The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-03

reLeVe conditions greatly. There Is nc
question about it. I should think II
would not cost to exceed $25,000.'' said
he. Mr.. Swan telephoned to Scipio
where the new pumping plant is loca-
ted, 70 miles away. The men at the
plant there stated that they were do
ing the best that they could but failed
to say anything about any break down
In the machinery.
Sunday morning the gas pressure was
down to ten pounds at the receiving
station east Of the city while this morn
ing 1t had considerably improved, in
creasins to 40 pounds.
AT about o'clock last evening the
pressure seemed to become stronger and
from that time on it continued to i'm
prove until it became almost normal
today. 1t was almost simultaneous
with the moderation in the weather and
slowly climbing temperature.
All of Sunday morning and the after
noon the gas in the stoves and the
furnaces over a large part of the city
burned feebly and threw out only
meagre waves Of warmth. Many took
out the gas burners in furnaces and
stoves where it was possible to do sc
and ordered COAL The coal dealers
were happy. All day long wagon loads
of coal were delivered on the hasty
orders given.
were taken out and the furnaces were
fed with coal. The hospital had about
ten tons stored up as a reserve. IF we
had had to depend upon the gas for our
heat we would have had several OF our
patients die on our hands. We are go
ing to use coal steadily from now on,
was the remark of one Of the house
surgeons.
Stormont hospital changed quickly
to coal, being provided for the emer-
gency.
The Mills Dry Goods company ten
1erad ha of n the clerks
who were dependent upon gas heat ana
had none. The store is heated from the
Edison company and the clerks were
told to spend the day in the warm in
terror of the store if they cared to-.
The councilmen had trouble meted
out to them by angry constituents who
wanted to know what they meant by
assuring the people that everything
was all right and letting the gas com
pany off so easily the last time. The
long and hte councilmen who resond-
ed to the ring picked up the receivers
with a sigh.
number of the councilmen think
that the difficulty lies not in the pipe
line or main system which some claim
Is not large enough but that the sup
ply is not equal to the demand. Coun-
Gilman Lannan thinks that there Is
considerable moisture in the pipe lines
and that this has frozen and inter-
fered with the service.
At Kansas City, Leavenworth and
Atchison the same complaint has been
made as at Topeka: failure of the gas
supply. people shivering and eating
cold edibles.
Suffer From Cold
In the southwest part of the city the
gas pressure probably went as low as
anywhere in town and where other
fuel was not available there was real
suffering. 1t was too low in many in
stances to do cooking ordinary for the
day and in the heaters, where the flow
was turned on in full. nothing could
be seen but a duh red gleam, like a.
ruby in the dark.
Early Sunday morning the tele-
phones were called into reQuisitfon and
from a home in the vicinity of West
Presbyterian church a message
church was out of commission and that
Sunday school and all church services
for the day were abandoned. 1t was
requested that this news be repeated
to all known members and attendants
of Westminster who had phones and
by this means not only was a cold and
useless tramp to the church prevented
but a great many accustomed to early
rising Sunday morning remained in
bed until noon, when hunger drove
them forth to eat "cold snack"
In places where there was no 9th er
substitute available and gas was not
sufficient to keep from freezing. barns
and outbuildings were ransacked and
plunder stored away years ago, includ
ing old furniture, was brought out,
stoves resurrected from out of the way
places.
In one block on Western avenue,
there was a single house in which gas
is not used and which is heated by a
furnace. To this hospitable mansion
~. e., a;,rI,I No.
moned to spend the day, and there, in
the evening, the parlors were thrown
open to the young ladies who were to
have had gentlemen" callers. and
could not play freeze out at home.
A family in which were two very
small children. one an infant, who had
recently passed through spell Of sick
ness, sent out an emergency call Satur-
day afternoon to the paternal grand
father, a hustler. living a mile or SO
away. He used the phone and district
messenger service so promptly that in
less than an hour a fine, old fashioned
wood stove had arrived and was set
up by two men who were sent with it,
and a bright fire was kindled with
blazing chunks of which a drayfoad
arrived at the same time.
In one home where an aged man lay
dead, the gloom was intensified by the
absence of fire in the gas stoves and Of
any other kind of stoves in which to
kindle a blaze. Another big house on
College avenue, new and fitted for gas
from basement to attic, was frigid as
an ice box, but the family weathered
the storm by falling back on winter
wraps when they could stay in bed NO
longer A lucky family was one which
had an old street car anchored in the
back yard to do service On hot summer
nights. The glass in doors and WIN
dows was perfect and with the installa-
tion of an oil stove a decidedly COM
Portable retreat was formed, and neces-
sary food prepared until, toward even
ing. the temperature was perceptibly
moderated In brief, there were few
families not forced to the adoption Of
some device to tide over cold Sunday
and each had it's own particular exper-
ience to recount today.
A stranger in the city who CHANGED