The Press Tuesday, November 1, 1921. Electrifying England.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17291, 1 November 1921, Page 6

The Press Tuesday, November 1, 1921. Electrifying England.

ther great scheme of electrification at Home, .which muninariaed in yesterday's Way f show that it is supported i'|ii|by; t^%lll^tti c ity Cbmniissi&n set up /Vs*jeiarly last year, under>jthe Ministry; of to investigate and report on Kipftha; present; and - future electrification matter has been to encourage the rail* way companies to spend their own jnoney. 'on v electrification schemes, es- / * pecially' with regard to suburban traffic. A. fewhave already dona so, sad the V North-Eaatern Railway Company, not - long' ago ' provisionally sanctioned a > k £ scheme, stated to be the first of its lv i bind in England, for the electrification :of nuiin. line between York and i Newcastle, a stretch of 80 miles, over " which' passes i very heavy and varied .traffic. Bufcrwe gather: from an article % frill the London "Daily Chroniole". that is on the eve of great ; «developments in the use of electricity, apart from ita Use in railway Xh§; Electricity Commission ' 1 has mapped out England into electricity ,5$ ! r districts,* some of which are very large ;' >; f- jntihjifo several counties, while ' * others cavers great densely-populated r - "The idea," we :c v read, < 'is to'eetup in each district one *kich ab a 's>■V.mipimuin m v coal consump1' %*,' ty»,\a»d' witlv. theL,'standardisation ' %** oi „ frequencies, mariu-. and needs oi the

"area it covers." These generating stations will, as far as possible, be set up near mining areas, so as to secure the advantage of cheap transport of coal. That much, it appears, is hoped for from hydro-electric power, for English riverß are nofc on the whole of such a type as would supply much power, but something may even be done in that direction. The country's chief asset, so far as electric power is concerned* lies in its coalfields, and the high quality of much of the coal therein. One difficulty that will have to bo overcome if the Commission's proposals arc to bo carried out successfully is the largo number of small electricity undertakings that have grown up in the country. It is said that these number hundreds, most of them inefficient, London alone possessing nearly a hundred. If a national scheme of electric supply is to have full chance of success, those private enterprises must be brought within its scope. But that difficulty will no doubt he overcome. The writer wo have quoted looks forward, with an enthusiasm which we hope will not be disappointed if matters do not move quite so fast as is anticipated, to a time "not far dinl;tant, when railway, factory, farm, "and house will receive their power " from some great electricity station, (i when coal consumption for domestic "purposes will become a relic of bar- " barous times, when black fogs willi be " unknown." It is time that the Old Country awoke to the possibilities attached to the wide use of electric power. Efficiently produced, it should cheapen the cost of manufacture and thus enable lier to compete on better terms with her trade rivals, and it should benefit immensely the health of the population. London was a transformed city during the. coal strike; the air was clear, the sun's rays had not to penetrate thick layers of smoke-laden atmosphere, but shone clear and bright, and the effect of the purer air and unchecked sunshine was seen in the greatly improved mortality returns. There are many districts which will reap similar benefits from the substitution of electricity for coal.