Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-04
ICE FAMINE WANTED.
Manufacturers and Dealers Prefer q
Scarcity in the Market,
so THAT. THE PRICE MAY Biz HIGH.
None Of the Factories. Running to Their
Full Capacity.
TO DIG AN IMMENSE ARTEsIAS WE'LL


Good icemen, like all good sprinters, are
just a little tricky. and in, the heat the ice
manufacturers are. now running With old
Dame Nature the latter is given every op-
portunity to win. ~ ~
I As a consequence the price Of ice the
coming summer will probably be just as
high as ever, though the cost Of production
by machinery is, considerably less than the
good old way of waiting for the lakes to
freeze over; Supply and demand regulates
the price of ice just as it does any other
commodity, and the scheme on foot nowiis to
allow the demand to get ahead Of the supply.
! AT present none of the ice factories are
running full blast, though they are nearly
up to- their capacity. The capacity OF the
factories are about 100 tons per day each, or
in all about 500 tons daily. AS the demand
for ice in winter is but3O0 tons daily, there
could be stored away the remaining 200 tons.
However, several of the factories have taken.
advantage of. this time of the year to make
numerous repairs and are not trunnlng regu-'
lar, so that the supply only slightly exceeds
the actual demand. This is sold to butchers
and others who have their own ice houses,
and it is put. t.away for next summers use..
WHY ICE WILL NOT BE CHEAP.
When summer time comes the demand for
ice will be about i, 100 tons daily, and as,
only between 400 and 800 tons Is manu-.
factured each day in Pittsburg, there will
still be a. good chance for dealers in natural
ice. In 1890 the price was higher than it
had been for years on account of small ice
famine, but during the winter months it re-
lapsed into Its old state. 1t is now 25 cents
per hundred to consumers Of large quanti-
ties, such as restaurants, butchers. hotels,
etc., while it is delivered at private resi-
dences ten pounds per day at As cents per
week s@7'4t "a 20 - s@ &.
Whatever is left after the retail customers
are served goes at wholesale at 50 Der ton,
which is at least 80 cents cheaper than it can
be brought to the city from the lakes.
While quite number Of large consumes
will thus have a full Isupply, there will still
be plenty who will be compelled to pay
much higher rate.J = 'siF7f '@
/ Under existing circumstance the only
thing that will prevent an ice famine the
coming SUMMER is that the cold weather
hangs on long enough to freeze up the lakes
where ice is usually harvested SO that good
supply may be laid away. There is still
room for several factories whose capacity
would equal that ofthose now working, but
there is no prospects OF any being built
However. there is some talk Of, increasing
the capacity Of some OF the factories now do
ing businass.
AN IMMENSE ARTEsIAN WE'LL.
The great trouble with the manufacture
of ice has been the want OF good water. Last
year the Eureka Ice Company, whose man
ufactory is at the corner OF First avenue and
Duquesne way, had five artesian wells but
had to take great deal of city water also.
The com pany is now preparing to get ahead
OF this difficulty and this week will begin
putting down an immense artesian we'll.
"The we'll will be the biggest
in the city," said a representa-
tive of the company yesterday,
''and one OF the largest in the country. 1t
is to be 8 feet in diameter and at least 300
feet deep or until we get a good flow of
water. The we'll will be digged by five or
six men with the assistance of a derrick and
large bucket to draw the dirt from the hole.
The casing will be of boiler iron and will be
put down from the top similar to the casing
in an oil or gas we'll. 1t will require long
time before the well can be completed. LAST
year we had some big bills from the city for
water, but now we are preparing TO get
around that and have all the water we need.
The well water is better than that secured
from the city and it requires less work iu
purifying"
There are five ice factories in the two
cities, Eureka. Chautauqua, Arctic. Union
and Hygia. The Chautauque Ice Company
also deals in natural ice.