Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1920-11-19
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land"

@AhN liz HANdSahO IL
What ~schoolboy or schoolgirl has
not repeated time and again this little
stanza, conveying as it does in simple
lucid form the statement of a great
scientific and economic truth? Though
simple to a degree these verses seem to
be, yet it is a we'll known fact that
atoms enthusiastically small make up
not only the water on our globe, its
''dry land" and atmosphere as well,
but compose similarly the entire illimit-
able universe, with its myriads upon
myriads of suns, planets and systems.
The importance of little things in life
is a fertile field for speculation, and a
noted author has said: 1.-The greatest
truths are simplest" TO the inhabit-
ants of seashore resorts ''little drops Of
water and little grains of eando have a
deeper meaning and a greater slgDIh-
canoe than to the jewellers in other
communities. Sandy beaches and
ozark blue ocean" are our chief stock
in trade, most valuable asset. And
next to the silvery strand and the
''watery plain" our boardwalk is a
valuable commercial auxiliary, that is,
what's left of it. Some n was heard
to remark that he considered the gas
situation a far more serious problem
begging for solution than is the board
walk enigma. eve can, if we must"
be said, "get along for a time with a
disjointed walk, but we absolutely can
not get along another season with a gas
supply deficient both in quantity and
quality" And this man probably
voiced the sober sentiment of many of
his fellow citizens. That is why in all
likelihood that the city commissioners
on Tuesday last, November 10th, in
weekly session assembled, passed a re-
solution requesting that the Wild wood
Board Of Trade convene in special
session as soon as possible for the pur-
pose of appointing a committee OF five
members to act in conjunction with
the city commissioners, having the end
in view of devising ways and means to
overcome the threatened disaster OF a
continuance of insufficient gas supply
and service. Municipal ownership has
been darkly limited as a means OF last
resort, but it must not be thought OF
until all other expedients are exhausted.
The price asked by the Gas Company,
nearly half a million dollars, is pro-
hibitive. The opinion has been ven
tured that the franchise and property
would be dear at a quarter of a million.
1t therefore behooves our municipality
to "go SLOW" The memory Of the
"water works" proposition still l1ngers
in many minds, and gas and water will
not mix. In this connection it may be
proper to state that the belief has been
expressed by one in a position to know
what he is talking about that fully
one-third of the gas manufactured by
the present company is lost-escapes
through rusted and leaky mains and
other pipes. 1t could be inferred from
the remark made that The system is
partly worn out or rusted out and an
tiquated, aud that the city has far out
grown the original capacity of said
plant.
Following is the exact wording OF the
resolution: "Whereas, 1t is undeniably
true that this community has been put
to great inconvenience and loss during
the past several summer seasons, caused
by the inadequate supply and poor
quality of gas furnished consumers;
and whereas, present indications for a
better and a sufficient supply of gas in
the future are decidedly n~nfavoraole;
and whereas, the directors Of the gas
company have presented to the Board
of City Commissioners a proposition
looking to the purchase by the city of
Wildwood of the gas works; therefore,
be 1t resolved, by the city commission
ers thai the question Of a better and a
sufficient gas supply be taken into con-
and to that end the>Board
of Trade of the city of Wildwood is re-
quested to appoint five members of
that body to meet with the board of
city commissioners, the same to form a
of the whole for the city of
Wildwood, to discuss and devise ways
and means whereby a better and a
sufficient supply Of gas may be OBJ
AS originally drawn, the foregoing
resolution specified the appointment of
q committee to consist OF only three