The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-06
A NEEDED INVENTION.

In Eeclesiastes we. may read these words: God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many in- .veHtions.'" Now, we do not profess to know whether the wise Preacher of Israel intended to convey the impress sion that men had ceased to be up- right because they had sought out many inventions" or not, but if that is to be taken now as measure of up- rightness it must be admitted that the charge against men yet holds good, for certainly inventiveness is one of his strong traits. There is, hardly a limit to what man can do, and none whatever to what he will undertake.
 One of the latest inventions or dis eoveries that we have seen mentioned is the work of an English scientist, and has to do with the gas question. City readers at least do not need to be told what gas and gas bills are. The latter form one of the drags on, economical housekeeping, Tor they are always with us. One may dodge some things but the gas bill is not one of them. So it is that this reported Eng fish invention which promises much more efficient gas at a greatly re- duced price will interest many of us. He calls it "petrol-air gas," and our consul at Plymouth thus writes of it:
 The. gas is made by the earbureeing of air with a small proportion of petrol vapor, the resultant rnixtIre. according to the consuPs report being niisbbIy nifbc,, iIIamIinating. 1aIf non explosive. eHects 1T inhaled The gas costs less that one English shilling twenty four eentso thousand cubic feet to produce. A 125 candle power burner when in use costs one-fifth O: one cent an hour and will light a large room. Al cost of two cents enough gas can be supplied to a radiator fOr the heating of an ordinary room dur'ng eight hours. A pso iucing plant cap- able of supplying twenty live ligtts can be made for about $l00.
 There are several good points to be noted in connection with this inven- tion, provided 1t is as reported Econ omy Is a matter of great importance to those who have to pay the bills. and greater Illuminating power is an- other important consideration that will be appreciated by all who use gas. Then the fact that the new il- luminant is without smell. that it's in halation will have no bad effects, and that it will not explode are important points. The smell of the ordinary gas is not pleasant, as all know. and the danger of inhaling it is well known. There are stilr to be found occasional innocent people who win blow out the gas and go to bed. That, in a major ity of cases, means job for the cor oner. Then there are those who smell gas escaping and go around with lighted match or candle in search of the leak. They usually find it and are lucky if they do not find them selves in another world. with ruins of the house blazing about them.
 All these are matters of interest in connection with this reported inven- ton. In fact. they are matters of inn portance' to all consumers If We can get a gas that is very much cheaper. that has greater Illuminating power. that has no bad odor, that will not hurt any one who inhales it. and that will not explode, we will have about as nearly a perfect llluminant as can be imagined. The claims made for it