San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-03-27
THE ICE SUPPLY.
A COLD MONOPOLY HAS BEEN
LAID LOW AND
San Antonio is Blessed With Whole
some Competition In The
Supply OF Ice, This Sea-
son.

1t will be remembered how, during the
past season, the cry for more competition
in the manufacture of ice arose in this
city. Parties interested in the production
of this supply were satisfied Of the
fact that there would be no ice famine
last year, as the Crystal and San Antonio
factories could turn out at least sixty
tons daily. Nothing, however, was said Of
a possible monopoly, which really put in
its appearance before the season was one
half over. The San Antonio factory
with it's fine large machinery, found that
it would be cheaper topurchase the ice for
its customers from the Crystal, than
manufacture it in such limited quantities
as its sales called tor. 1t was not long and
the Crystal company gobbled up the San
Antonio ice factory, thus having mono
ply of the ice trade in this city. The
breweries which are able to furnish a
very handsome q uantity of the product,
kept their fingers ont OF the pie, last sum
mer, leaving the Crystal to fix it own
price aud size of ice. The only opposition
came from Mr.. Geo. Dullnig's little fac
tory on LoSoyo street, but the limited
capacity of that machinery cut but fee
BILE figure in coming to the relief of the
citizen against the monopoly Of the CryS-
tai
Some of our citizens with surplus cash
saw in the ice trade of San Antonio, a
good field TO invest their money, belieV-
ing that with a good management an ice
factory would realize a handsome inter-
est on the capital invested, and accord
ingly two new factories, with good ca
pacity, have sprung into existence this
spring, to be ready for business for the
coming season. This gives US the Crystal,
the San Antonio, the Reliance GJohn G
Ward's), the Southern, (Guenther's), and
Geo. Dullnig'S factories, which have an
nounced that they will supply San Anto-
mans with ice until the bleakest winter
months. Every one Of these factories
have a good capacity, except the Dullnig
plant which turns out only a limited
quantity of the article. This leaves out
the breweries, but it Is not SO very Ger
tain whetherOr not they will be led into
supplying their customers with ice enough
to deprive the factories Of the saloon
trade. Up to date, however, they, have
announced that there shall be no rep
etition OF such an affair as that OF
a few years since, when the brew
cries gave ice to their customers
will neither take dish in the retail trade
of the article. This leaves to five factories
the entire city trade, private families,
saloons, markets and stores, excepting the
two thousand military population of the
city, who draw their ice supply from the
government ice factory, and the large
quantity consumed by the guests and
attaches of the Menger hotel, which in
stitution also manufactures its own Ice.
The supply then of the city, which is left
to the five factories, is pretty accurately
stated to be seventy tons, which amount
can be easily produced by any two OF the
five factories now established. The
Crystal alone, the management states,
has a capacity of 40 tons and its annex,
the SanAntonio, has a capacity of 25 tons,
giving that company total capacity OF
IS tons. The Reliance factory has now
in operation a Is ton machine and is
putting in another of 20 tons, giving it a
capacity of 35 tons. The Southern factory,
which is not yet in operation, but will be
in the course of q week or so, has In
place two 80 ton machines, giving that
company a capacity of 60 tons. Thus
according to the statement OF the various
companies. the plants when running
at their fullest capacity, turn out
100, or with the Dulling plant
of four tons, gives a total of 1874 tons of
ice per day, for the five factories which
have undertaken to supply San Antonio
with the article.
An expert in the business, who is well
posted as to the situation in this city In
regard to the ice production and con-
sumption positively states that the fac
tories will limit their output to very close
to 40 tons a day, of which seventy tons
go to home consumers, leaving a surplus
OF seventy tons for the outside market.
The ice shipments, judging from the
past, will this summer come very claSe TO
the home consumption, the greater por--
ton of 1t going west, as far as Spofford
Junction, a little. short diatance east,
some, south over the S. A. p, but Bee
vile is putting in a $4,000 plant, which
will interfere with the San Antonio trade
In that direction. A little ice goes north
and south for a short distance over the
/. and G. N. All of these shipments are
made by express and 1t costs quite a little
to transport the article. For instance,
ice by express to Spofford, 1873 miles west
of here, costs s1.25 per 100 pounds. Then
there is great loss by melting, not m UGH
being left OF sack OF ice when it has
travelled over 100 miles, unless shipped
in carload lots. Ice, in snch quantities,
has seldom been shipped from here,
though during the last summer some four
or five carloads were shipped as far as
Houston and Galveston. The freight on
carload lots as far as Houston runs up to
fifty dollars car, and is marked rush
freight"
Ice men are fully confident however,
that the demand for ice from surrounding
cities not within the province of other ice
plants, will far exceed that OF previous
years, and that the home market and the
outside, will be able to give to the. five
factories of this city, patronage large
enough TO keep them in operation
throughout the year, without, although
given our citizens ice at a reasonable
price, forcing them into suicidal scram-
mhle for pn0uoh patronage TO keep eaC b