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sUVCS, ‘sef ille in one of May 28 slacken m ither. â€" Fow e third ani son, Wagne featured in ricket club eduled for Decoration ake‘ Forest near Noblé 1:30 p» rk,â€" Sunse ; 1:30 pm ce. ey got thre by Becker, r doing the s â€"eighth in d, the ‘home n, and Koon e slaughter. t the entirs ily ten scat n a position third inning ‘â€"one run. Jay y, the Cres n rivals, the at â€" Sunset o has been chool durâ€" expects t 1 with Blej. mbined wit H)Ottl ’b it was all the way layed u:'z made in th _ one on the zen Manage base in th doubles ing red until the pened the Seven rum ‘he baseball z. . Manager e and hopes he Crescent, tyville outh; igton park irk Cricket rhe Chicago ‘ercy Newâ€" . ~team de Although muscle, he t his runs enough t t double a Casper ani pitcher ani was gool After he Sunday ever plays Missoun Affaiy 1931 O FAR, these stories about the Public Service S Company of Northern Illinois have been largely historical. They have described the Company‘s birth, its growing pains, its comâ€" ing of age. .:. Now we turn to a consideraâ€" tion of what its progress has meant to the thousands of people who have made their homes in northern Illinois beyond the limits The Workd War is a convenient milestone for ofi;‘ geqeratiofi-_-â€"a logical startingâ€"place from which to reckon changes in living conâ€" ditions. Remember how full of drudgery the average home was before the War? How many families denied themselves certain conveniences because they were thought expensive? Strange as it seems today, elecâ€" tricity was often classed as a luxury twenty years ago. .« â€"From the beginning, it became the aim ot the Public Service Company to make electricâ€" ity available to all of northern Illinoisâ€"and to reduce rates whenever it could be done without jeopardizing the quality of service. In 1914, three years after the Company was founded, customers benefited by two rate reâ€" ductions. In the following year came another reduction. In 1916, two more. ~~And this was during the World War crisis. Prices on all commodities were soaring. The "high cost of living" was discussed wherever people gathered. There were coalâ€"less Monâ€" days. Gasolineâ€"less Sundays. Sugar was strictly This is the fourth of a series of stories chronicling the development of the Public Service Company of Northern Iilinois and "the service it is bringing to the area into which Chicago is growing. Copies of previous chapters will be mailed you if you will write to the Company, 72 West Adams Street, Chicago +# LOWERING THE COST PUuBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS Chapter IV T HE PR ES 8 rationed. Through these trying years, in spite of the increased cost of raw materials and labor, rates for electric service in northern Illinois were not raised. During the postâ€"war period a slight inâ€" crease in rates did become necessary, but this was temporary. In 1923 began a series of four substantial reductions. And today, in many northern Illinois homes electricity costs about. half as much as it did in 1911. It is the only important item on the family budget which is substantially lower in price now than it was before the War! â€" : > _ Remarkable as this achievement is, it is not the complete story. You remember what "electric servige" used to consist of in those early days. It meant eZectric lightsâ€"usually a drop cord suspended from the ceiling of each room. Electric washing machines and vacuum to be extensively used. Toast and coffee still had to be made in the kitchen: Electric refrigâ€" erators and radios were unknown. Today electric timeâ€" and laborâ€"savers are taken for granted. They have revolutionized living conditions in the homeâ€"working conâ€" ditions in the factory, the office and on the farm. This vast new field in which the gas and electricity produced by the Public Service Company is being put to work makes an interesting companionâ€"story to that of the greatly reduced rates at which these services are now available. It will be told next week. + co ami Ir t urD Ey T nck ad ; i hom e tom on ay R th