Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-20
A SHORTAGE OF ICE.
Great Trouble Experienced in Getting
q Few Cents Worth a Day.
TIE DEALERS VERY INDEPENDENT
They Charge What They Please and Deliver
Where They Choose.
NOT TOO LATE YET FOE NEW PLANTS

1t is some time yet before the iceman will
take off his hat to the plumber, and dealers
in the CONCEALED product continue to have
their hands full. While natural frozen
water is still in demand the artificial article
is destined soon to have the call. New man
ufactories are springing up every now and
the ammonia ice, and from present indica-
tions the day is not far off when ice famines
will be thing of the past.
Just at present, however, the demand ex-
ceeds the supply, as an Alleghenian discov-
cred yesterday, when his regular iceman
failed to call, and he began to telephone for
q new man. He found not one firm who
wasn't too independent to respond to his
call One had "no ice to spare" another
had ''no wagon delivery in that part of the
city," and third, fourth and fifth had other
excuses.
One discovery was made, though 1t is
that, late in the season as it is, the call for
ice where there is none has caused the build
ing of another new artificial ice factory or
works. In short time the engines of the
new Arctic Ice Manufacturing Company, on
South avenue, Allegheny, will set its ma
chinery in motion, and. from that moment
the works will be in operation day and
night, week day and Sunday, year in and
year out, without stop.
MAKING A LATE START
a iorce Oh ~otkmen was Dusiiy engaged
yesterday in putting things in shape. 1t
will require several weeks of work before all
is in readiness. Part of the freezing appar-
ratus is already comnIeted and ice is now
-, -. h,,.h. G.. .-.d,,t, 4. -.
e' 'a' 'Ae NV
1ootup 70 anytning IKE tne cspscity OF the
plant, winch, when nnlsneG, VIII run up as
hlgn as lzo IONS oaliy: ine company ng-
ureo on having everything IN Iull plast 0y
tne mlooie OF TINS summer, Dut WORE on the
pipes upset the CALCULATIONS OF tne pulioers,
ana caused tne present oeiay:
Ine square-snapeo CAKES OF Ice turned OUT
~ Wis .@y a. S.s -. =; u IN.h s 20 s., ,;S.L
and II inches in thickness The purity of
artificial ice has been questioned, and, in
speaking of this, Mr.. w. F. Melhuist,
manager of the Arctic Company, Yesterday
said:
ssPeonle used tn think that microbes of
disease were killed by freezing. Thew
thonpht that II was safe to use. Ice taken
from rivers and ponds that were poisoned by
sewage. because thew believed ali the i'm
pure particles were DESTROYED by congela-
tion. That notion is no longer prevalent
Instead, it is now stated that much of the
sickness in this country is due to the con-
sumntion of natural ice water.
t.I,he deadly germs of typboid and of
other dangerous maladies must be DESTROYED
by boiling or distillins the water before
freezing it into ice That is exactly what is
done in the making of artificial ise. The
water here is drawn from artesian wells,
sunk on the spot. The water passes into
boilers, where it goes through the boiling
process and becomes a yapor.l If there are
any impurities they are removed by the
condensation. After this the water is run
into large tank half filled with gravel and
charcoal, and through which it is slowly
filtered and then run into the cans ready to
be frozen. -.
SOMETHING ABOUT LEAKAGE.
os