The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-06
Mayor and Council Deliver
 City to Eighty Cent Ice
CContinued from Page One.)

rage Ol1S.J
 Democratic Alderman John A. Cornell and His Honor the Mayor again went to the mat on the propo- sition. Despite the cold subject it was a hot old battle, and with the aid of IS assistants to Cornelfs 1 the mayor was victorious, entirely be- cause of the heavy odds in his favor.
 After the reading of the Mayors communication Alderman Hamilton made motion that the resolution be adopted and that a committee of three be appointed to carry out the plans.
 Cornell then moved for a 10 min ute recess so that the aldermen could consider the matter. Machine aldermen immediately shouted that there was a motion before the house, but Cornell insisted on consideration which he did not get. It was a good scrap while it lasted. Alderman Hamilton's motion was then put to a vote and carried.
 Whereupon Alderman Cornell said there had been an infringement of the rules and when the mayor ruled there had not he continued to talk. The Democratic alderman contended that rules were suspended irregular ly and without a majority vote. The mayors message was as fol- lows:
 To the Honorable Common Council of the City of Bridgeport:
 GentIemen:-
 The Board of Ice Commissioners | which was appointed in 1915, pur-' suant to an act passed by the Gen | eraI Assembly of this State, in the l same year, authorizing the city to | maintain | ice plant, gave this subject careful | and thorough consideration.
 | Competent engineers were emp;oy- l ed to study the subject and advise the said board relative thereto. These l engineers reported that the total cost 1 of a hundred ton unit would amount l to $153, 3,5OO.OO; which figure also 1 contemplate a cold storage ware | house, as a combination of the two | lessens the operating cost of such a | plant. This was in 1916.
 On May 2, 1919, I received from | another competent industrial and | power engineer an estimate of S111,- l 200 for a, hundred ton plant, exclusive
 of cold storage provisions.
 The sum of $2OO,00O which was | voted for the erection and equipment | of this city to be approximately as ! the needs of our citizens A hundred
 ton plant running 24 hours a day will | produce 36, 500 tons of ice year. I l have ascertained the ice consumption l of this cityl to be approximately as | follows: In December, January, Feb- 1 ruary and March, the daily cOnsump-
 tion is between 35 and 50 tons; in
 April, May, October and November,
 approximately 80 tons, and in June,
 July, August and September, be-
 tween $50 and 600 tons.
 Artificial ice cannot be stored and . kept as readily as natural ice. It
 would not be necessary to construct a
 plant to meet the maximum require
 ments, provided a proper ice storage
 house were constructed where such
 product could be stored during the l period of least demand Calling the l average consumption in winter 40
 tons daily, in the spring and fall 80
 tons, and in the summer 400 tons, the
 yearly consumption is 2,400 tons, or
 between 40 and 50 per cent. greater
 than the maximum output of a hun | dred ton plant with proper storage
 facilities. The only alternative, there
 fore, in this connection, is the con
 struction of a plant large enough to
 meet the demands of the consumers
 and for this we have not sufficient
 money. In my opinion, if the city constructs a plant, it should build a 2OO-ton unit with suitable ice storage | facilities. This would mean at least S35O,O0O to $40O,0OO for an ice plant, ice storage and cold storage houses, and between S225,0O0 and $250,000 for an ice plant alone. Without stor- age, however, a 2OO-ton plant would | not meet the maximum demands of | summer months.
 | Realizing the above facts and ap- | preciating the hardship which ice at so cents a, hundred would be to our I people, had an interview with the representatives of our local ice com panies and from them ascertained the fact, that in almost all the large cities of this and neighboring states, 20 cents for 100 pounds of ice is the prevailing price. Calling their atten- ton to the hardship which this un- usually high price would produce brought out the following reasons for the increase: The demand upon the supply of natural ice last year was
 unprecedented owing to the fact that
 the Government prohibited the use of
 ammonia and coal for manufacturing
 ;ce, in order to conserve these prod
 iIcts for war purposes, and we there fore entered the winter with a greatly
 -educed supply, and during the past
 gvinter almost no ice was harvested in
 this section. After much discussion
 MT. Harry w. Walker agreed to the following: To double the size of the
 ice house in North Bridgeport so as to provide against a repetition of the
 present situation; to sell at the sta tions now open, viz: Corner of Housatonic avenue and Meadow >treet; and corner of East Washing ton avenue and Knowleon strete, ice
 it the rate of 40 cents a hundred rounds. provided the purchaser car ries the same away; and at the fol- lowing places as soon as weather con- ditions warrant, namely: City Ice 6 Coal Yard; No. 1,225 Seaview avenue; Laurel Court; foot of Bostwick ave nue; Beardsley Park ice house; and Mir. Walker will maintain at his own expense a sufficient force to meet the | demand. These stations cover practi- cally the whole of the city except g | the South End, North End, and the