Cincinnati Post article on Muncie list Hemingray among manufacturers there

MUNCIE, INDIANA.

THE BEE-HIVE OF THE INDIANA

NATURAL HAS BELT.

Nature's Gift Eagerly Accepted With

Profound Thanks and Utilized

to Great Advantage.

A Large Galaxy of Manufacturing

Establishments Participating

in its Benefits.

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR MORE.

Special Staff Correspondent to Cincinnati Post,

MUNCIE, Ind, March 11 — Since the time that nature's hidden treasure, natural gas, was discovered here in its remote hiding place, mother earth, about three years ago, a wonderful transformation scene has taken place. Then a prosperous little city of 7,000 inhabitants, it has grown with rapid strides and today we find a veritable bee hive of industry in all its branches of com­merce, with a population of 15,000 souls and increasing rapidly every 24 hours. This remarkable influx of manufacturers, capitalists, merchants and artisans was not brought about by having three sheet posters printed in all colors of the rainbow setting forth the great advantages offered and sure opportunities of making a fortune in a day by simply investing a few dollars. Neither was the vast [illegible[ property that has been disposed of sold by the aid of a silver tongued auctioneer, reinforced by a brass band of 40 pieces playing soul inspiring music to keep up enthusiasm and by the display of a dainty lunch free to all as has been the case with numerous projectors and locators of new cities 1,000 miles from no­where. No, indeed, it has been, brought about by natural causes, substantiated by solid facts which will bear an investigation so thorough in every detail that the most skeptic cannot fail to be convinced.

LOCATION.

Muncie is situated on a nearly lev­el plateau 30 to 60 feet above the bed of the White river, 54 miles northeast of Indianapolis, and 65 miles south of Fort Wayne. It is the judicial seat of Delaware county, one of the richest agricultural counties in the state. Twenty splendidly graded and graveled turnpike radiate from it as a center, forming charming drives reaching all parts of the county, passing hundreds of highly cultivated farms with their neat and tasty farm-houses forming a combination of wealth and luxury rarely met with in any farming community. This dense population of industrious and prosperous farmers draw upon Muncie for their supplies, thus giving great impetus to her commerce, and combined with the vast trade of her numerous manufacturing enterprises with all parts of the world this city enjoys a commercial position that is the envy of her many competitors.

NATURAL GAS.

Many of your readers may not be aware that, according to the most au­thentic records, natural gas was dis­covered by the Chinese centuries ago, while boring for petroleum. This mysterious vapor, underwent experi­ments, and finding it inflammable and productive of great heat and steady in its flow, they began utilizing the newly discovered product in their metal furnaces, and in many other ways, as far as their arts extended. The yield from these wells has con­tinued with no apparent diminution, to the present day.

In 1886 the Muncie Exploring Co. was organized through the efforts of some of her enterprising citizens, who succeeded in raising a small sum of money for the purpose of ex­perimenting. The services of an ex­perienced driller and contractor were secured, and work was begun in No­vember, 1888. Many shook their heads, being of the opinion that nature’s gift was not secreted in this locality, and that such experiments were a foolish waste of time and money. But, lo and behold, after nine days’ time their efforts were reward­ed by puncturing a strong vein of gas at a depth of 890 feet, thus clearly demonstrating the fact that Muncie was to be the proud possessor of hidden wealth of untold proportions.

A large company was at once organized with ample capital, and a franchise to run pipes through the streets and alleys was obtained from the city, and the work of sinking wells began in earnest and has con­tinued unceasingly ever since, and to­day we find a grand summary of over 40 wells within a radius of one and one-half miles from the court house, with a daily capacity of over 100,000,000 feet, each well averaging from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 feet per day. According to reliable estimates, Cen­ter township, six miles square, of which Muncie is the center, will furn­ish gas for 2304 wells, or one for every 10 acres, and that there is gas enough in Delaware county to supply a city the size of New York. Just think of it! What a grand future for manufacturers locating here, saving thousands of dollars in fuel! No wonder that there has been such a mad rush of manufacturers staking locations, and investors purchasing property which is bound to increase in value tenfold before many years! To illustrate the immense amount of money saved in fuel, the writer will cite the case of one large iron and nail works. The president of the company told me they saved $40,000 per year for fuel alone. What a grand opportunity offered for competition. There is not a coal or wood yard to be found in this city. Every factory, store, public building and residence enjoy the great benefits of natural gas, both for heating and lighting purposes, at a saving of at least three-fourths of the cost of fuel and light. Prof. Orton, the state geologist of Ohio, in a recent contri­bution to the American Manufacturer' says that gas found here is so far above the sea level that it forms a strong argument in favor of its per­manency. He shows that by actual demonstration taken from a comparison of six wells in various locations, Muncie included, the only place where gas is found above the sea level is at Muncie, other places furnishing gas at distances ranging from 78 feet to 747 feet below the level of the sea. This comparison was made to sustain a theory that if natural gas is des­troyed at all it will be accomplished through the aid of salt water. The natural gas vein at this point is situ­ated about 70 feet above the sea level, and therefore free from the effects . . . [illegible text] . . . water.

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.

The railroad advantages of Muncie are all that can be desired. Three trunk lines extend through their borders. The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis, the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville and Lake Erie & Western, giving unlimited connections with all parts of the United States, enabling the manu­facturer to obtain his raw material from all parts of the country, and giving unlimited faculties for shipping their product to the great markets of the world. A belt railroad has been built connecting with the entire railroad system. Manufacturers can have their freight carried from their door to the freight depots free of charge.

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

The liberal offer of free ground and free fuel to every manufacturing es­tablishment locating here has had a wonderful effect. Many large establishments eagerly accepted the grand offer and immediately commenced operations, and now there are over 60 manufacturing plants running in full blast many of them both day and night. These factories give employ­ment to over 3000 hands, paying about $40,000 per week to wage-work­ers alone. The following is a partial list of those already located here: The Muncie Iron and Nail Works, C. H. Over Window Glass Works, Ball Bros. & Co. Glass Works, Hemingray Glass Works, Muncie Pulp Co., Flint Glass Works, Muncie Rubber Co., Jute Bagging Mill, Bentwood Works, one of the largest in the United States, Indiana Bride [sic] Bridge Co., Maring, Hart & Co., window glass, James Boyce, brick works, Muncie Skewer Factory, T, J. Smith, paving stone and lime; Boyce & Co, handle factory; Kinnear Man­ufacturing Co., Westlake Bros. & Co., Muncie Glass Works Co., Muncie Novelty and Brass Co, and many others, comprising foundries, machine shops, carriage factories, hub and spoke works, sawmills, scale works, furniture and cigar manufacturers plow works, etc. The Architectural Iron Co. are erecting large buildings for iron works and foundry. The Emery Wheel Co. have secured ground, and will locate here, and there is abundance of room and plenty of free gas for all who want to come.

Muncie is truly a healthy, wealthy and beautiful city, with its fine macadamized streets, $250,000 stone courthouse (the finest in the state, excepting Indianapolis), handsome dwellings, spacious stores, paid fire department, water-works, splendid sewerage system-it is, in fact a city built with all the modern improve­ments.

She enjoys excellent religious, edu­cational and social advantages, hav­ing fine schools and plenty of them, churches of every denomination, and a public library with over 7,000 vol­umes.

A fine motor street railway system of five and one-half miles of track, equipped with the very latest improv­ed cars, 30 feet long and heated by luxury that this city enjoys. Nearly 1200 buildings were erected here during the year 1889. This is not a boom city, but all business is being conducted on a solid basis, and the property owners and real estate men, contrary to the general rule, are a class of gentlemen who do not mis­represent their city or resort to Munchausen yarns in order to make sales.

The Muncie press is ably represented by the following enterprising, bright and newsy publications: The Herald, daily; Democrat-Herald, weekly; the Times, daily and weekly; the News, daily and weekly; the Sat­urday Pink and Advertiser are week­ly publications.

Merchants, manufacturers, capitalists and artisans contemplating a change of location will to visit the "Bee Hive" of the Indiana Natural Gas Belt and sample some of the ex­cellent "honey."