Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-09
JUST A BIT ANXIOUS.
Little Washington's Brave Attempt
to Get a New Move on Itself
ISN'T A GLITTERING SUCCESS.
The Tube Works They Labored 50 Hard to
Secure Hasn't Started Up.
THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE 1T GOING.

The glory of "Little Washington" has de-
parted. For five years she boasted that she
was the oil producing center of the world,
but lately that honor has departed to other
fields. The oil output has fallen off very
considerably and no new wells are drilling.
The drillers have left for Allegheny county
and the West Virginia fields, and many of
the industries which always accompany the
oil production have followed them. The
citizens of the historic old borough used to
point with pride to the drillers, and say to
strangers, "Those are oil men," But the
oil men, apparently, have left the place for
ever, and the only things they can now
point out to strangers are the college and
the students who attend it.
THEY LOOKED AHEAD.
The wise ones of the town foresaw that
the oil boom must have an end by and by.
and they thought to start another one in
their midst by establishing some manufact-
uring enterprise and investing their money
in an undertaking, which seemingly prom
ised them surer, if not so abundant, divi-
dends A prominent gentleman of Wash
ington, in speaking OF the matter yesterday,
said:
while they were looking around for the
new boom, a man named W. P. Tyler, of
Boston, appeared in Washington, and be-
gan to talk to them about his Boston tube
mill, which was seeking new location IN
the West. He represented to the Washing
ton people that the New England iron
works could no longer compete with those
of Western Pennsylvania, on account of
natural gas and other advantages enjoyed
by manu- facturers here, and that his COM
pany would move its entire tube manufact-
uring plant to Washington if the business
men would give it inducements in the shape
of money, land and fuel.
GRAsPED IT AT ONCE.
'The people Immediately took up with
the scheme of Mr.. Tyler, and did all that
he asked toward giving the enterprise
start. Mr.. John Howden, a prominent
citizen and wealthy real estate man, solic-
tied money from the business men of the
place, and succeeded in securing $50, ,000
This money was subscribed by A. B. Cald-
we'll, A. M. Brown, John Slater, James
Kuntz, E. F. Acheson. James I. Mitchell. L. ].
Jones, Winfield McIlIvain, Isaac Mitchell,
Jonathan Allison, and other well-known busi-
ness men of the place.
Twenty acres of ground were purchased
from John Hass, one mile north of Washing
ton, and everything that could be done to in
sure the success of the undertaking was at
tempted. With the $4,000 Mr.. Tyler has
erected a small MILL but not one-tenth as large
as what the Washington people who put
their cash into the venture expected.
He has had little machinery put into
the building, but it is SO very small in quantity
that If the same number OF pieces were taken
out of the least Pittsburg mill they wouldn't
be missed. The works were to be ready to be-
gin the manufacture of the celebrated Boston
locomotive tubing and other kinds of tubing in
May; but May and June have gone by, and
July is wasting away. and still there are no en-
couraging signs that.the mill will soon have its
wheels set la motion.
NOW QUITE sKEPTICAL.
1.-THE gentlemen who have invested in the en-
terprise are growing exceedingly skepticai
about the naturalization of the tubing busi-
ness, and fear they will never see tubes manu-
factured there. The Washington gentlemen
have recently learned that Mr.. Tyler had tailed
in business number of times in New England,
and naturally they are becoming exceedingly
anxious as to the outcome of the venture.
Beside furnishing the money, the Washing
ton people were to furnish natural gas
free of cost to the works. A switch
has been built from the CHARTERS Val
ley, Railroad to the works. and connection
will. also be made with the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad"
A few days ago Mr.. Tyler had his picture
taken in group of workmen, with crowbar
in his hands, This plebeianism does not accord
VIII lue w dsulnRIou people luea VI d pIo>l-
dent. Their notion of president is derived
from that of the college President, who is
never seen without a coat, who does no menial
employment, and who knows more about Greek
roots than crowbars.
When the mill will be started, no one can tell,
yet Tyler always says, when he is asked, lin ten
days" The people have no substantial assur-
ance that it will be running during 1890, If at
all, yet they are still willing to regard patience
virtue little longer. and see what will
turn up.