Show New Industrial Era r Ninety the fire per cent of the investment m in public utilities according accord to a leading life insurance com cony pang pany his has been made in m the last 3 years It was not until 1888 that the first electric street car appeared red in m the United States today roday we e enjoy fast ervice operating over thousands thousand of mIles of track The telephone was invented in m 1878 but many years ears passed before the old slow forms of communication fell into into In to disuse Toda lodai the American tele telephone telephone le phone industry is a four billion dollar business operating 20 million The greater part of railroad d develop de development de ment has come in a comparatively few ears The laying lading la mg of the track across the continent is in the memory of mans mani man living Ining 11 mg people And modern efficiency and service the I result of great investments was unknown un unI unknown I known i a little over i a generation ago The importance of electricity has but recently been ben appreciated The major place it holds in m home and In Industry industry industry is a modern manifestation of our epochal progress Gas while sold commercially be before before before fore 1870 has but recently recent come conic to the Now it is S said s to have 21 uses and 70 ers u-ers u ers America may be called a utility built country Our expansion in m tel ter territory and business has alwa s I been mea measured by our industrial develop development development ment Our world orld leadership is S by reason of our industrial genius gemus and unprecedented progressiveness The American people have learned to live ll better than any other in the world They ha have ha e learned the value of ur lu luxury without throwing thi owing over thrift While this country's population tron has increased but 10 W per pr cent l in 25 years ears electric railway ay bus business mess has increased d per cent Gas usage has increased per cent telephone 1000 per cent and electric light and PO power er 2000 WOO per cent There Theres is nothing noth nothing mg ing remarkable in m more people us- us using usIng using h reh ing more There is re rem when i l on se incie-se of less than half will effect an in m bo ft crease in the use of commodities of from rom to 2000 1000 per cent It means we e have developed a new standard of living i l new set of values We e have demanded the best by w working 01 king we rye ha have deserved ed and tuned it Utilities have made the thc United States great and ande we e have made the utilities s 's seat JI eat It is a mutual proposition prop propoSItion proposition The result is 8 i a country and andin In an industrial Cl ClI I h IOn that markes m a new era in history |