[Newspaper]
Publication: The Kokomo Gazette-Tribune
Kokomo, IN, United States
vol. 6, no. 217, p. 5, col. 4
KOKOMO IN GREAT LUCK.
The Discovery of Natural Gas Starts
Business Booming — A Trip Taken by a
Party of Chicago Capitalists
Discloses an Extraordinary Degree of
Prosperity In the Indiana City —
Smoke Nuisance Unknown in
in Kokomo.
One Hundred Millions of Cubic Feet of
Gas Wasted Every Day.
[Chicago Tribune.]
A party of capitalists left Chicago Friday night to look over a new field of investment. The field was Kokomo.
"Kokomo!"
The porter of the Pullman special lifted his eyebrows at the sound.
"A Bret Harte name,” said Mr. D. G. Hamilton.
"Probably a crossroad station in the Far West,” said Mr. J. McK. Pendleton, examining his ticket.
"Or a town in some backwoods county in Indiana — the same thing," said Mr. Henry Hoyt, better informed.
"Wait till you see Kokomo, gentlemen," smilingly remarked Mr. C. L. Gano, the guide of the party.
"What is Kokomo, anyway ?" asked Mr. William Garnett.
"A natural gas city," answered Mr. Gano.
"And what has it done ?" demanded Mr. B. DeYoung.
"Weathered its first boom," said Mr. Gano.
After a five hours ride over the Pan Handle the party reached Kokomo.
"You are now at Kokomo, the county seat of Howard county, Indiana," said Mr. Gano. "Howard is the he third richest county in the State, and Kokomo has grown from 3,000 to 11,000 in population in eighteen months."
A delegation of citizens met the party at the train and escorted them to breakfast at the principal hotel.
"This is the Auditorium of Kokomo," said a citizen. It has seventy two rooms and is always full."
"Kokomo didn’t use a ton of coal last winter," said another.
"I struck Kokomo a month ago," said a third, "bought seventy acres of ground, and laid it out in lots. Two weeks ago to-day I opened an office. I have sold 276 lots."
"There isn’t a 'For Rent’' placard in Kokomo,” said a fourth.
"Kokomo has 400 new houses in process of construction," said a fifth.
INSPECTING THE CITY.
The visitors began to grow interested. After breakfast they were driven in carriages to the manufactories of Kokomo. The roads were good, they were lined with shade trees in many places, and the country was beautifully rolling.
"Since the discovery of natural gas two years ago twenty-one manufacturing enterprises have located in Kokomo," said a statistical citizen. "They have a total capital of $1,362,000, and employ 1,698 operatives." The first stop was at a straw-board factory. The buildings were new and no smoke issued from the tall chimney shaft to soil the fresh brick.
"We have a battery of eight boilers," said one of the proprietors. "With coal, our fuel would cost us from $12,000 to $15,000 a year. We get natural gas free for five years — the inducement made to bring us here — and after that it will cost us about $500 per year. We save, besides, the expense of six firemen and coal handlers, or about $4,000 a year. Our total saving is from $16,000 to $19,000 a year, which is from 8 to 9 1/2 per cent on our capital of $200,000. The saving mikes us independent of the straw-board trust.
A wood pulp factory and paper mill, using the pulp, were visited. The two works adjoin. A white poplar log passes into the grinder of the factory and in one hour issues from the polisher of the mill as white paper.
"Both concerns run night as well as day," said those in charge, "We are closed only from 6 o'clock Sunday morning to 6 o’clock Monday morning. The pulp factory will triple its capacity in the summer to keep up with the paper mill. Natural gas is booming us."
At a bit works, next seen, an improvement was shown in the appliances for utilizing the gas. On the principle of the Argand burner air was introduced into the pipes below their outlet into the furnace. The combustion was almost perfect. The boiler flues were absolutely clean. Sixty-five skilled workmen were turning out fine auger bits of various patterns. The individual hand-furnaces necessary in such work were all heated by natural gas and no chimneys were used.
"We shall also triple our capacity this summer," said the proprietor.
THE PRIDE OF KOKOMO.
"The pride of Kokomo," called the guide to the carriage-drivers.
We will open your eyes, although you come from Chicago,” he added, addressing the visitors. "We will show you a factory whose main buildings, all in solid masonry and brick, cover ten acres of ground.
The carriages bowled past gangs of laborers laying gas pipes along the roadways and through the fields. They drew up at the new plate glass works of Kokomo. The buildings are completed. Much of the machinery is in.
"We will open August 1 with 300 workmen," said the Superintendent. "Later we will employ 500. Our capacity is forty pots a day, or a product of 3,500 feet of polished glass. This is the second largest plate-glass-works in America. It is larger than De Pauw’s at New Albany and ranks only after the establishment at Crystal City, Mo. With natural gas and improved machinery we can outbid them in any market, and we enter the market as competitors. Our main engine of 600 horse power, and others aggregating 600, our melting furnaces, annealing kilns — everything of this sort will be run or heated by natural gas. We have figured our economy over coal at 8 per cent, on a capital of $500,000."
"Who are the proprietors?"
"Akron, Ohio, men mainly."
"Have you made arrangements for housing your operatives?"
"Not yet. We have left that field open for other investors."
The works are supplied with gas from seven wells sunk and owned by the company. None of them are more than a mile distant from the buildings.
"Ten thousand dollars will cover the capital we have invested in perpetual fuel," said a stockholder.
A window glass factory was visited. Skilled Bohemians were blowing molten balls of glass into large cylinders, cutting them and rolling them into panes.
FACTORIES GROWING APACE.
"This factory will be enlarged in a few months," said its owner. "By reason of the more equable heat in our melting pots, due to natural gas as compared with coal, and the absence of ashes and smoke, we are enabled to produce a clearer and more evenly tempered glass than any factory using coal. With our present capacity we can not supply the demand. We are making 3,500 boxes a month."
The foundations for a large safe and steel-range manufactory, now in Cincinnati, were inspected. It is under contract with Kokomo to employ from 300 to 500 workmen.
"Our buildings will be up in sixty days," said the President. "We are drilling our own wells to be independent of any company."
Among the other manufacturing industries of Kokomo which have located there as a result of the discovery of natural gas are a pressed brick and sewer pipe company, employing 35 men; steam boiler works, with 25 men; an opalescent glass works, with 30-skilled workmen, making cathedral and stained glass, and electric insulators for incandescent lights; a canning factory with 300 men; two barrel heading factories, with 60 men; a knife and shear works, with 25 men; an electric light company, a pressed brick works, and a furniture company.
In the afternoon the Chicago party were driven through the residence portions of the town.
The cleanliness of the town, owing to the total absence of smoke, was its most striking feature.
A SATISFIED RESIDENT.
"I run thirteen fires in my residence, am limited by no meter in my consumption of gas, and my bill for fuel is $40 a year," said a citizen. "An incandescent lamp has been invented which renders natural gas illuminating. It is in use in many of our stores. As soon as I introduce it in my residence my fuel bill will also cover the cost of illuminating my house."
"I am as much surprised at the excellent macadam streets and the paved gutters as at the achievements of natural gas," said Mr. Hamilton.
"Sure enough, there isn’t a 'For Rent' sign,' said Mr. Hoyt.
"There were any number of fine brick residences and row after row of neat, new, frame cottages."
"The Kokomokes have big ideas about their place and its future, but they have some grounds for them" said Mr. DeYoung.
Well located business lots were selling as high in some instances as $600 or $700 a foot, good residence lots at from $25 to $150, and property a mile from the court house at from $300 to $1000 an acre.
"It is still cheap" said Mr. Hoyt.
A NOVEL ENTERTAINMENT.
After supper Kokomo set a novel entertainment before its visitors. Pipes were laid in the Wildcat river below one of the bridges and the gas permitted to escape beneath the water. Then by means of a torch hurled from the shore, the gas — the river apparantly [sic] apparently — was ignited. Iridescent, flaming fountains shot fifty feet into the air. The burning spray scintillated like a myriad of broken rainbows. It was a wonderful sight.
"If we only had that in Lincoln Park" exclaimed Mr. C T. Boal.
"We waste 100,000,000 cubic feet of gas every day" said the guide, "Not being able to utilize it, we simply let it escape."
"If we could only pipe it to Chicago" said Mr. Hamilton. And the party of visitors wondered why the distance of 134 miles between Chicago and Kokomo could not be overcome.
Sunday morning the visitors returned. They did not bandy about the name of Kokomo as they had done on the trip going.
