Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-01-02
A P1ttsburg Letter from Our Own
Correspondent.

:
might perhaps interest some of the
WORLD readers to read few lines con-
corning the town and its prospects.
The east line of Crawford county, OF
which Girard lie the county seat and
Pittsburg the largest city, is also the
state line, and there is but one county
south between it and the Indian Territory.
Every politician in Trego has heard OF
Crawford county on account of its
peculiar and original system or method
of nominating candidates.
As lady friend of ours once said in re-
gard to it: "The men we're playing cleo
tion." Pittsburg is modern metropoli-
tan city. It has two and halt. miles of
electric street car line, with contract
let to build as much more; has an electric
light plant, gas factory, an unexcelled
fire alarm system with four hose COM
panies, water works, and has just about
completed large ice plant with which it
is expected to manufacture all the ice
used by this and surrounding cities.
Ground has been secured and specifica-
tons of buildings drawn up by a Gin
cinnati firm to erect coffin and casket
factory, and work on the buildings is only
awaiting commencement on acc cunt of
"hitch" with the railroad companies
about freight rates. This will give en-
ployment to large number of hands, and
the water works system, electric lights
and street car line are to be extended out
to them as they are at the edge of town.
But while all this forms combination to
promise future prosperity it is the smelt-
ers and mines which are the towns main
reliance. We presume Pittsburg is a
namesake of the Pennsylvania city and
she is also entitled to the soubriquet,
smoky CITY,"
There are smelters here aggregating
forty odd blocks. They smelt zinc, lead,
copper and silver. The smoke around
them is almost uncomfortable, especially
to person with weak lungs. The ore is
all shipped in, some of it coming quite q
distance.
Pittsburg has an opera house, daily
paper, nearly completed Methodist
church said to be the finest in the state,
among others one of the best hotels in
Kansas, tx rec national banks and the
Salvation Army.
The Missouri Pacific, Kansas City
Fort Scott and Memphis, st. Louis and
San Francisco, and Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe railroads, all pass through
here though none are the main lines.
This makes no material difference as the
transportation facilities could hardly be
better. The Missouri Pacific company
are going to put up new depot in the
spring. The Frisco and Santa Fe, which
ere both under the same management
jointly build one about the same time.
The Frisco has lately put on an extra
freight train to handle the large and con-
stantly increasing out put of coal. This
country has coal at from seven to seventy
feet from the surface The vein ia from
shafts dotted here and there all over the
surrounding country, and then strip
banks, so called where the dirt is scraped
off where the coal is near the surface, are
also numerous. At the shafts the coal is
screened 80 as to make three grades,
lump, nut, and slack, and car of each
is loaded at the same time, Large guam
titles of slack are used by the smelters.
The coal from strip bank appears to be
softer and cannot be said to be first class.
What is sold to customers about town is
screened. It is not unusual to see coal
dealers as young as eleven years. A boy
here with plug Of horse and an old
spring wagon goes to the bank and buys
five bushels at five cents bushel, takes
it mile may be and sells it for enough
more to handsomely pay him flor the de-
livering.. The proprietor Of the bank told
me that one day this boy sold eight loads.
As far as we can see little can be said
of this portion Of the earth from an agri-
cultural stand point. Steam threshers,
and headers are almost unknown. We
have talked with young men who have
always worked on a farm that never saw
either. Bot then we are very near to
Missouri. Hay is put up here in i'm
mense quantities, good share Of which
is bailed and shipped. The soil is of a
clayish gumbo nature.
One thing, we cannot help but notice
the lack of eand. 1t is impossible to get
sand to mix with mortar except it be
shipped in. As substitute the ashes
from the smelters are used in some cases
in place of it. The ore has more or less
sand and crushed rock in it that goes in
to the ashes 80 that the thought is not as
as it at first seems.
Pittsburg has vitrifed brick factory |
3 - L.