Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/401

 PRODUCTIVITY OF MUNICIPAL ENTERPRISES 387 PER CENT. OF GAS UNACCOUNTED FOR.

(JoinpAny

1885-1886

1894-1895

Decrease

Increase

Boston

5.4



Brookline.

i c 7

7.2

8.5

Lowell..

6 I

At

1.6

Roxbury. ..

4 7

2,0

1.8

Cambridge. . . ....

I I.I

8.1

3.0

Worcester

7.0

8.1

2

1 1.8

c.q

C.Q

7.0

8.5

I C

II. c

6.9

4.6

South Boston

Q.C

8.3

1.2

1 1. 2

8.6

2.6

Newton

10.4

7.7

2.7

Haverhill

4 A

66

2 2

Fall River

13

6 7

6 3

Jamaica Plain

17.4

MI

3.3

As will be seen from the preceding, twelve of the fifteen largest companies showed a decrease in the proportion of gas unaccounted for varying between 1.2 and 8.5, while only three showed an increase. The average increase of the three was only about one-third of the average decrease of the twelve.

While the output of gas has been rapidly increasing and the loss by leakage has fallen off, the quality of the gas has been improving. Quality is tested partly by the illuminating power of the gas in units of the illuminating power of standard sperm candles and partly by the number of grains of various impurities found in 100 cubic feet of gas. The average candle power of the coal gas in Massachusetts has risen from 17.6 in 1885 to 19.3 in 1895, an d the illuminating power of the gas produced by the largest companies has increased yet faster. The following table gives the increase of candle power in ten years for each com- pany producing over one hundred million cubic feet of gas in

1895-

Boston -5-4 Cambridge .7

Brookline - - 9.5 icester - - 1.6

Lowell - - -3.0 Dorchester - - 7.2

Roxbury ... 5.6 Lynn ... .7

The average increase of these large companies was 4.2 candle