Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-09-09
MAIN Street Gas
LINE IS A SIEVE
ItLECTROLNSIS CAUSES THOUS-
ANDS or LEAKS IN SlN-
INCH GAS MAIN.
An EXPLOSION MAY result
Escaping Gas Likely 10 Iill Adjacent
IIascmcnt--NIay Relay Whole
Line Immediately.

The Usage ana oklahoma Gas COM
pluy's six Inch lire ON Main street ia
the heart of the business district, ha,
been rendered voutable sieve by
the action "clcctroysis" and the as
phalt on the citys principal thor
oughfarrc is uudarl1id with escaNng
gas, while Easements of many ada
cent business houses are being filled
with IN, deadly fumes and Ii terrible
cNploslDu may ocur O. any time.
These facts became known ycster-
day when the gas company officials
applied tu the city engineer for per-
mlslon to cut the pavement aud re-
lay TN, gas main from the Brady ho-
trl 20 Third or Fourth street II is
'htlr purpose 10 lay new cight-inch
pipe the entire distance.
DANGER Is Great.
'Thh situation is rravc.' said city
'uSincC: Hughes last night land we
AR, ii+t I,sDhWg the point predicted
Suu'c years agu would eventually b.
arrived ot ls result of this alec-
uolysis roncydlo. l9s.. and many
other cities have suffered great CT
uslroph.5 as "a result of leaking gas
mains, ANA ! would advise an citizens
10 hc careful about lighting match IS
or m any way carrying fire 10 base
mems along the route Of the leaking
Main street line"
Three years ago city Engineer
ilughcs submitted 10 the CITY CONF
mission lengthy communication.
setting forth i'm detail The dangers II
olcClrolYsis Tho stray currents Of
cioctrcty from he street car tracks
al Mt that time begun to eat holes
IN the citY w3tor mains on various
Gown town streets. He predicted in
his letter that in the event some
means of controlling the street ear
current was not perfected. the gas
maWs would soon become lealSy and
the escaping gas probably would seep
into nearby easements thus endan-
gcring public life and property
Since tha' tlne the city has ex-
perlenced countless difficulties with
their water mains. Hundreds Of
holes have been dug into the pave
mcnt on Main street and elsewhere II
repair ieaidng pipes and every week
0r 80 now a new leak is discovered,
when the escaping water is seen to
oozc uP through the bricks with
VIII n the street car lines are paved.
The discovery Of the condition OF
the Main street gas line was made In
a peculiar manner
How II Was Found.
a leak was sprung in some manner
iu he fire hydrant at Second ami
Main. The water ran out under the
pavement, but the asphalt held It
back and the water was forced into
IN" siavc-like gas pipes. The main
finally became 50 fun of water that
t". vas entirely shut or, and OF
course when the pressure stopped the
gas company began looking for leaks
They dug several holes I'm the pave
mcnt between First and Second
streets and ascer'ained that every
section Cf the cast-iron pipe had
been badly eaten by "electrolysis."
It was then that application was
made for permission 10 lay an en-
uloy new cight-inch line
city Engineer Hughes was at first
luath 'o give his sanction to such a
move, for h means much damage 10
long stretch of valuable and much
used pavement and view OF the extra
traffic that viii bee met with on ac-
count % fthe forthcoming internation-
az dry arinlng congress. he did not
think II advisable. But the more he
thought Of the existing conditions the
better satisfied was he that something
should bv done Immediately lie IS
expects 10 map out plan Of relay
ing the line some time this week.
The present main was laid about six
years ago, a. the time the paving was
put in. II has been leaking for many
!Gonths. and is getting worse in that
r. spect every day. II is on the east
side Of the street, not far from the
Curbins.