reased but that of electric
lighting has not changed materially. The cost of each commodity is taken
as one hundred units for the year 1894 but, of course, the actual cost
of living for the householder is perhaps a hundred times greater than
the cost of electric lighting.

Year Food Electric lighting
1894 100 100
1896 80 92
1898 92 90
1900 100 85
1902 113 77
1904 110 77
1906 115 57
1908 128 30
1910 138 28
1912 144 23
1914 145 17

One feature of electric lighting which puzzles the consumer and which
gives the politicians an opportunity for crying "discrimination" and
"injustice" at the public-service company is the great variation in
rates. There is no discrimination or injustice when the householder, for
example, must pay more for his lighting than a factory pays. The rates
are not only affected by "demand" but by the period in which the demand
comes. Residence lighting is chiefly confined to certain hours from 5 to
9 P. M. and there is a great "peak" of demand at this time. The
central-stations must have equipment available for this short-time
demand and much of the capacity of the equipment is unused during the
remainder of the day. The factory which uses electricity throughout the
day or night or both is helping to keep the central-station operating
efficiently. The equipment necessary to supply electricity to the
factory is operating long hours. Not only is this overhead charge much
less for factories and many other consumers than for the householder,
but the expense of accounting, of reading meters, etc., is about the
same for all classes of consumers. Therefore, this is an appreciable
item on the bill of the small consumer.

Doubtless, the public does not realize that the enormous decrease in the
cost of lighting during the past century is due largely to the fact that
the lighting industry has grown large. Increased production is
responsible for some of this decrease and science for much of it. The
latter, having been called to the aid of the manufacturers, who are
better able by virtue of their magnitude to spend time and resources
upon scientific developments, has responded with many improvements which
have increased