The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-02-13
The Electrical Are
From Special Survey OF Electrical
Sunplv Trade hv r. T. Dun A. Coz

From Special Survey Of Electrical
Supply Trade by r. J. Dun & co..
The electrical age seems to be just
in its beginning. Neither years Of
war, times of peace nor periods Of
economic upheaval have been thus
far sufficiently potent to retard It's
progress. It has all the vital motive
force Of youth, coupled with the in
domitable courage and strength Of
will that only maturity can develop.
For, during 1881, when nearly every
other industry was forced to write Oft
a loss, and charts Of industrial opera
lions showed the line of trend uni
fornly downward, total sales of cleo
trio service to domestic consumers
fell little short Of $4,000, 000,0 kilo-
watt hours. This not only was an
increase of about 8 per cent over the
record of the year previous, but rep
resented larger total than the en-
tire sales of electricity for all pur-
poses only twenty years ago.
With the convenience of the push
button for light, heat and the perfect
preservation of food, what housewife
would be willing to 60 back to the
eye-straining glimmer of the oil lamp
or to the enervating heat and UNI
bearable dirt of the coal range? or,
to run down creaky steps to musty
cellar every time the children wanted
milk or jam, only to find that the
former had turned sour and that
mould had made the latter unfit for
use: Aside from the labor, the tempo
Of modern life precludes any such
lavish waste Of time.
Even in the last year, when pinch
ing economy has been carried to a
more discomforting extreme than at
any time in the memory of many OF
the present generation, the conven-
fences that electricity provide have
been the last to be reltnquiShed.
While there have been, OF course,
many small economies practiced by
individual customers in the use OF
lights and appliances. there has been
a gain in the consumption of cleo
tricity In homes, owing to the con-
tinuous service needed for refrigera-
tors, ranges, water heaters, and the
numerous labor saving devices.
The utilization of electricity BY the
average household consumer increased
from $40 kilowatt hours at the end OF
1880 to 500 kilowatt hours at the
close OF 1881. At the same time. the
average price declined from 6.03c per
kilowatt hour to S.80c-a drop Of al
most per cent. Thus, the consumer
has obtained nearly 6 per cent more
service for slightly more than the
same expenditure of money. The Ell
fects of promotional rates and OF fur
ther reductions have been evident
during the year and the overall av-
erage price Of all domestic service
throughout the United States now
stands at 80 per cent below the pre-
war level, while the cost Of living re-
mains so per cent above.
The increase OF only 10000 In the
number Of domestic consumers In the
year Is said to reflect the decline tn
residential construction, as 1t Is esti-
mated that there were 200 900 more
persons living in electrically lighted
houses than in 1880. In view Of the
small increase IN the number or do
nestle customers, the 8 per cent gain
in the consumption Of electricity Is
attributed to the increased use Of
household electrical appliances by the
greater number Of persons living N
electrically lighted homes.