Wichita eagle., 1889-07-27
ghe aania gaiIy gaele Saturday oring Gully ~, 1889.
ABOUT TALL CHIMNEYS.
TWO REASONS FOR BUILDING THEM
TO SUCH GREAT HEIGHT.

hess % Tic "OIAuch~"OI Va nv
Rivaling the Productions of Ancient
Greece-Notable Structures.
'fWhy are factory and ether chimneys to
bear off smoke from great furnaces built
tallT' asked one Of group Of men standing
by and observing the work progressing on
the chimney Of the water works house on
Harrison street.
THAT'S easy enough to answer" replied
tall fellow from Blue Island avenue; Its to
lift the smoke up above the houses and tho
streets, SOS not to foul the air we take into
our lungs"
THAT may be, so far as it relates to tho
chimney, but not altogether either, for ths
higher it is the stronger the draft. There's a
chimney at Glasgow, the tallsst In the world,
44511S feet high, belonging to a chemical
works factory, where the elevation is requir-
ed in order to keep from poisoning people
with the gases constantly escaping. 1t Is also
of first Importance where much quicks1lver
or arsenic enters into the fumes. II the
chimneys were low in the former case all the
people would be salivated, and in the latter
case arsenic poisoned, which Is worse"
''Then," said the reporter, who was stand
ing by, tall chimneys are built for the
double purpose Of carrying smoke or other
Objectionable matter OFF above the houses, as
well as to afford plenty of drafts for the
furnaces"
The knowing man assented, and in few
moments the man of tho pencil said, medi-
tatively: "It must take a decidedly level
headed fellow to do the work those fellows
are doing up there"
THEY GET USED TO IT.
By way Of explanation it may be stated
that the chimney under consideration was
about 100 feet above ground, and had twenty
more to be added to 1t. The men at its top
laying bricks looked like dwarfs.
Your error is a common one," said the
knowing man in reply to the reporter. Zone
reads ever and anon about the perils Of lofty
climbs and how imperative it Is that masons
who build high walls shall know no such
That Is delusiou and snare. A contractor
or boss would scarcely send man aloft who
is subject to frequent attacks of epilepsy, but
any ordinary fellow can begin work upon a
wall, and as 1t ascends day by day, grow ac-
customed to 1t, until height Of 1000 feet
would be no more to him than an ordinary
stone fence would be to you. I've no doubt
the fellows ON the Tower Of Babel walked
around its upper wall as fearlessly on the day
of confusion Of tongues as they did when they
laid its foundation stones. Men get used to
anything. I've no doubt they would grow
accustomed to dying in very short time, if
they could go through the experience every
day. In any event, take 100 brick or stone
masons and ninety-nine of them can face any
sort of altitude if it is necessary"
But one does take a tumble once in
while
Rarely" replied another of the party.
eve have put up fifteen tall chimneys here
In Chicago and around it, and we've had no
accident of any kind. There are accidents
when scaffolds are built too weak"
Chicago has no such tall chinneys as that
at Glasgow or the one at Kearney,
n. j., which Is 335 feet high; still it has one
which, for beauty of design and the success Of
having placed upon its top solid iron cast
ing weighing I, 200 pounds, gives to it a very
enviable distinction, although 1t is trife
under 100 feet in height" This was said by
the knowing one, who continued; "You ought
to see it. 1t is at the Murphy Varnish COM
oany's factory, corner of Twenty-second and
Butterheld streets, and is without exception
the most handsome chimney in America, if
not in the world It is absolutely in plumb,
and the diminishing Of the diameter in two
feet from the foundation to the eopis as fault
less as the work done by the skilled masons of
Greece when they shaped the marvellous col
umns which adorned the Acropolis."
A MASTERPIECE OF SKILL.
"Have they done away with scaffoldings
altogether in chimney buildingr asked the
reporter, who observed that the masons above
him were working from within
LAS a rule, yes, when there is room enough,
It being less expensive and less dangerous
You will observe that but two masons are at
work there and one laborer, who attends to
the mortar and bricks lifted up by the horse
below. The Murphy Varnish company's
chimney had four masons and two assistants,
but that had diameter of eighteen feet at
the base and dxteen feet just below the cor
nice at the top, which is nearly double the
size of this one"
(which Is the tallest chimney hereaboutsr'
asked.
That Of the glucose factory, which is $50
.eet high. The building to which 1t is at
5ached, by the way, has more bricks in it
han any other structure in Chicago"
II suppose they would build them slowly
( there were 100 men at work upon them,
wouldn't theyP' asked the reporter.
Not bit Of it. On the contrary, the Arc
Light company's chimney, 1913 feet high, was
quilt in fourteen days, and it has not suffered
n the slightest in consequence"
Much more was said upon the subject in
general before the party separated; among
,ther statements was the cheering one that il
workman did but make q single misstep In
or descending the succession Of
primitive ladders which lead from top to bot
ON it would be necessary to gather up his
'emains at the bottom In a basket, and that
he labor incident to the asceutinclined them
o keep at tneir posts throughout the day,
pending their hour Of incoming" at the scene
# their toll
One viii understand readily bow difficult is
he task Of maintaining perpendicular and
t the same time reducing the diameter at
he rate Of one inch in eighty inches Of ascent
The interior of some Of than have In addition
o the main aue from one to three, and some !
lines even four, additional ones OF smaller
lie, all Of which must be constructed with
and with an eye TO rigid rule
f measurement Thus it is that q tall Chin |
ey is not mere pile of masonry heaped up |
Il in hurry. one brick upon another, but a |
OF skill, demanding infinitely |
nore art than the rearing of the equilateral |
Salls of ordinary residences. But for this
ltitude how much grimier and dirtier and |
arker and fouler the atmosphere Of this |
reat city, which is daily growing into great
r importance es manufacturing centerl
In many instances touching the rain laden |
louds, they soar aloft into the undisturbed !
erial circulation, TO he so difused as to rem