Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-01-07
STORING CHILLS
FOR The SUMMER
One Local Company to House
$4,000 Tons of Ice This
Season.
HAS 1877 MEN IN FIELDS
Miniature Town Is Built Along Shore
of Rock River-Invention for
Cutting.

following the protracted cold wealth
er the ice companies of this city and
vicinity are reaping a harvest such
as they seldom get, and the ice cut
ting operations are growing more ex-
tensive every day. One prominent
dealers stated yesterday that he believ-
ed the ice this year is the best quail
ity he has ever seen and the indica-
tons are that there will be a great
sufnciency of the crystal 70 supply all
the demands made upon it.
Few people realize the immensely
Of the ice cutting operations which
are going on. The Union Ice & Coal
company Of this city, for instance. has
1877 men at work on Rock river just
two miles above Milan, and a peep at
how the work is done is interesting
For instance, it is necessary TO board
and lodge the workers right at the ice
field because it is so far away from
the city.
Is REGULAR TOWN.
A good substantial shelter large
enough TO accommodate over 200 men
is provided and in another building the
entire gang of ice cutters and harvest
ers are given their meals. The work
on the ice gives enormous appetites
also, as one can easily see when he is
told that the crowd AT the Union Ice
company's fields consumes each day a
whole beef. 200 pounds of porkchops
between six and seven bushels OF po-
tatoes, bushel of beans, 200 loaves Of
bread and Is or 90 pounds of coffee,
with other staples in proportion. A
force of cooks is kept on the job all
the time and the fields are in reality
p little city. The men get up bright
and early and work until late, but they
are well fed, the work is healthy, and
they seem TO enjoy it. Probably no
where in the world can a more motley
array OF men be found than at this
same little town of ice harvesters.
Men of every nationality and from
nearly every walk of life find their way
10 the ice fields when the hard winter
months come on and when other work
is scarce.
USING NEW INVENTION.
An invention of c. A. Schoessel. sec
retary-treasurer Of the Union Ice &
d
and il turned out 10 be a brilliant sue
cess. II is a machine TO displace the
horse and the present method OF cut
ting ice The usual way is TO drag a
sharp cutter over the surface. spacing
the slabs off 10 the desired width This
cutter goes into the ice about three
inches at a time and IL proves a pretty
heavy pull for a team Of horses. The
Schoessel invention is machine
which in general appearance re-
sembles a roughly constructed automO-
bile. 1t is moved along by power from
a gasoline engine and underneath its
frame are three circular saws which
are also run by the gasoline engine.
The three saws cut two slabs of ice
at the same timeiand IL moves over the
field in a way that shows the days of
the horses are limited as far as their
usefulness in extensive ice cutting is
concerned. After the machine has
checkered the field once. all that re-
mains is to split off the slabs and
cakes with a sharp lever and float II
through runways TO the place where it
Is hauled up on TO the land.
WILL. STORE MANY TONS.
The Union Ice company plans 70 cut
fully $4,000 tons provided the supply
does not give out through the advent
Of warm weather. OF this amount CO.,
600 tons will be stored in houses on
Rock river and in Moline and the re-
mainder will be sold. Ten thousand
tons will be shipped TO Silvis to be
used in the refrigerators of the Rock
Island road. At present the fields are
furnishing so carloads a day. Half OF
this is being stored in the houses at
the ice fields and the rest is going
TO Moline and Silvis. The local trade
is supplied from the Rock river hous-
es. Cutting at the rate they are now,
the harvesters would have to work one
solid month OF 80 days to secure the
amount OF the cold crystal which the
company needs.
OTHER COMPANIES READY.
The local company is really the first 1
OF the larger concerns 10 commence /
the work of harvesting. but the others !
are all ready to follow suit The Rock /
well Ice company OF this city will har- 1
vest in conjunction with the Union /
Ice company, and the Moline Channel I
Ice company will start Monday. The /
Sylvan Ice company, which harvests in 4
the Moline slough, is also ready to be- |
gin operations next week. In the Mis- 1