Cheap Light

Few commodities can be named retail or wholesale that today sell for less than they did 40 years ago. One of the exceptions is electric power. The steady development of the industry and the consequent expansion of electric lighting has led to a striking and steady reduction in the cost of the service to the consumer.

A prominent U. S. investment banking firm recently published statistics on the gradual cheapening of electric power for illuminating purposes. The following table shows the candlepower purchasable at different times for $1.00:

Year Candlepower Year Candlepower

1837 1,115 1909 7,700

1898 2,160 1912 9,903

1905 2,480 1922 16,200

1908 4,875

Just as kerosene supplanted whale-oil for lighting purposes, only to be replaced in turn by gas lighting, so today the latter is gradually yielding to the superior form of electric lighting. With the "SuperPower Age" about to be born, it is entirely possible that, in coming years, electric light, although now only about 1/16 as expensive as 40 years ago, may continue to grow still cheaper.