Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-01-21
WHEELING, GAS FUEL.
THE FUEL WHICH THE PEOPLE OF
MARTINsBuRG PROBABLY MISSED.

THE FUEL WHICH THE PEOPLE OF |
MARTINsBrRG PROBABLY MISSED.
Editors Herald - Thinking that I
some OF your readers may be interest
ed in the Fuel of the future / will try !
to give you a few items in regard to its
use in the city of Wheeling and here
let me say that Wheeling has i'm
proved wonderfully in the last ten
years. The streets are well paved
with fire brick, which seem to be the
coming pavement. 1t certainly makes
u nice road; some claim that it Is
hard on the horses; not so hard as the
uld cobble stones which used to rack q
horse terribly. Then the new build
,ngs are of a more substantial kind,
and suited to the vans of their Occu-
pants. The wholesale men have all
doubled their capacity and they are
ever on the outlook for new fields to
trade in. The retail trade in the city
is IF substantial kind. The display
If Xmas goods was immense and the
streets on Xmas eve were crowded
With purchasers. The merchants all
aid they had their share of the holt
lay trade. There are some very fine
candy stores doing an immense bust
ness in their line. All Of the Nail
Factories and Glass Houses seem to
nave doubled their capacity, much to
the disadvantage of the men who do
not work more than half time. The
steel nail is the only kind made now
as the iron nail has beeu driven clear
uut of the western market. One OF
the queer changes is to be seen in the
Labelle and other mills, buying steel
TO make nails out of and selling there
muck iron TO other works. While the
Bellaire Steel Works let their FactO-
nv lay idle and sell the raw steel, say
ing there is no money in nails; when
the demand for steel has been sup
piled, they will have lost their nail
trade and will have to go into the
market and buy their trade back
again. This is almost sure to come to
pass. There are quite lot of indus
tries there which have comeinto exls-
tence since / last saw the city extern
i've Potteries, Tobacco Warehouses
these two give employment to a large
number of girls and bring the servant
girl problem very close to the Wheel
ing ladies, as girls generally prefer the
Factory or shop to the Kitchen
Foundries, Carriage and wagon Shops,
steamboat Building, Furniture. Estab-
lishments, Boiler Works, Soap Facto-
ries, and a hundred other minor in
aiustries, make the city perfect hive,
| % that the merchants do not have to
,lepend.on the iron and glass as of old.
Gradually network of Railroads are
being built to reach the city, and when
the new Bridge is built direct commu-
micatiCn with rich and populous
region will be opened to Wheeling
enterprises. Speed the old city.
But / started ont to tell you about
the new fuel which Is furnishing these
immense factories with all Of the
intense heat which they require
| What ii is or how it is generated i5
not the question how 1t is used Is what
[ will try to explain ii Is conveyed
10 the city in pipes which are layed
under the ground, not on top as some
farmers seemed to fear; it Is brought
| into the city by two routes under the
control of two companies in name but
virtually only one, which has the ex-
elusive right 10 the streets. 1t is dis
trihuted to the citizens exactly the
came as the water is here, by sys-
tenn of mains and branch lines leading
in all directions. / cannot give you
The exact cost of the fuel but 1T Is much
cheaper than coal, (which can be had
there in plenty for under five cents a
bushell. Furnaces using coal last but
a short time, those which use the gas
last for long time. i refer to pud-
ding and heating furnaces. The Go.
lays the pipe to within specified
distance from each house then the
party wishing the gas has his house
| piped Ia good job for the plumbers)
and his CRATES filed with broken
bricks or imitation logs Of wood, Just
as his fancy Is, or perhaps it is all
painted white. Then the gas turned
| in, and presto change. The old smoky,
sooty CRATE is exchanged for apparent
! ~ clear, bright anthracite fire at its
best which never needs any replenish-
! ing; no more quarreling about whose
| turn it is to build the fire, carry in the
kindIiug or clean out the ashes; these
are all done away with. You regulate
your heat just exactly the same as you
do the light with the illuminating gas |;
no smoke, no smell, no SCOT, no ashes,
"a housekeeper's paradise. No danger
of the fires going down and nipping
the tender house plants. no wonder
the ladies of Wheeling look so beauti-
full and happy, while out promena-
ding; no dread ofmaking fires orcold
houses to them. In the factories the
shovel has been thrown away and you
control the heat with your thumb and
finger. The weary blacksmith resting
on his bellows is thing Of the past.
/ have not told you half but will stop
\ for fear you should covet your neigh
boris ease. i may at future time
speak Of the possibility of our having
{; rejected such fuel. A. G.