68 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL GASWORKS. 



the control of a board of directors, who may appoint a 

 managing director or a small sub-committee, and only have 

 a full meeting twice a year, or on any special occasion. In 

 this connection, it should be remembered that there is not 

 necessarily wisdom in numbers, and that quality rather than 

 quantity tells. A weak board of three members is not 

 improved in any way by the addition of three more of 

 similar calibre. In non-manufacturing districts, there is a 

 difficulty in meeting with men of suitable qualifications 

 to take a really sound grasp of the business and its possi- 

 bilities. All moneys received should be paid into the bank, 

 and all payments be made by cheque, a wages cheque for 

 each month being drawn in advance. The board should 

 have a report from the manager at regular intervals, giving 

 such simple details as tons of coal and lime used, gas made 

 and sent out, products sold, etc., but beyond that, any 

 elaborate table of costs or calculations is of little value. 

 When the primary quantities are estimates, or cannot be 

 accurately calculated, there is no advantage in figuring to 

 the extent of a decimal point per thousand cubic feet on 

 them. A complicated form of statistics may tend to conceal, 

 rather than to make prominent, any defects in the manage- 

 ment or working. The manager should also be held 

 responsible for furnishing, when desired, an accurate state- 

 ment of the stocks of coal, lime, residuals, materials, etc. 



The question of remuneration is one that calls for the 

 exercise of reasonableness and a sense of justice on both 

 sides, and circumstances vary so much that no fixed rule 

 can be laid down. But the practice of putting the job up 

 to the cheapest bidder, by advertising for candidates to 

 state salary required, is not to be commended. A really 

 competent man does not take a job at bread and cheese 

 wages, unless he is in reach of starvation, and then only 



