Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-27
OUR GAS COMPANY.
WHAT 1T rs DOING TO IMPROVE THE
SERVICE IN THIS CITY.


WHAT 1T rs DOING TO IMPROVE THE
SERVICE IN THIS CITY.
Contemplated-A New Superintendent
Engagsd-Ths Establishment to be Made
Equal to that Of Any Metropolitan City.
One Of the most significant thingsin a
city to show its prosperity or the contrary,
is Its gas works. If day after day, and
year after year the buildings become more
dilapidated, the machinery neglected, and
the general capacity to produce gas dimin-
ished, it may be taken for granted at once
that the people of the town don't want gas
and that the town is going down hill the
same as its gas works are. If, on the con-
trary there is a necessity for enlarging the
works, erecting new buildings and putting
in new retorts there can be no doubt as to
the prosperity of the town. A well Lighted
town argues prosperous town, while
a poorly lighted one indicates the
contrary. If a city is growing wealthy
it can afford to have gas. Il on the con-
trary, it is losing its business and surrend-
ering the supremacy of trade and COM
merce one of the very first things in regard
TO which expenses are reduced, is that of
gas.
st. Paul ought to be good deal better
lighted than it is. The city, it must be
confessed, is peculiar, and it is more diff
cult to properly light it than it is to
| light most cities. The topography of the
country is peculiarly uneven, and as the
city extends in all directions the difficulty
| is increased as the territory added to the
city is just as uneven as Is any part of
that now within the city limits. The
lights are upon the hills, and
in the valleys, and scattered all around, in
all sorts of hooks and corners. Still, not
withstandlng this fact, since Gen. Sibley
| has had the principal management of the
works there has been a gradual improve
ment IN their efficiency and adsptability
| to the necessities of the growing city.
From small works of little consequence
they have been largely increased and the
| efficiency of the service has been greatly
| improved. The mains have been extended
| has been used and ia all ways there has
| been marked improvement in the service.
| Gen. Sibley has spent large portion of his
| time in looking after the interests of the
| company, and in seeing to it that st. Paul
should be furnished with good. gas service.
During the early years of the Introduction
| of gas into the city, under the old COM
pany some imperfect material was used,
and much of the pipe that was laid was
| much smaller than that which is demanded
| at the present time. General Sibley has
been endeavoring all along to get the gas
works down to as perfect basis as posi-
BILE. Gradually, bat steadily, he has intro
duced the modern i'm provements.
The pipes have been enlarged, lamp posts
of the most approved kind have been
located at such points as are fixed upon by
the city council, and everything has been
done on the streets to give the citizens of
st. Paul as good gas light service as
they could ask for. While this has been
done on the streets the gas works have
been greatly enlarged and in many
respects improved. For several years
Gen. Sibley, with view to improving
them, has been endeavoring to secure the
services of Mt j. Atkinson. This gentle
man was for fourteen years superintend-
emit of the st. Louis gas works, and after
| wards occupied similar posi-
ton in Chicago, where last
year he completed the construction
Of the west side works. General Sibley
| finally secured the services of Mr.. Akin
| son, who came here several months ago
| and has been industriously engaged in en-
| larging the works of the company here,
| till now, for the extent of the work to be
| done they can be regarded as very COM
piete. err
Still as time progresses and new inven-
| tions make their appearance, of course,
! other and newer aid more complete ad-
| ditions and Improvements will be made.
| Gas works, as intimated at the commence
| mont of this article, grow with the town.
If the town grows they must grow. II
| the town does not grow they
cannot expect to. Of course science and
art are at work to invent and perfect bet
ter machinery for the manufacture of gas.
AS these Improvements appear they will
be introduced here. These works, Mr.
Atkinson proposes to have made as good
as any in the country. He has put his
hands to the work and will not let GO till
| he has made the gas works what they
| should be. He has built this year six new
benches of retortS, containing six retorts
each, and is able to supply, If called upon
to do 50, from 100000 to 100000 feet of
! gas per night. Mr.. Atkinson vefy natur-
ally complains that the city is not at all
adequately supplied with lamp posts.
They are too far apart
to give that degree of satisfectionrequired,
and he would be glad to have the city
council order in posts enough to enable
the company 10 light the city fully up to
what it ought to be. The company stands
ready to put in all the posts the city coun-
Gil will order in. The company contem-
| plates laying from ten to fourteen miles
of pipe curing the coming year, and en-
larging the works still further, to keep up
with the additional population. The
| works are what are called the
ten inch works. These have done very
good service up to this time but are now
too small for the use of the
present population, and are 10 be taken
out ana replaced by sixteen inch machinery
The consumption of gas has increased
from 40 to so per cent. in ST. Paul during
the past year and the company is kept
continually busy putting in new meters in
all parts of the city.