On the same afternoon the boss plumb CT came back and checked the work once more Again there was an inter val, this tine for a whole week, but bright and early on the eighth day the original comptroller made his ap- pearance, his portfolio bulging with papers and very important. He spread out before Mrs. Brown nine separate documents, stamped, sealed, red taped and covered with official signatures; some were white, some pink, some vel tow; some consisted of but single sheet. while others were small pam phlets; all, however, bore the common brand Of government stamp, the de- nominations of which were from cents to 50 cents. Mrs. Browns total indebtedness for fees, including plumb ing work, was 86 francs. Forty francs of this, however, the comptrol- Ter assured her, you will get back when your subscription expires. It is merely a deposit "A deposit for what?' asked Mrs. Brown faintly. Why, Ger the approximate amount of your first months bill, Of course,' said the comptroller. The deposit is al- ways graduated according to the num- ber of burners in the apartment Mrs. Brown counted out the S6 francs. Then the comptroller, seeing that she had never subscribed fer gas in Paris be- Eore, good naturedly explained: When ycur bill comes in et the end of the month, you will have no trouble at all, because all of the charges are tabu- lated. I'he first amount on the bill will be fer the gas, the second for the amount Of the government stamp for the receipt, the third the rent of the meter, the fourth for the charge for the maintenance Of the street mains, the fifth that for the house main, the sixth tkat for the stop-cOck in thai hall, the seventh that for the stop-cock in the apartment, and so on. It is really very simple. Three days after the ap- pearance cf this man, two others ar rived with the meter; following them was plasterer 10 place it, and shortly after {. plumber to make the connec- tions The meter was still locked and sealed With a leaden seal. Two days intervened, and Ms. Brown was about to notify the main office, because. she was tired of using lamps, and, anyhow, the two weeks had elapsed On the next day nan arrived with book in which the inspector was to write down the rccor0 of the monthly consumption Then ir the afternoon, resplendent in gold lace, an entirely new man came on the scene With a dramatic flour ish, he broke the leaden seal with a chisel, and the gas was officially on. It would ce cutie interesting to know how long it took this company to shut the gas cft. It is to be hoped that, should Mrs Brown visit any of our Pacific coast paradises and need her gas turned on, she could get it sooner, p.osumirg that some O. our members are more adept with the wrench than with the pen. ''-Am3rica1 GaSlignt Journal