Arizona republican., 1906-12-24
THAT FUEL FAMINE
 SILL THREATENING
Lights Were Out a Half Hour Last Evening During the Replenishing of the Oil Tank.

The hungry fuel wolf is still barking
 around the Phoenix back door in a most tantalizlng way and threatens to ! enter at almost any time. though one makeshift or another has thus far 1 stood him off. The Pacific Gas and | Electric company was out of business | for few minutes last night and had really the closest call yet though by good fortune it secured another stay i of proceedings.
 on Saturday night Superintendent ] Ensign took a survey of his oil re- | sources and figured that he had a sup l ply on hand that would last him just sixteen hours. He was conservative in the estimate for he made it last for ! twenty-four hours by close economy. He then secured the cooperation of the Santa Fe officials and located an
 empty oil car in Florence. This was secured and filled at some point near
 by, exactly where. MT. Ensign does not
 care to say. for there is probably little more of it left. The car was
 rushed to Phoenix and arrived about
 dark last night By that time the sup
 ply was practically exhausted. there
 being left in the tanks at the electric
 plant only a few gallons and that
 really more dirt than oil the residue
 of former tank stocks. This burned but poorly and the lights glimmered along for a half hour and finally went out entirely. In the meantime the
 new supply was being transferred as fast as possible and in about a half an hour illumination began again.
 Superintendent Ensign hopes to se- cure another carload today or tomor-
 row. from some local Arizona source and if successful these two carloads will last for three or four days. though the demand on the plant is much heav- fer at this time of the year than usual. owing to the fact that the stores are all open evenings and some of them illuminate all night when they can. The company is ecOnomizing all it can and cutting out such things as can be dispensed with, street lights for in
 stance. until a good supply of oil can be obtained.
 The four carloads bought week ago and supposedly shipped from Cali fornia several days ago, have notayet arrived nor can they be greatly de pended on just now. MT. Ensign is ad- vised that two of the cars were shipped by the Southern Pacific and the other two he is not certain which way they were shipped nor is he positive that they have been shipped at all. If the strike of engineers on the Southern Pacific went into effect yesterday af- Sernoon at 4o'clock, as it was expected to, it is scarcely likely that the two cars first mentioned will get here for some time. It is therefore rather q gloomy outlook for oil consumers.
 The Pacific company and the rail roads all seem to be doing their ut most in the premises and MT. Ensign says money consideration does not stand in the way of relief. The ship ment above-Ceferred to. via the South ern Pacific. cost the company S5 cents a gallon, which is a couple of cents q gallon higher than any previous pur- chase. But there is no haggIing of prices whatever they may be. The 1 wants oil and will pay all it has to to get it. in order to keep it's plant running. How long these stren- ! uous conditions will prevail nobody can safely predict. There may be plenty ! of oil in three or four days. but it looks /! now as though conditions might get i worse instead of better.