POWER IN THE HOME.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 2 July 1924, Page 13

POWER IN THE HOME.

ELECTRICTY AS AN AID TO HOUSEKEEPING. VIEWS OF POTENTIAL CONSUAIEKS. There can be no doubt that from its value as a means oi the industrial profiuetivitj ol : ti - trict, cheap cueetnc puwor vo> « ■ an ’ inestimable boon in bg / . daily dimes oi the nusy Uiere are few "-omen liiac.d, m tcountry at any rate who do f thmk. “ii only 1 had a 1 do this or that.- Ahui.t - ' task could be accomplished in of the tame, ana v.atli n tiact.on the labour, that is expended uipresent out of-dato met nods u,c . nmost liousehold wont. At the p •>-• time New Zealand is tat beiiiua su* - countries as the _ tinted *’ America in the application ol c v “ enerirv to everyuay uses, but tueio d no icason why, given elieap and m ; - ablo power, she should not eie - be amongst the foremost qount.ies m the woi Id in tins respect. It is c;itai i that tins tunc, win come soonci - m later: how much sooner or later, n-s.-> with the public—and the nouscwive-a-ol' the district.- - . , . . .

'•AYith tho object of ascertaining views of women witn :regnrd lo tiic -iuatU'i of ' powei' in the' nome, a *'HcruUi _ representative ' interviewed sevc'.ai laafos who" had given considerable attention to tiij .present ecntrovei'Y'. They were unanimous in expicr.ang tli. opinion that cheap and reliable e.oo-U-icty would alnicst revolutionise lioiisekeepiuk. - , .... The first nidy asked for her opinion said that she was convinced that one of the first problems on .which u young eouutrv 'should concentrate was il“ development of an adequate and cheap supply of clectricty, and that tho burden, involved m taxation would, ho amply repaid in other ways. It.seemed to .her., that if. it was intended to develop T'ekapo, the longer we delayed the. greater., would . be the expense incurred in catching up with -The present demand. She hoped therefore That T'ekapo would be pushd- ahead, provided, of course,- that expert advico would be obtained —for which, by Uio way, it was always- necessary to seek overseas: She wiis /confident that.ones a reliable and ' inexpensive supply , of electricity was. available for town and country, peoplo would not be long in linking up in spite of the initial ■expense. “I have noticed,” she proceeded, “that most people in this elec trienl crisis seem to gauge tho prosperity of the country by its-'indus-trial position, and to such people :he problem appears important only as i'ar as it hinderl the progress of commqrco; but surely the prosperity of a country lies, not in money and material saccess,- but in the number of happy homes and healthy children of Which we can boast. So the question bears a vital relation to our national wellbeing,; for: how. can, there be anything approaching the ideal while they are being run’ on ; lines so antiquated? How, too, can mothers be happy and healthy and devote the time they : Would liko to their children, while so much of their vital energy is wasted by slipshod and unscientific methods in their daily work? I think most of us will be glad to see that anachronism, tho coal range, relegated to the scrapheap or the museum; or, if we have already cooked with electric cookers, we will not even find the gas stove going with it, for although an advanco on the coal range, the gas stove is far from being ideal, with its unhealthy fumes and omnipresent leakages in spite of frequent visits from the gas man.” She.felt that the general use of. electricity in the home would bring that institution, at one stride, into line -with more/ modern ; ancl scientifically managed institutions in the com munity, where it should be, and where it. most certainly was not at present.

Another lady said that most, women were agreed that electricity would be a splendid household assistant under certain conditions, but, before it could be even considered, three things were absolutely essential: reliability, reasonable cost, and assured und adequate supply. Aleals, for instance, could not possibly be ready in time unless the power was reliable. Then again, as to the cost, most women had to mamigo thoir homes on a limited income, md if the cost of electricity was greater than that of gas or fuel, they must go without it however desirable it might be. “Moreover,” she said,” it is of no use fixing a low price or a minimum if we must uso more than we require; there is no advantage, for such a course not only encourages extravagance, but is bad business. AVith regard to the third point, of assured and adequate supply, all electrical appliances arc exceedingly expensive, aiid we cannot afford to install them unless the power is available. Promises of future supplies will not cook a dinner to-day. The question then arises, can we hope to get these conditions fulfilled by G'oleridge? T think not, consequently, wo must either get a supply from somewhere else or give up all ideas of using electric power for household purposes. There is one other point 1 would like to draw attention to, in view of the large number of houses now being built. If the supply were certain, no doubt provision would bo made in many of these homos for the installation of electrictv, hut once the owners put in gas or fuel stoves they will be very loth to change,”