The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-03
SAN FRANCISCO
ICE COMPANIES.
A Growing Industry, Giving EN-.
ployment to Many
People.
PURE ICE SUPPLIED TO ALL.
The Various Concerns Doing Bust
ness in This City-Natural and
DistiIIed-Water lce-Prices in
Early Days and Now.

I4E2HEN Charles the Second had his
AREST:9 fatal fit of apoplexy, the skillful
sNN9N doctors who attended him never
thought of ice, which, if it had been ap-
piled, might have done his Royal Highness
some good. 1t is, however. question II
pound of the Arctic product could have been
found in the country.
Nobody thought of outstanding SUBJ
stance so apparently useless, SO vexatlous
as ice, the production, collection, transport
and distribution of which to-day affords
bread and butter to toilng thousands, and
necessitate the employment of lighters ana
fleet of steamers, OF wagons and pom
derous rolling-stock on many railways.
The growing demand for ice Tor domes-
tic. medicinal and other purposes OF late
years led, not only to the DEVELOPMENT OF
regularly organized trade. but also 10 the
invention of improved machinery Tor the
manufacture of an article which is now an
absolute necessity.
In this State the business has grown very
rapidly in eight years, and the quality OF
ice supplied to the consumer has been equal qua
to. if not better than the Norwegian sub
stance which is considered the best Ice
in the worlds markets.
During the early days all the ice used IN
the State was imported in vessels from
Sitka, Alaska, and the old timers Will re-
member wien llc pliSO " % - SShNS -
pound, or a shade under the price at when
American ice sold in Calcutta.
Then the building OF the Central racine
across the Sierra Nevada Mountains opened
up new field for ice, where to-day IS TO De
found the leading ice belt of the Western
country.
A number of small companies took ad
vantage of the new situation, and at once
entered into competition with the Sltka
Company-very soon driving them out OF
the market with low prices-so that in the
past few years ice ceased to be luxury,
and has been within the reach of all
The consumption has been gradually in
crensing, so that to-day it reaches over
10000 tons year.
CONSUMERS ICE COMPANY.
The large factory, store-houses, offices.
etc, of this new company Will be found at
AS 24 Eighth street.
In this city ice has been a luxury for
forty years. 1t has been monopolizrd and
speculated in and sold at such extremely
high prices that people of ordinary means
have not been able to use IL. In the East
ern States its use is universal-in the coun-
try ON the farms as well as in the cities; in
the dead of winter as we'll as in the heat OF
summer-and none are SO poor who cannot
have their ice.
1t has been found, however, that the
natural ice. even from mountain lakes,
ponds and streams, is impure, because such
places are but the drains, sewers and cess
pools of nature, wherein the decaying
animal, mineral and vegetable impurities
of the earth are deposited through the
cleansing of the face OF the earth from filth
by water from the clouds.
To reach absolute security from these
poisonous deposits has been the work OF
scientists for many years-the health and
lives of humanity demand it-and at last
perfect security has been obtained by adopt
ing natures system of publication. The
impure waters of the land go to the sea,
and through evaporation are returned pure
from the clouds Tor human use.
The operation of the above factory is to
boil artesian water, eyaporate, distill and
filter it to the condition of water direct
from the clouds, and then freeze it before
coming in contact with the atmosphere.
The ice is thus made absolutely pure and
odorless, soft to the touch and delicious to
the taste, as well as wholesome TO the
body.
There is combined in this new factory all
the latest improvements that have been
found essential to complete success In the