106 CONSTRUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL GASWORKS. 



not easily tampered with. There is a reasonable margin 

 in this, as in other things. In a small district, where 

 it is possible that the clearance times may be irregular 

 and not so frequent as is practicable when the business 

 is of sufficient extent to admit of the employment of 

 one or more full time collectors, this point is the more 

 important. 



Too much has been made, in my opinion, of the catch 

 words " penny-in-the-slot. " Except where the initial price 

 is very low, lower than is likely to obtain in any of the 

 districts under consideration, the penny is too small a unit 

 for the convenience of the customer, and the daily demand 

 for pennies is trying to his patience. Especially where a 

 cooker is used, such an incident as the gas failing during 

 the progress of the Sunday morning preparations, at a time 

 when another penny may not be at hand, is not likely to 

 add to the popularity of the system. The penny is equally 

 inconvenient to the company, involving considerable extra 

 trouble in collection and changing. A shilling unit is much 

 more convenient to both parties. I know there is a very 

 general prejudice in favour of the penny, and it is supposed 

 that paying by the pennyworth is likely to lead to a more 

 liberal use of gas than when a larger unit is used. After 

 considerable experience, both with the is. and with the id. 

 unit, I am strongly in favour of the is., and that especially 

 where the slot collection has to be done at odd times. 

 The slot user class, as a rule, draw weekly wages, and the 

 insertion of is. on Saturday night carries matters on 

 without further trouble. In two small districts, about ten 

 miles apart, of similar character, there are about an equal 

 proportion of slot users, but in one place the is. is used, 

 in the other the id. But there is no evidence that the 

 business in the first-named place is prejudiced. In fact, 



