Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-16
HINTS ON BUSINESS.
Thomas Street to be Improved at an
Outlay of Over 100000.
A VIGOROUS KICK FROM OAKLAND.
An English Expert Tells Something New
About the Baku Oil Wells.
SUPPLY OF COKE NOT EQUAL TO DEMAND

A petition is in circulation for the sigma
lures of property holders interested for the
grading, paving and sewering of Thomas
street, from Boulevard Place to the city
line. The street will be 100 feet wide, and
have fagstone pavements.
There is no doubt the improvement will
be made in the spring, as all the property
holders directly affected are in favor of it.
The cost will be between S9OO.0OO and 100000
|
Considerable complaint is made by persons
residing in the vicinity of Atwood and Boquet
streets, Oakland, of the apparently unneces-
| sary delay in completing the improvement OF
the thoroughfare first mentioned. 1t has been
practically impossible for teams for more than
month, and is preventing the completion of a
number of dwellings at the foot Of the street.
A gentleman who lives out there remarked
| yesterday: Il can see no reason why this work
| should hang fire. About two squares have
been completed in the last month. leaving only
about one square unfinished. This should be
| completed in two weeks. at the faTthest. If not
| pushed vigorously, and at once, the probability
is the work will have to 60 over till next
spring.
This would be great disappointment to the
citizens, as, in addition to other Inconvenience
which it would impose upon them, it would
delay the building of the electric railroad,
which they are anxious to see In operation"
The oil wells of Baku formed the subject of
interesting statements in the course of lee
ture upon "The Oil Wells of the World, de-
livered at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, few
days ago by Mr.. Charles Marvin. Rumors, he
said, had latterly been in circulation that Baku
was drying up. So far as he knew, Baku had
been going to ''dry up" for the last ten years.
At any rate, he was continually seeing state
ments to that effect in the newspapers, and he
was frequently receiving letters from mer-
chants asking him whether it was really true
that Baku had busted" His reply to them had
been a reply based upon facts. And with re-
gard to the facts upon which he had based his
answer to this question of has Baku "bustedT'
he might say that they were very simple. Baku
contained an area of 900 square miles Of OIL
bearing territory. Up to the present moment
only five square miles had been at all deVel-
oped That left a very large margin for devel-
opment. On that small area of five square miles,
up to the present moment, 800 wells had been
bored. Then again, pointed out Mr.. Marvin,
ont Of these 500 wells at Baku, the deepest did
not extend lower than about $50 feet while the
average depth is about 500 feet. On the other
hand, the wells in America had a depth aver
aging l5OO feet, and they sometimes ran down
to 2 500 feet. So they would see that the Baku
people had considerable margin for extend
ing their wells before they reached the point at
tanned by the wells of the United States.
The chief petroleum adviser to the Russian
Government had, Mr.. Marvin continued, been
staying with him within the last fortnight.
This gentleman, who had come straight from
Baku, assured him that So far from there being
any danger whatever of Baku drying up within
the next few generations, the amount of oil
was so copious that in order to prevent more
waste the Russian Government had forbidden
boring outside the fve-mile plateau. Refer
ence was made by Mr.. Marvin to the origin of
petroleum, Prof. Mendelejeff's theory being |
explained. If MendelejeFs theory be correct |
urged Mr.. Marvin, petroleum will not cease |
until the molten interior of the earth begins to
lose its power of converting water into gas and |
ofdriving it to the surface.
The coke trade continues to improve, and |
gradually the car supply is getting better. |
Prices are kept at 81 rs per ton for furnace |
COKE but large amounts are shipped on special |
orders at much higher figure. Long contracts
are not desired. operators preferring to supply
the market at 81 rs and take advantage of any
thing better that may come. 1t is deemed wise
not to force the price to a much higher figure
until after the expiration of the present agree
ment between the miners and cokers and
operators, and until the adoption of perma-
nent basis for year. Last weeks shipments
show an increase of l9, 10 tons over those of
the week previous. The total shipments last
week were $500 cars. or 131, 400 tons, and the
week previous the total shipments were 6235
cars, or 1922 tons.
The output last week was distributed as fol-
lows: To points west of Pittsburg. 100 cars;
to Pittsburg and river points, 1,55O cars; to
points east of Pittsburg, 1.650 cars. The supply
is not equal to the demand, yet every oven in
the region is in operation.
A local trade Journal says that at the Bunola
mines on the Monongahela, piles are being
driven to extend a sort of abutment into the
river, upon which steam elevator is to be
built, arranged for loading slack from boat to
cars, and having capacity of 80 cars per day,
siding for that number of cars being put in by
the McKeesport and Bellevernon Railroad. It
appears that there is a growing demand for
slack for the mills of the lake cities, which
could not be supplied from boats and barges
loaded at river tipples, owing to expense of
transfer to freight cars. Dean & Co.. of Pitts
burg, in the construction of this elevator. ex-
pect to overcome this source Of expense to a
certain extent, at least SO far as to make rail
shipment of slack possible and profitable.
AH
The following mechanical patents have ex-
pired and they may be appropriated by any one
SO disposed: Wind wheel, ]. ]. McDiIl; supply
regulator for water works, B. Holly; street
sweeping machine, T. Craig; battening roof, G.
W. Robinson; lifting jack. A. Dom; melting
iron and steel shavings, q. Whitney; gas heater.
E. Barnes: rotary engine and pump. J. Harris;
iron truss bridge, T. c. Clarke; wind wheel, J. |
]. McDill; alloy tor bearings, C. Adams; augur
bit, r. A. Whitmore.