The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-30
Another Power, Light and Rail
road Company Is in the
Field.
TO USE PETROLEUM FOR FUEL
Promising Oil Groupings Found and
Capitalists Organized for the
Public Veal.

The various electric schemes for power,
light and railroads that are springing up
in various parts of the State. and in the
United States for that matter, have
aroused considerable interest in the people
OF Napa and Sonoma counties. From all
accounts there are now three projects in
the field in that section for the using of
electricity for all three purposes.
One of the last was announced yesterday
by Mr.. Frances one of the editors of the
Napa Register, who has been on a short
trip to this City with his family. He tells
OF project recently put on foot by a num-
Der of capitalists of Napa that is or will
be novel departure from the usual meth
DDS of making" electricity. In a con-
yersation with a friend Mr.. Francis stated
that the people of the Napa and Sonoma
valleys have long felt the want of cheap
power and light and have often expressed
wish for belt electric railway that will
take In both valleys and place the fruit
growers and farmers in direct communica-
ton with tidewater. At last several capt.
tallsts IN that locality took up the ques-
ton and not long ago incorporated a
company to meet these demands. There
is no intention to run in opposition to the
railroads an electric line, but to run the
line over such a route as to reach the
points most remote from the regular rail-
road, but where, too, good patronage in
freights and fares can be expected.
One company TO this end obtained fran
chlses and rights of way many months
ago. but Mr.. Francis says that the venture
has come TO naught for the want of money
and means of obtaining cheap power.
| Both OF these important obstacles the new
G
the intent to furnish q number of towns
in both valleys with light and power for
manufacturing purposes. The place where
| the electric line will reach Underwater has
not been selected, but it is believed that it
will be somewhere near Sonoma Landing.
! AS stated by the Napa editor, the impor-
tant feature in the scheme is to secure
cheap fuel or power for the production of
electricity. Coal in ships cargo lots at
| $6 80 to IS per ton is too expensive to con-
slider for such plant as will be necessary
to run an electric road, light cities and
move manufacturing machinery. Survey
ors have gone carefully over the surround
streams that will furnish the required
power the year round, and there is no
place where storage reservoirs can be built.
The Napa capitalists think that they
have solved the problem of obtaining
| cheap fuel.
that section of the country number of
Oil groupings which the experts say are as
| promising as any in the State. There
| seems to be an oil belt running the entire
length of the State and the new fields are
in direct line with those of Los Angeles,
San Luis Obispo, Alameda and Contra
Costa counties. The proposition is to ex
anime into these groupings and if they are
of any value to develop the wells and use
the fuel at home instead of trying to sell
it in an already well supplied market. If
by any chance the new oil fields do not
yield as beautifully as anticipated, the
supply of oil for fuel purposes can be had
from the Los Angeles Oil Exchange, which
| is now ready to put on tank steamers and
deliver oil from Point San Pedro to any
place where there is a demand for the
same. AT the ruling rates for this article
oil can be shipped from Los Angeles,
stored at Sonoma Landing and used for
generating electric power at less cost
than for any other fuel.
Mr.. Francis states that the company he
refers to is In no way connected with the
| scheme that l.. Grothwell is interested in.
| Mr.. GrothweQ is now in San Francisco
! trying to interest capitalists in project
to connect LaAeport, Napa and other
places with tldewater by an electric road.
He has written to Mayor Sutro about the
matter. Those who are familiar with that
| part OF the country are curious to know
how Mr.. Grothwell will manage to run his
electric road through the Mount Helena
Pass, where the rise is 1000 feet in ten
miles. In this connection Mr.. Francis
says that the Napa capitalists and others
interested in the new electric scheme have
no intention of trying to extend their cleo
trio road through the mountains into the
Clear Lake Valley. They will be satisfied
to furnish light and power, and put the
| farmers within easy and cheap distance of
tidewater. Their confidence in their ability
to accomplish this is based upon their
ability to obtain cheap oil for fuel, either
at home or from the southern part of the
State.
Siberian peasants clean. stretch and dry
the skin of the turbot for leather hacs and