Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1907-01-22
IN PORTLAND.
No Fire Protection-No Fuel-No
Prospect of Relief,

. L
Prospect of Relief.
Unless the coal famine is soon
broken the 6reboat Georse H.
Williams will BE- forced out OF
commission, leaving the water
front without fire protection.
Chief Campbell said this morn
ing that the outlook was discour-
aging, as the supply of coal in
this city, such as is used by the
hreboat, was nearly exhausted.
The situation regarding the
scarcity of coke aud sawdust used
in the furnaces for heating the
department houses and keeping
up steam in the engines, is NOT
improved. No coke is to be had
in the city, and the supply OF
sawdust is running low, because
MANY of the mills have closed
down during the cold snap.
Unless the weather modelates
soon so the mills can resume
operations or the railroads sue
ceed in bringing a supply of
ccke to the city, the situation in
the fire department will become
alarming.
Many families in Portland are
suffering from lack of fuel on ac-
count of the protlacted spell OF
cold, aud the impossibilitv OF OBJ
tanning either wood or coal.
Women and children are suffer
ing in homes that would other
wise be comtortabl BILE, but the en-
tire disappearance of fuel from
the premises for a week or more.
Houses that have modern. fur
naces and heating appliances are
cherries, as are those whose oc-
cupants depend upon the parlor
or kitchen stove for heat in cold
weather, and lack of means to
buy fuel cuts no figure in the sit
uation, as the orders of rich and
poor alike are disregarded by the
fuel companies, who are swamped
deeper than ever with rush orders,
says the Telegram.
At the same lime the supply of
''dry slab" threatens to give out
altogether as a result of the un-
usual d,ain of the past month.
Whole blocks on the East Side
and in North Portland, that
year ago extended into acres of
dry slabs, are now perfectly clear
of anything that will burn, and
prediction that there would be
slump in the price of this kind
of fuel has been dispelled.
Orders by phone had just about
as we'll not be given, as no at
tention is paid to them. Person
al application at the wood yards
or at the coal bunkers is all that
counts, and even this, accompan-
led by the cash and team, are
not always successful.
"We cannot deliver the coal
until it is unloaded from Leon
XIII, aud this un oading is very
slow at first. When the steve
dores get down to the level of the
hold, better progress will be
made, but at present hand shov-
cling must be resorted to-" was
the answer OF the agent today.
| Ex-Mayor Storey, who is in
the fuel business, has car load
OF Rock Springs coal, but this
will only last a few hours.
Churchley Bros. have several
hundred cords of dry fir in North
Portland, but this will only last
a few days longer.
| Some yards are charging 81 a
cord for dry fir, and delivering
even at this unusual price, can.
not be promised Immediately.
Dry slab brings from IS to IS .2s
a load, and no one knows wher
the order, given today, will be
delivered. if at all. One woman
reports that she paid in advances
tor load of slab over a week agt
as the order would not be taker
unless she did. Today she call
ed to see when that load of woot
was coming, and was told that III
one knew.
A change to milder weather
all that people nope for now. N
: confidence is given the promise
!, of fuel companies, and all tha
the shivering people can do is t
AUDIBLE together and try to bea
with it.
u In Rerard f0 I AXE