CORRESPONDENCE.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 August 1917, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

IN EXPLANATION

(To the Editor). . gir,—ln your issue of the 14th lnst. ( . you were good enough to publish a ] letter of mine dealing with the bus- j inoss methods of the local Gas Company. Unfortunately a small portion , was eliminated the absence of which tended to obscure the main issue. As a long account of a vulgar dispute between the Gas Company and a woukl-be-consumer over a paltry pound, the letter would have been unpardonably egotistical and altogether inexcusable, but ag a “candid criticism of the business methods of the Hokitika Gas Company,” it was fully justified as being of interest to the large percentage of your readers who are interested in the Gas Company, either as shareholders,— consumers, or would-be consumers. The crux of the whole matter is this. The Gas Company had to bury some capital in the streets, before they could possibly get consumers and to get more consumers, it is absolutely necessary for them to bury some more capital, and although they would be well within their rights in refusing unprofitable business—in this particular case the business should have proved highly profitable, and as such should not have been declined. To avoid any possibility of a mistake the letter was handed to the officials of the Gas Company for revision before publication. Again thanking you and apologising for troubling you a second time. I am,STTLL IN THE DARK.