Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-13

country. Gasmen, who ought to know il
anyone does, say 1t has passed forever.
Every town and hamlet few years
ago was offering free sites and free
gas to prospective factory builders. Many
of the larger cities laid lines to the field
and proceeded to boom themselves on their
own supply. Throughout the entire gas
region there was an abnormal sort of 9
hustle, all founded on cheap fuel
Result on Railroad Rates.
Factories came from all parts of the coun.
try and located in the cities and villages all
over the northwestern part of the State.
Fostoria, Findlay, Bowling Green, Tifin,
North Baltimore, Lima and even old Toledo
felt the rapid pulsations of mushroom-like
growth. The factories already established
became go absorbed in the new way of max
ing profits that hairsplitting differences in
railroad rates were forgotten. Manufact-
urers seemed too flush with money to notice
such little things. Now that the gas has
forsaken them they commenc, to watch
such loopholes of profit and loss. The re-
suit is mighty kick to the Interstate
Commerce Commission, filed only last week.
The Northwestern Company commenced
last winter the work of cutting off factories
In Toledo the city corporation picked up
those cut off from the use of gas and sup
piled them through the summer months
Now that winter has set in the ta& on the
city line has proven to be too great. All
the extensive consumers of gas have been
shut of. First, the rolling mills, glass fac
tories and electric power houses had to go;
then the foundries, furniture, wheel aad a
hundred other kind of factories, and lastly
the boilers used for generating steam for
heating purposes and power-like Among
the latter were those at the city water
works. The city could not supply gas
enough for its own use. Several of the
public schools were closed and the pupils
sent home because the buildings were not
warm enough to be habitable. At the High
School the young ladies shivered in their
wraps and the boys came to their classes in
their overcoatA
It's Smoky City Now.
To-day huge clouds. of smoke roll from
every smokestack. Along toward night the
streets get hazy and thick with the smoke
from the mills and factoriea People sniff
their noses when they walk along the street
and try to cough the coal fumes from their
lungs Only a month ago Old Sol had no
difficulty in sending his rays straight to the
walk, and smoke was always an Indication
of fire engines. The change has been per-
feet, and Toledo is almost another city.
Toledo is not the only Ohio city to suffer
from the failure of gas. Dayton has had
still more trouble, and the absolute cessation
Of the supply would have taken place had
not the City Council prevented it. Celina,
st. Marys, Van Vert, Wapakoneta, Lima,
Fremont, Norwalk, Bellevue, Sandusky,
Bowling Green and many smaller towns no
longer supply gas for manufacturing pur.
poses. In Findlay the supply tor factories
mostly comes from private wells drilled by
the companies.
The steadily decreasing pressure is what
general throughout the field, so that no one
town has chances superior to those of any
other. Since the first measurements made
in 1885, the decrease has been over 400 per
cent Of what the rock pressure then
was
Some Significant Statistics.
The fiorres taken from ,acfural meaaurA.