Evening star., 1926-10-24
BY NJ. s. RCKEYSER.

Although the fact may be news to
prohibition enforcement agents. Amer
leans are steadily increasing their
per capita consumption of water.
The larger usage Of water is not.
primarily. due to increased drinking.
but to the growing habit OF bathing
and washing. Cleanliness Is not only
next to Godliness. but. next to good
management, IL the chief factor in
causing the progressive rise in pros
perity of compa MES which supply
water.
H. Hobart Porter, president of the
American Water Works and Electric
Co. which, through subsidiaries. pro-
vides this liquid to more than 125
communities, told me that he cOnsid-
ers the business Of supplying water
the most stable in the country. Per
capita use Of water, he said. has been
increasing for so years. The uuiver
sal adoption Of bathtubs. better
plumbing and the new fashion of
wearing Immediately clean linens are
the primary causes Of the unpre-
cedented demand for water. Euro
pean people do not begin to use water
in the same volume.
Future Supply Assured.
MI. fOTteT, VINO IL a II eng IHeeI, says
the great orgy OF water using has not
reached a stage where the future
supply is threatened. Moreover. he
asserts that there are still possibili
ties of ending huge wastes. When he
beca chief executive of the public
utility holding company 13 year ago.
the need Of expansion was urgent. Mr..
Porter had to choose between Install
ing huge new pumping machines.
which would have added greatly to
the cost Of the service, or introducing
meters by which consumption would
be measured and waste discouraged.
He chose the meter system, and found
that it had a magic influence in halt
ing needless leakage and waste. with
the resultant saving to the company
and the public There are still possi.
bilities for great economies in the way
we average folk use the colOrless fluid.
according to Mr.. Porter.
Mr.. Porter, who is also a artner
in the engineering firm of Sanderson
& Porter, president Of the Brooklyn
City Railroad. director of the Mis-
souri-Pacific Railroad and director
of the United States Mortgage & Trust
Co.. was born in Washington Square.
New York City, 81 years ago. In 1886
he was gradua ted from the School of
Mines. Columbia University. He is
now member of the board of
trustees Of the university.
Mr.. Porter has an iron gray mill
tary mustache and twinkling blue
eyes. There is youth In his express
sion. Mr.. Porter budgets his time
with the skill of an engineer. and has
plenty of opportunity for recreation
in spite of his numerous important
jobs.
Firm Serves 900 Communities.
The American Water Works & Flee
trio Co. which Mr. Porter lifted from
failure in 1913 to leadership in its
field. also serves 500 communities with
electricity and tranSportation ia
cilities.
Mr.. Porter was one ot the first to
see the value Of super-power.
/ asked him just what benefits the
consuming public can expect from the
economies Of super power.
There has been a great misconcep-
ton among the public and the news
papers as to the effect Of intercon.
nected power" answered Mr.. Porter.
There will be no vast saving which
can he translated into greatly lower
rates. Interconnection tends to cut
down capital charges in obviating the
need Of building evtra spare plant
equipment. but this saving is in part
offset by the cost Of interconnection Of
adjoining plants. The great advantage
in tying up the power of one station
with that of it's neighborhood is in en-
hancing the reliability Of service.
This assura nee Of uninterrupted serv
ice is Of vast importance to manu-
facturers whose schedule Of produc-
ton Is seriously interrupted when
breakdown at the central station en-
tails a cessat tion of power service.
The cost Of power is an insignificant
fraction Of the cost Of production of
most commodities, and a change in
the price OF power would not be re-
f1ected in any important reduction in
the retail price. Moreover. electric
power is cheap and Is one Of the few
services that has not become more
expensive since before the war. Econ
omies and better technique have off
set the effect of the decline of the
purcha sing power of the dollar"
Economies to Hold Price Down.
The price of electric power has re-
mained down while other costs have
risen. New economies will hoM l:
down. The chief items of cost Of
steam generated electro-power are in