The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-06-02
MORE OF MARION.
GREAT FREE GAS CITY
OF Indiana-EightY-Four Manufactures
and Her Prosperity Hardly Begun-
-Four Years Ago Village, "A City
Now, Will be "a Metropolis -Four
Years Hepce-Read the His
tory of Her ProsnerItY.
tory of Her Prosperity.

Much has been said about Marvellous"
Marion and not word OF commentator
has been said atniss Enterprise has often
built up paper towns, clothed tllem with
Imaginary prosperity. pictured them with
the flashing colors OF enchantment, all of
which have too often led tc disappolnt-
ment, sometimes ending in wreck and
ruin. The unexampled prosperity OF Ma
rlon is not of this character, not ephemeral,
not flashing light TO lead astray, not de-
ceptive nor clothed in false colors, but
solid reality, prosperous city AMI Just
what 1t 10 Called Marvellous Marion.
WHERE Is MARION?
Not in the extreme East, nor in the -cx-
treme North, nor in the extreme West
nor in the extreme South, but only 40
miles north of the centre OF population
OF the United States. 1t Is in the eastern
interior OF the prosperous State OF lndt'
ana, near the north and south line, dividing
tho State into two equal parts. II is 10
miles east by southeast OF IoganspOrt,
"A miles north by northeast of lndianap-
oils, 4s miles south by southwest Of Fort
Wayne 53 miles from the eastern line Of
the State, 100 miles from tho western
line, so miles from the northern line and
about 120 miles from the Ohio river, the
Southern boundary. 1t Is within l5O
natl In Ohio, Louisville In Kentucky, l57
miles from Chicago. $50 miles from Cleye-
land and 200 from st. Louis.
HOW REACHED RAILROAD FACILITIES.
Marion has three trunk lines of ofrailroads
running through IL. from nearly all direc-
tions. First. the Pennsylvanla RAJ road
running from New York, Philadelphia,
and from the Delaware and Maryland Pe-
ninsula to Pittsburg, and from thence. 1t
becomes the Pan Handle road to Marion,
where II branches, one branch leadlug to
Chicago on Lake Michigan and the other
branch to st. Louis Jon the Mississippi.
Second, the Toledo, st. Louis and Kansas
City Railroad, which connects Toledo on
L,,fA ..t,tN 4
pi. Third, tho Cincinnati. Wabash and
Michigan Railroad, which connects Gin.
cinnati on the Ohio with Buttons llarbur
on Lake Michigan. Other local railroads
run to and from the city.
Besides all these, six miles OF electric
railways were constructed in 1891, and it
is expected that l5 more miles will he put
In operation the present, year. Marion
has been large city In distances stretch
ing six miles in one direction and four i'll
another. Tho framework is there for
great metropolis and 1t is fast filing up.
MARfoN's GREAT GROWTH.
II has been but little more than forty
years since tue country around Marion
became settled the early settlers prefer
ring the alluvial lands along tho large riv-
ere to tho rich and level praiIies towards
the northwestern part of the State.
Little did these early settlers know the
mine of wealth they were avoiding when
they gavu thu vicinity Of Marion tho go
by" Marion is the Shire or county town
OF Grant, county twelve miles square
with population OF $4,000. Up until 1857
the ecreeCh OF a locomotive was never
heard nor railroad ssaon at Marion. Tx
Congressman Steele, who resides here, In
an address before tho editors of Delaware
md the Eastern Shore of Maryland at tho
York Inn Marion, on the evening of Wed-
nesday ,25th OF May, i6a2. said tllAt prior to
1887 the farmers OF the vicinity or Maj ion
had to haul their farm products 30 miles
over corduroy'roads TO Wabash. the near
est roadroad point where they got a cent
and cent aud a hall "a pound for their
hogs for which they now get 1--we cents,
Marion until four years ago was dull,
pokey town OF $500 souls but 1t now has
q Rpopuation of over $4,000 souls, and il
is expected II the same ratio keeps up.
that In 1897, the population will reach 100.
600 souls.
1t was only In 1888, that In sinking an
artesian we'll, and whnn tho diamond drill
pierced through n bed Of Trenton rock
that natural gas instead of water came
rushing to tho surface. Marion was made
Her success was assured. As well attempt
to dam up the waters OF the Mississippi
as TO check the growth of Marvellous
Marion. Manufacturers hearing OF the
great discovery came Hooking to the new
city that had thrown OFF the tattered gar
ments OF iudolence and had clothed her
self In the robes OF prosperity.
No more stothfulness for Marion! Gas
became king ana gas turned the reirlven-
ated city into beehive Ilourlehlng will
manufactures located on free sltes, driver
Dy iFce gus anu III UP ny lIe6 liSulSs ohiy
think OF 1t, four years ago Marion had
nothing but the few necessary BLACKSMITH
and wheclwriHht shops. a saw mill or two
and grist mill. now she has 81 iac ore!
employing from ten 10 800 hands, with al
output OF sl0.o0o,000 No wonder TIL
place is called Marvellous Marion.
WILL. THE GAS HOLD OFT?
This Is a question that will.naturaily b
asked. The question can only be argur
by analogy. Natural gas is no Gew thing
III lAKFt NJ Hin
the Wind God" Tic Chinese have bee
using it 20a1 yenis The Seneca Indian
discovered it ON Lake Seneca befor
Columbus came to ths country n
the same fame Is burning to-day.
Tho Government Geological reports sa
that mo gas field with ten gas wells wa
ever known To give out" Tho Pennsyl
vana gas Holds arc Immense and ther
lis more gas used from them than ever be
fore, Notwithstanding the fact that the
have fallea into competitive trusts intei
ested in saving that gas is giving out.
The Indiana gas field is ten times as larg
as the Ohio and Pennsylvania fields com
bined. While in the two latter STATE
named gas Is found in pockets ard veint
in Indiana ii forms a gI eat gas pool undo
aregion of country 81 by 10 miles, 10
large TO be controlled by any combine
or trust with the intention OF forcin
up prices. Any person who OWNS IL
can sink a well and furnish his own ga
No, ii is not reasonable to suppose thu
this great pool Of gas will ever fail, Ihel
are already 400 factories in this gns be
that werc not there four years ago, and
hundred millions OF dollars invested. II
owners OF these millions would hard
have located hel o had they had tie lea
idea that the gus would fail.
ADVANTAGES WHICH GAS AFFORDS MARION.
Enough has already been said of the a
vantages OF natural gas to convince u
most skeptical that it is the cheape
agency In the world for motive power +,
factories heating and lighting purpose
and yet much more can he said protitabl
The delegation of editors from DelawG
and the Eastern Shore OF Maryland {
their recent visit TO Marion as guests
tho International Trust Company of PHI
adelphia. fa., visited large number
Mariou's manufactures that were oper