The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-27
las BELTs NEWEST MARVEL
Gas City, Where, Six Months Ago, There
We're Only Thirty-Nine Voters.
It Will Soon Have Factories Employing 1000
Operatives. and Among Them Will BE the
Greatest Tin Plate Works in the World.

STAFF Correspondence Of the indianapolis Journal
Gas CRY. Dec. 26.-The eliminating
POINT of interest in the gas region. at this
time. is probably Gas City. During the
past six months the allied capital Of q pow
erful railway corporation. alive to the in
dustrial possibilities of the great belt. has
been operating here upon o scale which
will give to its accomplishments. in q Gre
alive direction, the dignity of history and
the color of romance. Behind the scenes
of industry which present themselves to
the eye throughout the whole extent of the
gas belt It may be doubted If there be a
combination Of capital whose operations
are of more general concern than those of
the syndicate referred TO. Dispassionate.
calculating, even s~oulless. railway corpora
tiors may be, but they seldom
commit errors of judgment In the
advance into the Indiana gas fields
of one 81 these syndicates sodIstin guished
for ssgacity. the people of the region see
justified their own ~boundless faith in the
permanency of their gas deposit and the
future industrial progress of the beIt.
The origin of Gas City need not be looked
LOT IN the plOQ6oL duuolc VI tAC q AACA
history begins in the immediate present.
and the vigor of her youth will, doubtless.
extend it far into the indefinite future. In
the growth OF this town therels an element
of the marvellous. yet the cause OF It's exist
ence is TO be sought. not among the super
natural agencies, but in the superabundant
outflow of it's weeks. As in every developed
section of the gas belt, industrial capital
has sought and obtained q f0othOld here.
A hout the N IAN N fact hiring cnncerna wnIcl
it has every where established, towns
spring fresh from the sod. or so extend their
limits az often TO reduce to 1nsIgnificance
the old pIats about which the new addi-
tlons rise.
The significant feature of Gas City Is its
entire novelty. 1t is the one town OF the
gas belt that 10 wholly new. In June. 1892.
City now numbers It's INHABITANTS by hun
dreds. The conditions within the belt
which. in so short q time. have made 1t
possible TO raise a city from o barren plain
must excite the wonder of those who know
the usual Slow growth of the agricultural
districts. Notwithstanding the almost I'M
paralleled rapidity of its rise. Gas City IS
not a mere collection of tents and calico
houses, such as disfigure she plains OF Kan
sas or stand In irregular clusters against
the mountain slopes of the West. 1t is q
substantial city, bearing. in the character
of Its beautiful residences and solid brick
blocks. the stamp and impress of contin-
uity.
first developing its gas 6elds and
thus securing the leading induce
ment for the location of man.
ufsctories.. the company having
with manufacturers. literally, throughout
the world. In the brief space of six months
there were located at Gas City industrial
plants, not only the most gigantic within
the limits OF the belt. but, some OF them, OF
. magnitude not surpassed In the United
StatesL With the completion of q number
of these factories came. naturally. the
population which has made the town.
There are now completed. or by next sum.
mer will have been completed. industrial
concerns that will employ four thousand
operatives. At the estimate warranted by
the figures of the United states census. of
four persons to the family. this will guar
antee to Gas CITY. within the next six
months. q population. in round numbers.
of sixteen thousand souls. If the phenom-
email growth OF This new and vigorous city
~excitss surprise, 10 Is to be remembered
that phenomenal growth Is the universal
rule of the gas belt.
SOME FEATURES OF THE TOWN.
There are now completed and occupied
297 new houses. with foundations laid for
one hundred more. These have gone up
singly or IN blocks, as demand warranted,
and IN point of construction. comfort and
neatness of finish are fully MP with the de-
msnd of the times. AZ significant of the
= substantial character of the town. 1t may
be mentioned that there is now completed
and in operation o three-story brick hotel,
coating S45.0 00. 1t contains forty-fve
rooms, IL elegantly appointed. and rigor-
ously trst-class in all respects. Within
thirty days this house will be lighted with
electricity, by q light and power company
that c0ntemplates the immediate c0nstruc-
ton of n system of electric street railways:
Adjacent Co the hotel is q massive block of
brick and stone, designed for mercantile
PURPOSES This 10 . rproaching completion.
only the minor inside musings being want
Ing. Upon the opposite side of the
of brick. finished In fine Bedford
cut stone. 10 Is also q three story struct-
ure. with all the modern convenienees
There Is also q fine bank building.
and Is n model Of architectural beauty.
with q capital OF $4,000. These are
some of the more public buildings that are
incidentally mentioned as characteristic
of the soiidity Of the town as q whole.
Gas City has never been doomed by free
excursions and the. in-discriminste selling
or giving away OF lots as an inducement to
settle here. Ii has issued comparatively
sent only TO those who write for infsrma.
tion. The town has grown solely upon the
merits of its manufactures. The demand
OF these concerns tor labor has
DEOQSQ aTOunu tucm IN INDUSTRIOUS pOpu-
lation. whose first ambition in life is
TO own comfortable homes. In securing
these, the town company and the manu-
lecturers themselves have held ont every
legitimate iuducemeDt and extended such
encouragement as the situation warrants.
1t is predicted upon the authority of lead
ing manufacturer here, q prediction based
upon the actual demands OF the town. that
when the factories now under coDstruc-
ton open their doors in the spring. there
will be two thousand houses built and &C.
cupied.
The basis upon which the above facts
and predictions are founded are the in
dustries mentioned below. 1t will be
noted that. almost without exception.
these concerns are of great magnitude and
commercial Importance.
First upon the list of its factories is
the largest branch of the United
States Glass Company. This concern
Is organized with q capital stock
of $500. GOO. Its headquarters are
at Pittsburg. IL owns seventeen of the
twenty-one great concerns o! its kind. and
Controls the output in the United States.
1t manufactures exclusively cut-glass and
etched ware. The factory at Gas City Will
be the largest the con pany has III the
United States.
The American W~indow-glass Company is
under the direction of J. III. Maring. of the
firm of Mari-y. Hart 81 Co., of Muncie.
Marion anu other points in the belt. 1t