The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-10-07
GAS BY NEW PROCESSES.
Some Results Of investigations 10
Other Cities.
THE RECORD RUNNING SIXTEEN YEARS
Twcnty-seven Municipalities visited
by Promoters - cutie as Many
wrecks strew the Field.


: business under franchises granted bv thu
city. do not feel In the least alarmed tfa'
our city council will In any probability be
stampeded by special agents. exported ex.
pert promoters, or paid local representa-
tivcs in any effort to secure competinf
franchise for any industry doing business
under authority of the State and city. fol-
above and beyond all other good attributes
Of our citizen officials they may be classed
as certainly sincere, surely fair and i'm
partial and to a man admittedly too hon
cradle to carelessly arm new adventures
with power TO impose upon the city's or
ganized and veteran companies whose au-
thority to do business for the public car
ries with il an implied understanding that
the municipality will not enter into COM
petition by corporate ownership nor permit
strangers to mulct 1t into granting prlvi-
| leges for exploitation, barter or expert
ment in this local field OF legitimate aud
| successful enterprise. AS long as good
| illuminating and heating gas is furnished
| with satisfaction to the city and patrons
| at the lowest possible cost to insure
| reasonable percentage of profit to the pro-
| Queer Houston citizens will not COMPLAIN
| nor Will our council countenance DANCER
Gus or insincere propositions. nor listen
| to the exaggerative twaddle of new pro-
| cess promoters, who dwell upon the won
| derful developments of science and cleo
tricity whereby much water more wind
and some grease revolutionizes the price
OF gas, saves a fortune to the consumer
and makes fortune for the investor aLd
manufacturer. For ways that are dark
and tricks that are vain the heather Chinee
m
ing an enterprise OF which little is known
ana nothing has been accomplished worthy
of repetition.
There Is no harm in being absolutely
falr in the treatment of questions and
propositions of public policy and import
unce, ana while there is much to be said
on the matter Of cheap gas there should
be no hesitatancy in considering the WAYS
ana manner OF obtaining or producing It,
anu what prospects there are that'a chean-
e. OF less expensive gas, can be produced
experience teaches that the best is the
cheapest, cleanest, most brilliant and cen.
eraliy satisfactory The compliance of the
request Of "a Post Reader" to reproduce
some facts and history of efforts in other
cities to produce heating gas exclusively
VI ne" process gas for all purposes. hay
ing Deen assigned to special representa-
i've, some Of the results of the inyestiga
tlon are herein given:
me subject Is In no way a new one. and
many are the letters, reports and articles
to be found bearing directly mon evorv
feature presented by it, many efforts at
new process gas production having been
MADE In different cities of the Irnited
ouates, which efforts became legitimate
SUBJECTS OF investigation, both in the In
. .eiest OF cheaper gas and for self protec.
IN IN AZ 1ne twentieth annual meeting of
the western Gas association. held This
year in Cincinnati. Mr.. F. III. shelton
Ieau paper on THE Failure of the Corn
merciai Attempts to Supply Fuel Gas in
Nv. .i onlten states and in his Introduction
mere Is much to put people to thinkinp
He says: w 'n'A"'hs'
For the past ten years and more fuel
end 1t has been demanded derided do" Se'
oated, praised and damned. The nublio |
euucated by natural gas has apnarentiv
asked Tor 1t; brainy gas men have writes
sAhaustiVe papers to prove that II could
oe, ana other brainy gas men have writer,
o oem,s exhaustive papers to prove that n
couiu not be. Quickly itted promoters NV.
used to sell plants and process .rish,se
INSCRIPTIONS raiders have used II as
uissuise In attacking existing illuminating
sas companies, and a few genuine and
sesillfnate efforts have been made to sell
,uei gas commercially. in the sincere but
MI 'ahen Deief that it would prove a sue
todS,. "nat is the net commercial result
touay' aIter sixteen years agitation and
li,ai! t'uel gas as a whole in every case
"ne'e trieu mas been a fiat and total fall
uie, ana more especially that in every
1 use where attempted 1t has been either.
rMst-A cloak fer strikes and raidinc
,enenes against existing companies and
-, ~, vapitai' or, second. but guise
or the sale of rights for patent f,,si aas
processes, which processes. in every cosa
laVe iaiied of their purpose: or third
Nnere sincerely attempted and free from
amt, as above, each and every genuine
' Oseh lolai
~ anese conclusions and emphatic opinions
re passed ON facts obtained in the investis
'a'ion OF plants and attempts in Yonkers
y. T.. Lynn, Mass. Troy, N. ". BELLE
,ue, KY, Los Angeles. Cal, Omaha Nal,
,erre Haute. Ind, Tacony, Pa. Akron
,hio Centeryille Iowa, Rapid City. s.
=, otiumwa, Iowa. Jackson, Mich. Chi
as %st'i,,.st, Joseph, Mo. Ccrnwell Ontario. \
iaysville, KY, Boston. Mass, ST. Louis
&c, DeS Moines, Ia, Savannah. Ga. Lonis' v
ne, NY, Cottage City, Mass. Framing II
am Mass, and Bridgeport Conn. twentY.
even cities in all during a period Of the
sss sixteen years. Twenty-Five of The =
=. are collapsed, two are trying 10 :,
ct out OF the fuel gas business and thras
now less output after six years of 60. a
,on than when first established. Five =, u
a i, were experiments by regular illun;n
ing gas companies, fourteen were IN I,
'.les aiready served by illuminatiny sas
u pn,p, ten. while ostensibly fuel Gas =
,o'ec.s, were In reality raids upon exists y
az companies with the object OF eitbar
ecuring part OF their business or hsin,
san, on Fourteen have changed or :
lan,s :, tb enange to illuminating gas
,ah.s, ,nree are virtual fascos and e,.vsn
t re- entieiy out of existence.
me Michigan Fuel Gas ,comnarv =.
rand Rapids. Mich. started plsnt 800 a
~ about $4,000 and the capital s,nn, 'us.- .,
n ,scsa al 100000, The process was ths O
~ r,O nan, an outgrowth OF the Proc.
u process, which has been exni,itsd
anoughout the West and South fer snma
ears . me machine consists OF n rensro. ne q
i.n adjacent chambers, through whieh
VI is blown in continuous process nii n,
aaaed and little heat for pronr,stv,s ',
ne ., ana the amount OF grease gas maSs "
uirect proportion to the speed and or, a,
ency OF the blower. Some steam my = en,- m
ouuced which is decomposed Al IN IN n,