Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-01-07
BEGIN TO CUT ice.
Low Temperature Adds Several Inches
to Solid Surface and Dealers
Prepare for Harvest.
WORK TO START SATURDAY
Union Ice G. Coal Company's Plant at
Rock River is Being Made Ready
for Operation at Once.

The cold weather of the last few
days has brought broad smile to the !
faces of both the coal men and the |
ice men and from present indications |
il is the smile that won't come off
The ice men especially are happy over
the prospects of having their years
supply of ice laid in early this year.
The Union Ice & Coal company will
commence the cutting of ice either
Saturday or Monday and the work will
be pushed through as fast as possible,
with a view to harvesting enough at
one cutting to fill up all the store
houses of the company.
The principal cutting field of the
company is in Rock river at a point
some two miles above Milan. The
river is fairly wide and deep there and
an excellent field is afforded. The
company has storehouses there which
will hold about 10000 tons and more
than half that much more is cut to be
| shipped to Silvis where the company
| has other storehouses. The ice at the
Silvis house is used entirely for sup
plying the trains on the Rock Island
| road during the summer Besides
| these two store houses the company
cuts $1,000 tons yearly at the houses
on the Mississippi river in Moline.
| The ice at that point is about six in
ches thick at present and it is hoped
that it will be ready for harvesting be-
fore long if the present cold weather
keeps up.
| Have Big Plant.
at the plant on Rock river about 1875
men are usually. employed and fully
10000 tons are cut and stored or ship
ped away in the short space of two
weeks. Because of the distance that
the fields are from the cities, the COM
lpany has built a sort of hotel in the
rough and 100 men are boarded and
lodged there during the time the worl;
is in progress. Three cooks do the
work for the harvesters and they have
their hands full because the appetites
| which go with the outdoor work are a:
, found it advisable to do it's butcherina
i for the hotel, with the result that the
meat supply is better and less expen
sive than if it were bought from the
, packers. On an average 125 loaves Of
bread and from five to seven bushels
of potatoes are used each day ant
other table supplies in proportion.
: Tel nd ~
has a spur running to the ice houses
and there is a daily output of some D
cars while the cutting is going on. I
Z special train crew stays with the jo'
during this time, taking train of ic
filed cars to Silvis each evening an.
returning the same night. The crey
eats and sleeps at the hotel and i
Iready for the work of switching tn
q cars early in the morning.
= Is Nine Inches Thick.
}. The ice on the river is to 9 in
Iches thick at present and the prospect
are that it will be thicker before GU
ting begins. At the fields in the cana
a where many of the farmers get thei
is supply of ice for the year it is col
n siderable thicker, due to the fact tha
v 1t is still water and that it froze ca
e, lier. The snow which fell yesterda
y and today is not causing delight fc
st the ice men who are aware of the fat
s, that heavy snowfall besides maxim
S. cutting more difficult puts a stop !
ut the freezing. The ice men say tn;
t. with blanket of snow six inches dee
lie on the ice no freezing takes place ar
Id the ice does not get any thicker. I
50 matter how cold. it is, although we
1.-THE ice foot thick it would continl