Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1913 — ONE FURNACE HEATS TOWN [ARTICLE]

ONE FURNACE HEATS TOWN

Houses at Mexico Are Warmed With Steam Froni Mains Under the Streets. Mexico, Mo. —This town, with a population of 7,000, has a system of heating which is found generally only in big cities —a system of heating from steam mains laid under the streets. The steam is one of the by-prod-ucts of the Mexico power plant, which supplies gas, water and electric light, and its use has made it unnecessary for the resident of Mexico to irony about the fuel problem. He does not need to get up early in the morning to remove the ashes from the furnace; he need not worry about a gas supply. All he has to do is turn on the steam. Practically all the business buildings on the town square are heated 1 by the system. And in addition to being more convenient than the old system of furnaces, it is a good deal cheaper. The power company started the heating system as an experiment; now it is unable to lay mains fast enough to satisfy the people of Mexico. The residents in all parts of the town are clamoring for the extension of th* system. The company now has between one and a half and two miles of steam mains and is building more as fast as possible. It is an expensive process. for the steam pipes are laid in a concrete base and must be protected by a layer of asbestos.. But the cost of operation, once the mains are laid, is very slight, and the charge to the consumer is far less than that entailed by individual furnaces with coal or gas.