Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-27
IDLE GLASS WORKS.
Shortage of Fuel Gas Seriously Grip.
pling a Great Industry.
SOME HOUSES RUNNING HALF TIME.
Manufacturers Unable to Fill Orders in
Consequence.
TRYING TO DEVISE SOME REMEDY

TRYING TO DEVISE SOME REMEDY
It is startling fact, yet none the less
true, thst, practically speaking, the grea,
glass industry Of the Southside is at stand
still, owing to a shortage of gas, and
whether or not the various manufacturers
will return to the use of coal depends
largely upon the outcome of certain
new fields now in the course of develop
ment. Many Of the glasshouses are abso-
lutely idle, and have been for the last ten
days. Others are doing the best they can
operating about half the time. The great
difficulty with the majority of them lies in the
fact that their furnaces have been built es-
pecially for the use of gas, and they cannot
return to coal even if they desire without
| first remodeling their furnaces.
All of the firms have large, orders on
hand, many of which are pressing and the
Inconvenience the manufacturers are put to,
can only be imagined. The gas companies
promise more liberal supply as soon as
certain new lines are connected up and the
manufacturers are simply waiting, "pa-
tiently" as one of them put it yesterday, to
see what the result will be. A tour of the
glasshouses was made yesterday for the pur-
pose OF ascertaining the exact status of the
supply, with the following result:
TALKS WITH CONSUMERS.
A representative of the Peerless Glass
Works said: "We got so short of gas
week ago that we actually had to shut down.
We cannot get sufficient supply now to
operate on, and we have returned TO the use
Of coal. If the supply increases soon, or at
any time, we will use the gas. as we prefer
it to coal, but there will have to be a much
stronger pressure than there is now, if we
will be able to run with it. We have
Nicholson furnace, and can use either gas
or coal.''
james Hogan, Jr.. of Hogan, Evans &
Co., said: "We are considerably back in
our orders by reason Of the weak supply of
gas. We have not been able to operate half
the time since the summer shutdown. We
are working on the new apparatus that has
been proven a success at Geo. A. Macbeth &
Co.'S factory, and hope in a few days to be
able to run on what gas there is. The press
ure has not been above two ounces this week,
and We cannot run our factory on that
amount without some sort of a saving ap-
pliance. We are putting it in now, and will
be ready to start up the first of the week"
Robert Cunningham, of Cunningham &
Co., Twenty-si1th and Mary streets, said:
1--WE are idle. and 1 suppose we will have
to remain idle until the Monongahela Gas
Company can give US more fuel. We have
two furnaces built especially for the use of
gas, but we have no gas to run them. 1
understand that the gas company has a new
main, 5000 feet in length, that they are con-
Meeting with the other mains, and they
promise us plenty of gas shortly. How long
we will be compelled to wait 1t is hard to
say. We are terribly back in our orders,
and it will take US nearly all winter to
catch up"
D. o. Cunningham, of D. o. Cunning
ham & Co.,. was found resting on lounge
in his officestaking the matter good-natured-
ly. "You see 1 am waiting patiently,
don't you," said he. "We have three
furnaces, but cannot run either Of them.
We can run on a pretty low pressure, too,
but some days our gauge don't register at
all. Some days the pressure gets as high as
three ounces, but it is mostly lower than
that. 1 don't know what we will do if we
don't soon get better supply. The COM
pany has promised it next week, and we
are hoping they will be able to keep their
promise"
SOME ARE USING WOOD.
A representative of 7. Campbell & Co.
said: 1--WE have not been able to run since
last Sunday night That's all have to
say"
At Phillips & Co.'s the same information
was secured, but it was thought there that |
they would be able to start up again on |
Monday at the farthest. AT S. McKee's and |
Ihmsen's it was learned they could melt but
were compelled 10 use wood in the blow
furnaces and hattening ovens OF course
they we're unable to make as good time, but
still they could keep their factories in con-
slant operation.
George A. Macbeth & Co. is the only
firm that seems to really have the dead
wood" on the supply. Said Mr.. Roth, of
apparatus we would be idle to-day. 1 tell
you it is great thing. We have no diff
Guilty in operating right along. Both fact
ories are running constantly, and am sure
we haven't had over a two-ounce pressure
his week, and sometimes not quite that
puch.":
From all the information that could be
gathered it would seem that the shortage is
If a temporary character, and is possibly
not much worse than it has always been at
his time of the year, when the companies
ire making their connections for the winter;
Ind yet the manufacturers seem to feel its
Effects with greater force this year than ever
before. There is another fact that enters
INTO the question. The reporter was
'emlnded of it by one of the
spoken to. Said be:
DO you know that when gas was first
lsed by the manufacturers as fuel, the
upply ran up to 2O0-pound pressure?
Now, it is seldom over 10 pounds at any
ime and frequently not that. The low
pressure came after the CHARTERS Company
vas gobbled up, and think there should
,e law prohibiting one corporation from
up another. As soon as the COM