Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-11
CHANGE IN THE MILLS
CAUSED BY THE RECENT SHUT-oFF OF
NATURAL GAS.

The Return to Coal Being Felt Everywhere
Horses, Mules, Carts and Extra Labor
Necessary-The Gas Companies Greatly
Interested in the Matter.
There is already a remarkable change
noticeable in the iron mills in the short
time since coal has taken the place of gas.
There are now five mills in which 156 pud-
ding furnaces are back to coal, and in the
three mills of the National Tube Company at
McKeesport are Ill furnaces, which is
already one fourth of the whole lot in this
district The difference in the change will
amount to nearly 10000 bushels of coal day.
In less than another month there will be about
20 mills changed from gas.
The change is commencing to be felt every
where. Horses, mules. carts and extra labor
are necessary for the supply ot coal to all the
mills. 1t will take at least 5000 more men, in
cluding the coal miners, and at least 500 more
mules and horses. beside the carts and wagons
This Will leave those animals that have been
dispensed with by the cable cars to be used in
the coal field.
The main obstacle now, and that is already
being felt, is lack of room. On all railways
centering in Pittsburg there is now nearly
blockade. The Allegheny Valley Railroad
Company has leased every foot Of sidings of
the Standard Oil Company. where it extends
into the yards of their refineries all along the
Allegheny river.
RAILROADS CROWDED FOR ROOM.
The Pittsuurg and Western is so crowded for
room that it is almost impossible to move its
freight in the yards on the Northside all the
way from Bennett Station to a point below
Herr's Island, where it is a solid block of
loaded cars, requiring the use of 20 engines day
and night, to Keep them moving. And all
along the main line, for distance of 100 miles.
loaded freight trains are waiting on every side
track. and impeding the passenger traffic so
much that people out as far as ten miles along
the road are greatly inconvemenced.
The loss to the gas companies by having to
cut on their heaviest consumers. or rather the
amount paid by the manufacturers. was quite
sum. According to the rates charged on the
amount of iron and steel in Allegheny county.
every day, 1t ran about in this way: 2,4OO
tons of muck iron (sbout what is pro-
duced) at 81 80 ton, SS,6O0; 5000 tons
OF iron and steel, finished, at 81 25 a ton,
St $40, and l.400 tons of wrought iron pipes at
8 a ton, would be 8. 500 4 total of SD 640 not
including Carnegie Brothers & Co. 1t will re-
quire some time however, until the gas compa-
nies will get enough private consumers to make
up this greatluss.
LOWER PRICES EXPECTED.
Just at present it is rather too soon to predict
the effect that the return to coal will have on
the trade in the future, but there is some talk
that there will be falling of, which will natu-
IalIS lOlLo" VIII d ueCllne IN prices anu as
usual the manufacturers will ask the workmen
TO suffer the consequences, In the way of ask
ing the Amalgama5ed Association for a reduc-
ton of 10 per cent on next years scale.
The first to complain are the pine manufac-
turers, who are to have meeting before long,
aud it is rumored that for the first time in two
years the price on nearly all sizes of pipes is to
be reduced, giving as reason that the failure
of gas has already caused a stagnation in the
demand that will result in restricting the i'm
mense amount that is now made, and which
has Just doubled itself in the last five years.
In 1854, when gas was first introduced in Pitts
burg the amount of pipes made was not much
over 200 tons day. The pipe business has
always been ahead of any other branches in the
iron and steel line in the last 10 Years. There
are l3 rolling mills in and around Pittsburg
where almost every ton turned out is pipe iron,
and besides. there nearly always three or
four mills where more OF less pipe iron is
manufactured, and the number of men work
ing IN these and the pipe mills will reach over
10000