Mr. Hatton. No. Of course, the cost of this plant largely depends upon the cost of the air. The larger the air plant the less the cost of air. We figure our cost of air based upon a cost of electricity of seventy-seven one-hundredths per cent per kilowatt hour, which is the rate fixed by the Wisconsin Railway Commission for that sort of power; so that that rate is actually fixed.
Mr. Powell. Is that power quite an item in the cost?
Mr. Hatton. Quite an item; the biggest item in the cost; the cost of power for compressing the air—that and the overhead charges, such as the interest on the money invested.
Mr. Mignault. Are you aware whether power is more expensive in Milwaukee than in Detroit?
Mr. Hatton. I am not; I do not know what the cost of power is in Detroit.
Mr. Powell. About what is the cost of horsepower? What is the cost to you people?
Mr. Hatton. I say it costs us seventy-seven one-hundredths of a cent per kilowatt hour, and horsepower is about three-quarters of a kilowatt in round numbers—six-tenths of a cent, I should say.
Mr. Mignault. Is there any nuisance resulting from the drying process?
Mr. Hatton. No. The gases must be washed, and then after passing through the washer are taken into the plant itself—into the liquor, and the liquor is a deodorizer; so there is no odor arises from the cooking of the sludge, as we call it.
Mr. Mignault. That is the drying of the sludge?