Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-12-30

The Prospects, for Next Dummer's Sup.
ply or Zee, and she Prices-An lee
| Famine not nc all UnlikeIy In fhis
Locality, Uniess- ~
The winter OF 1891 was very cold and
pleasant one, and an immense crop of ice
was gathered in all OF the northern States
In this city and vicinity the facilities for
gathering ice are of superior character,
and the increased demand for this commodr
ity has induced the harvest Of Immense
! quantities for several years back. Last win
ter.eyery available house and building was
filled, and as consequence ice wasa drug
upon the market during the heated
term of 1881 Twenty-Five cents per 100
pounds was all that wholesalers asked and
10 cents per 100 pounds Mt retail. The
present winter, however, has made the de-
mand for ice very large on account of the
fact that there has been no cold weather,
and also that saloons butchers, brewers,
&c. have been compelled to use ice to an
alarming extent all the fall and winter.
The effects of this drain upon the supply
will certainly be to raise the price and
tendency to economic tie quantity on
hands. IL the unreasonable weather con-
tinues, it is altogether likely that next
summer the price of ice will go up TO what
il was eight or ten years ago, viz, one dol
lar per hundred pounds. At that time the
suffering public had to pay cent pound
at wholesale, for the entire year, and the
POOR housekeepers, who only used five TO
Ten pounds day, had to pay. two cents
pound for the privilege OF having cool
draught when they sat down to the
dinner or supper table table: II dd tna' ntarS
some weather that will cause individuals
to put ON their heavy overcoats and button
them up tightly, and, as anatural sequence,
cause the bosOms of the lakes and rivers to
CONCEAL, there is every prospect that
howl will go up next summer that will
reach the heavens. There will certainly be
a veil next week, anyhow, when an advance
of fifteen cents hundred will probably be
made. One of the irregular things about
the proposed advance is, however, that
none of the persons who have to put up
cash for their ice have as yet been notified
that the advance will take place.
A REGISTER reporter met couple OF well
known ice men yesterday and had little
talk with in regard to the status of things.
Mr.. Conrad Seibert was first interviewed
in regard to the ice question and said: The
trade last summer was good and the sales
large. Our price was twenty-five cents per
hundred pounds and half cent pound at
retail. We have not been able to get any
this season so far, but have one large house
WHICH Was ltlt ONCI lIOlu laSb sSaL.
A large quantity OF this will
melt, but we will probably
have 3, 900 tons of it when the coming sea-
son opens. / have not heard of any ice be-
ing cut in the Lake region so far, and from
my present standpoint think ice will be
worth IS cents per hundred pounds during
the coming summer. If we don't have
freeze here or at the Lakes ice may reach
several cents apound.
Frank Walters said he sold an immense
amount of ice during last summer, charg-
ing rs cents at wholesale and 40 cents re-
tail. He is now getting carload OF ice
every two weeks to supply his customers.
He could make no calculations or
predictions yet for next sum-
mer. He thought there were
prospects of a freeze soon. Prices would
not be very high during the coming sum-
mer because ice could be brought from the
lakes cheap. There was a large amount
laid away last winter by wholesale dealers
that has never been touched, and this can
be bought cheap. If there's to be no freeze
next month, Mr.. Walter said he would
order enough from these dealers to last his
customer all summer. The lake ice is
much better than the river ice. Mr.. Wal
ter spoke of visiting .Sandusky in month
or two to secure large amount of ice.
n. Kuhn and the Koehleins, of Bridge
port, have also Jorge supplies on hand.