Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-22
Like a Flock of Sheep the Gas People
Will Follow the Move of the
Philadelphia Company.
THEFUEL MUSTBE USEDSAvINGLY.
Producers Claim That Consumers Do Not
Take Enough Care of Their
Own Interests,
THE OLD CRATES CAUSE GREAT WASTE
Gas Saving Appliances viii Help In Keeping Dowr
the Animal Expenses.


force up the price of other companies. TIL,
Board of Directors of the Allegheny Heat
ing Company will hold meeting TO-DAY
and it is very probable their price will e
up at the same time the Philadelphia Com
panv's increase is made The other com
panies will follow suit as soon as board
meetings can be had Many members of the
boards are now out of the city, and meet
ings cannot be held until they return.
While the increase made by the Philadel
phia Company was not unexpected, it wa:
generally understood that it would not
occur until later in the fall. For this reason
the other companies were not prepared to
fall in line Immediately. In the case of the
Allegheny Heating Company the situation
is different, as it secures its supply of gas
from the Philadelphia Company, and its
price is necessarily regulated by the parent
company For this reason the directors
were notified to meet and take action at
once. All the other companies are inde-
pendent and are only influenced by the
Philadelphia Company because it has the
larger part of the trade.
CONSUMERS MUST SAVE GAS.
The gas men claim consumers are very
wasteful with the fuel, and if they are more
careful, using the proper stoves or CRATES,
they will not feel the rise in price very
much. 1t is claimed there is plenty of gas
if consumers would only use proper pre-
cautions in burning it. OF course, with the
old fashioned CRATES bills will be high. On
the other hand, consumers claim, if they
put in gas saving apparatus, that is expen-
sive and perhaps the gas will play out be-
fore the winteris half over. Then they will
be compelled to put in coal stoves and will
thus have a double expense. The gas was
very low on cold days last winter and it is
believed the same trouble will be met wit h
this winter.
Since gas is to become a luxury it is
probable there will be plenty of gas for
those who use it this winter Hundreds of
consumers will be frozen out on account of
the high price. Some consumers say it was
the idea of the Philadelphia Company to
force out the mass of consumers so they
could sell gas at a good price to a smaller
number for years to come.
The gas companies give a very plausible
excuse for making the advance. They say
that as gas becomes scarcer near the city
they are compelled to go further away,
which increases the cost of production.
New wells have TO be drilled, and while gas
Is plenty il is necessarily more valuable
At present gas is secured many miles from
the city. whereas few years ago it was OBJ
tanned so close it was possible to sell it for
song.
THE PHILADELPHIA COMPANY RULES
Secretary H. E. Seibert, of the Manufac-
tUrers' Natural Gas Company, said yester-
dav he did not know when his company
would increase the price of gas. The ma
joritv Of the directors are out OF the city,
and the price can not well be raised until
they return and hold a meeting.
"The Philadelphia Company is in a posi-
tion TO virtually rule the field" said he.
'It has by far the largest share of the
patronage. We are not in any way con-
ncctcd with that company, but it is possible
the increase will be made. So far the mat
ter has not been talked of, because We did
not know the Philadelphia Company in
tended to take this step at this time.
1--WE are now preparing for winter We
finished new line of eight-inch pipe eight
miles long and turned in the gas yesterday.
It comes from the McGahey field, and is a
good strong feeder. We have a number of
new strong wells, and will have some more
soon. We expect to have plenty of gas for
all kinds of weather this winter One thing
that causes trouble is the fact that there is
too much gas wasted. The bulk of the con-
sumers still Use the old CRATES and thus
waste thousands of feet of gas. Their bills
are necessarily high. The expense could
be greatly curtailed if they would put in
gas-saving stoves. Then they would hardly
feel the rise. With the present contriv-
ances they certainly will.
NOT THE HIGHEST PRICE PAID.
natural gas lately made by the Philadelphia
Gas Company, Pittsburg still has gas
cheaper than other cities, whether illumi-
mating or natural gas is used. The fact is,
consumers of the natural fluid have been so
long getting it at low nte when it was
plentiful that, now it is becoming less so,
they naturally protest against any higher
rates, though these rates may be-and in
this case are--under the prices paid for
either kind of gas in other cities. The
difference in favor of Pittsburg is still
greater when the relative heating proper
ties of illuminating and heating gas are
considered. For instance, natural gas with
LOO heat units per cubic foot, is
sold in this city for 20 cents per
thousand, and Illuminating gas, which
gives but $50 heat units, is selling in Chi
cago for 81 per thousand. In Cory, Pa,
natural gas sells for 90 cents per thousand
and all but a dozen of the inhabitants use
the fuel at that figure. Twenty-Five cents
rules in Detroit and Columbus, and this
figure is below the average rates in other
towns.
THE RIGHT WAY TO USE GAS.
Captain Bigger, of the Philadelphia CON-
pany, is very clear on the point that it is
the nublic's own fault that the gas costs
them as much as it does 1t is all owing TO
the improper methods used in burning the
fuel The full extent of the heat is not util-
lied, and in cases as much as 81 per cent
goes up the chimney.
The right way TO use gas he said yes
terdav. SIS in a small sheet-iron stove. The
only wav to use gas for cooking purposes is
on a gas range. Now, / have gas heater
and a gas range in my house. l
buy gas from the Peoples Company at
j. cents per thousand; paid them SIS for
what 1 used during the last six months, and
vet my fuel has cost me just IS per cent less
than coal did when l used it. Ii economy
is used burning the gus, people can afford to
pay - cents per Thousand before the cost of
their fuel will be on a par with coal at 8
cents a busheL The trouble is consumers
won't practice economy. They adhere to
the open CRATES and old plans for heating,
instead Of putting in the proper devices CON
structed for this very purpose of saving ex-
penditGre in gas. ! must say we are selfishly
interested in having the people use gas-sav-
ing appliances, because the cost to them
will be less and we can charge them more
And the public is interested, too, in saving
the gas, for by just as much as is saved by
Just as much longer will it last Gas will
not last for ever, and when il goes out peo-
how l,od Ia