Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-29

the mining region is increased by the
| large pieces that drop from trains
crossing and recrossing the many
bridges
Johnstown Flood n Possible Cause
E. L. Mead, well-known member of
the bar in this city, is of the opinion
| that the Johnstown flood, back in 80,
was largely responsible for the orig
/ inal founding of the new profitable
coal beds. At that time, huge de-
posits rushed down the river and
! flooded the country at the time of the
disaster, for long period menacing
the city of Harrisburg and threatening
the health of it's inhabitants, until at
| length the filter plant was installed on
the island and the danger from infect
/ ed water aVerted. Other floods fol-
| lowed the big deluge and all sorts of
material came down the river, giving
credence to the belief that the origin
of the industry may be traced to that
great misery producing flood.
At length competition became so
keen that the inevitable happened
! and there was combine of interests.
| The Harrisburg River Coal, Sand and
stone Company became an entity and
| Is. +. Mead was made treasurer OF
| the organization. The name of the
company betrays the fact that coal
was not the only commodity which
! the river gave and gives up. Pros
| perity was the guiding star of the new
company, which at one time was un-
der contract TO deliver 100000 tons to
a Philadelphia concern, and an idea
of the magnitude of the business may
be had when one realizes that this
wes not an extraordinary order.
Coal Companies Wake Up
For several years the company and
its competitors did business unmolest-
ed until the big coal strike about a
| decade ago brought the mining inter
ests to a realization that they had
been very negligent in the matter of
this by-product which was proving
such gold mine to concerns all along
the river; and so they began washing
! their coal banks themselves, and the
source of supplies was cut down
lnoticeably. That was ten years ago,
and it was claimed then that the in
dustry would soon die out here from
| lack of nourishment, but the coal is
still being taken out in enormous
quantities and there doesn't seem to
be any indication of a let-up. The
small tributaries of the Susquehanna
steadily pour their quota into the
main river, and the steam dredges
continue to ply their interesting trade
and the home manufacturers continue
to buy their coal from the river COM
panies and the individuals who buy
the coal continue to keep their houses
warm. For this latter purpose we use
what is commonly known as "buck-
wheat" and rice coal, which is quite
extensively used in many houses not
only to bank fires at night, but even
to run the furnace entirely without
using any other kind.
This coal which is washed from
the coal banks of the mines and used
for the purposes mentioned above, is
unsurpassed in quality and in fact is
superior to many grades, because it
is hard. 1t used to bring anywhere
from $1,10 to $3.50 a ton. There are
conditions, of course, that render the
industry somewhat too unstable to
suit the general run of persons who
wish to make their business pay day
in and day out. If the river be high,
dredging Is easy because navigation is
urimpeded, but when the river falls
the work becomes more difficult and
tho industry is in anything but a
booming" condition.
1t is a matter of much conjecture
as to whether the installation of the
river dam short time ago may pos
sibly have given to the city for the
future an unsupported economic value
in that it may be a material aid in
blocking the deposits of coal that float
with the current and may increase
vastly the field over which the river
dredges and flats now roam.
Some of the River Veterans
The Harrisburg River Coal, Sand
and Stone Company dealt largely with
the reclaiming of sand, with coal as
a side issue. This company was one
of the few, perhaps the only COM
pany in the country Incorporated for
this unique purpose - for years it
flourished and still does q large busi-
ness. Among the men who were in
terested at the inception of the in
dustry are the names of w. q. Stewart
of West Fairview, who is now said to
hold controlling interest in the above
company; Squire Motter. also of
Fairview, and George Good. a Fourth
now the leading pathfinder" of the
fleet owned by the Harrisburg Light
and Power Company, and known to
every man who was ever connected
with the work on the river, is another
veteran of the "schooners." THE Ad-
religious and thorough-going Chris
tian.
Sand for Building the Capitol Taken
From the River
An interesting sidelight Is found i'm
the building of the State capitol dur
ing the first few years of the present
century. The George F. Payne Com
pany, Philadelphia contractors, whose
duty 1t was to obtain sand for use in
the erection of the capitol building,
were constrained by the relative
cheapness of obtaining material from
the river, to enter into the fleet"
business themselves. In order to COM
pete with private owners in this city
who had by their organization boosted
UP the price, this Philadelphia con-
Germ who were doing the work for the
State under the supervision of the
Board of Public Grounds and Build
ings, bought them a fleet of steam,
pump and fiat boats and did their own
dredging, afterwards selling the fleet
at q public SALE In this way all the
sand that was used in the construc-
tion of the State building was OBJ