Wheeling Register

THE GAS GOES OUT.

ONE OF THE CHILLIEST DAYS EVER EXPERIENCED IN WHEELING.

The City Without the New Fuel for Twelve Hours— Much Inconvenience, And a Narrow Escape From Heavy Loss.

Yesterday morning shortly after three o'clock, the supply of natural gas in the lines of the West Virginia Company, supplying a number of manufacturers and several hundred private residences in this city, gave out entirely, the cause being a bad break in the main pipe, at a place called Garrett's Hill, located by the employes of the company about seven miles east of West Alexander, and some twenty miles from this city. The fact of the break was soon made known to the officers of the Wheeling Natural Gas Company, and the latter corporation placed its supply at the disposal of the West Virginia Company, the gas being turned into the empty pipes at once, while a large force of men were despatched to the scene of the trouble, with instructions to push the work of repairs with the utmost rapidity.

The break, as a matter of course, extinguished the fires in every building supplied by the West Virginia Company, and there was, as a consequence, a scene of wild commotion in many a bed chamber, as the rapidly chilling atmosphere rendered it obligatory upon paterfamilies to crawl out of a more or less comfortable couch, and endeavor, while the cold chills galloped sportively up and down his spinal column, and the icy air caressed his unprotected feet, to REVIVE THE EXTINCT FLAMES in grate or stove. Even after the fluid had been turned on from the pipe of the Wheeling Company, this was not always successfully accomplished, owing to a lack of pressure or the presence of air in the pipes, and curses, low-voiced but sincere, were lavishly applied to the gas, the fixtures, the company, the employes thereof, the weather, and pretty much everything else which suggested itself to the head of the house, who, having singed his fingers and soiled the vicinity of the fire-place with half-burned matches and the blackened remains of sundry strips of paper, shut off the valve in despair and betook himself back to bed firmly resolved to "go back to coal" as soon as the pipes and burners could be removed from his premises.

It was not long, however, until the gas from the Wheeling Company's lines made its presence known, and in most households gas fires were burning cheerfully at breakfast time, and the trouble seemed to be over. At 8:40 o'clock, however, the gas gave out, the Wheeling Company being compelled, to protect the interests of its own customers in the southern portion of the city, in Benwood, and in Bellaire, to shut off the gas from the West Virginia Company's mains. Then another scene of dire confusion ensued, and while one half of the consumers donned their overcoats and hied themselves to the office of the Gas Company, to seek a personal explanation of the trouble from the officials, the other half calmly and complacently called up the Central telephone office, and then the gas office, and insanely desired to know what was wrong, where the break was, when it would be fixed, when the gas would be turned on, and such other questions as happened to suggest themselves to the enquiring mind.

This made it pleasant for the Gas Company officials, and that no case of suicide was recorded among them speaks well for their powers of endurance, and proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are, one and all, the proud possessors of well balanced minds. The Company put a man at the telephone early in the day, and the poor wretch, for whom the next world can hold no terrors, stood at his post all day long with a pained and hopeless look upon his countenance, but with a courage and fortitude which excited the admiration of his friends.

This is HIS PICTURE.

The inconvenience people all over the city were put to, was very great, and in many cases, no little suffering resulted from the lack of fires. It is fortunate, indeed, that the day was comparatively warm one, or serious sickness from colds, etc., might have been the result. In many households, where gas fixtures had not been put in all the grates, the family huddled about coal fires in the spare rooms, while in others pieces of sheet iron were laid on top of the gas burners, and coal and wood fires were built on top of the temporary foundation thus made. In still other cases, people who had put in gas were entirely out of coal, and a supply had to be ordered or a few bucketsful borrowed from a neighbor before a fire could be made. The situation had a dozen different phases, and a recital of even a small proportion of the serious or humorous incidents would fill a number of columns of the Register.

Many of these incidents occurred in business houses and retail stores, where it was hard to tell the clerk from the customer, both being wrapped up to the eyes for warmth. The annexed cut will give our readers a very good idea of one of these INCIDENTS OF THE DAY.

Among some of our manufacturing concerns the stoppage of the gas necessitated the cessation of work, while in two or three instances there were very narrow escapes from serious monetary loss. Such an experience was had at the Central Glass Works, where the pots in the furnaces were saved with great difficulty. For some hours twenty-five thousand dollars was at stake, and it was only by the exercise of the greatest care on the part of President Scott and his Superintendent and employes that the furnaces were prevented from chilling. The furnaces were hastily filled with greasy rags and waste, barrel staves, chopped wood and such other combustible material as could be had, and then coal was put upon the foundation thus made. The down draught in the furnace stacks, however, drove the fire out at the bottom, and to escape the flames the men had to crawl on their stomachs up to the furnaces in order to put in fuel. Finally an up-draught was established, when the furnaces were carefully closed, and by the exercise of unremitting care the pots were saved. President Scott, who is liable to heart trouble, was seriously affected by the excitement of the morning, and was forced to retire to the office and keep quiet until the middle of the afternoon.

The same danger of chilled pots was experienced at the North Wheeling Bottle Works, but the pots were saved by kindling wood fires in the furnaces.

At the La Belle mill, and at Sweeney's and Fisher's foundries, no work was done during the day, while in Bellaire several of the flint glass factories lost a turn in consequence of the shortage in the pipes of the Wheeling Company. The window factories down there had to exert every effort to keep the fires in the furnaces up, so as not to spoil the melts and damage the pots.

About half-past eight o'clock the gas was once more turned on in the West Virginia Company's lines, the big jet in front of the Company's office on Twelfth street being lit to announce the fact to the public, and soon the fires were burning brightly in the many homes where cold and discomfort had reigned supreme during the day.