San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-08-31
Home Industry Tested.

morris the Iytlc Coal Mines "a home cnterprisel
which employs about forty names; we con
sumo about twenty-five tons per day of their
coal" tMr. kOChlCr under heading OF true
statement of lactsJ
Now let us review this sentence and
see if this is true. Mr.. KOehler saws, ''Our
company alone supports the Lyle Coal
Mines" What alone !! all alOne!U The
Lytle Coal Company would be lonesome
if they had no other support. The truth
is the Lytle Coal Company have great
many other customers and the knowl-
edge of this fact is public. The wagons
hauling their coal to many other places
than the "ideal home industry" estab-
lishment prove it. They go through the
streets in plain sight of our citizens.
1.-The Lyle Coal Company employ about
forty hands"
What Forty men employed to pro-
duCe the twenty-five tons of coal that
YOU say you use? Forty men employed
by the mine operator to keep say two
firemen supplied with coal? You GER
tainly do not expect anybody toswallOw
| this nonsense, even if 1t is under the
| heading of True Statement of Facts"
| Had it not better be described as Idle
| Assertion ~ The truth really is, the
Lytle Coal Company employ about ~ or
| % men and produce about 30 or more
tons per day. You purchase about
twenty tons per day from them and the
other fifteen tons about is consumed by
quiet, unassuming "true home indus
| tries"
You say your company alone support
the Lytle coal NINE" Now, even If
this were the fact, which we deny, what
credit could you claim for it? Other
steam users purchase from the kirk
wood cOlliery 1.-THE first mine opened for
| the San Antonio rnarket) and from the
Lytle Coal company, but are not egOtis-
teal enough to say they alone support
the mine. You have given those mines
no more encouragement than you were
compelled to. and then you only did
what about all other steam consumers
are doing, i. e., using Texas Ignite as
mixture.
And another fact of which you should
beware is that the Alamo Ice company
were the first steam users in this city to
use this Texas fuel.
Please don't steal our thunder.
j. Ii. SMYE.
Manager Alamo Ice Company.
In connection with and supporting the
above the Alamo Ice Company re-pub-
fishes the following. which appeared In
the Times of June 18th, 1885:
sit is with painful surprise that read
in some of the San Antonio newspapers
some very unjust attacks upon the San
Antonio ice manufacturers. In Septem-
Der, 1873. |, then a stranger here, started
out IN the coal business and opened out
mine at the old Harrison place, near
the Atascosa line, and after endeavOring
unsuccessfully for some time to intro
duce the coal, or more properly speaking
''lignite," had almost become discour-
| hny SSnOn in thn aYnari-
ment, and still no one seemed to care
about using it.
About this time made the acquaint-
ance of mechanical engineer, named
Peters, and in conversation with him on
the subject of successfully burning this
Ignite, found out he understood the ma
ture of the fuel thoroughly, and he re-
marked that, in his opinion, the future
of San Antonio, as a manufacturing
point, depended upOnLhe successful use
| of this native fuel. The price of wood,
even then being very high, Mr.. Peters
was trying to organize the Alamo Ice
Co. lie told me if he succeeded in the
organization of the aforesaid company,
he would assist in the Introduction OF
the native coal.
Well, the Alamo ice company became
fact. They built their machinery in
the state of Texas. and when they were
about ready to start interviewed them
again on the subject of coal and was met
with cheerful assurance that they would
do all in their power to introduce the
native coal, as they believed in patroniz-
ing home industry.
This promise they have kept nobly.
The Alamo ice company were the first
steam users to patronize the home fuel.
They are still using it, and have talked
and worked in the interest of our fuel.
Mr.. Peters has been to about all the
other steam users in town, explaining
the peculiarities of the Bexar county
coal, and to him and the Alamo ice COM
pany is due the credit of the successful
introduction of this native fuel.
When this much abused and maligned
ice company started there was no ignite
sold in San Antonio. Now, thanks to
their foresight and persistent effort to
assist In the introduction of this fuel,
there is now being sold in San Antonio
not less than $4,000 worth of Ignite per
year. This money all comes back to
San Antonio again. Otherwise ii would
all go out of the state. Now, knowing
as do, that the ice companies are the
creators of this coal trade, and that
without any pay or bonus or other re-
ward, it jars my feelings to read these
little scurrilous attacks on them, in all
probability emanating from men who
never were of any practical assistance to
or ever fostered q home industry In the
world, and who are too utterly selfish to
appreciate such an act in others. Per-
NIT me to close by remarking that il the
yearly trade OF 900 is of any benefit
to san Antonio, the citizens of that city
are under that much Of an obligation to
theice companies, and l know this to be
the fact. DAVID kIRKwooD.
Bexar Post Office.