Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-13
Probable Eject Of Chicagos Grimy
Clouds on Her Big Show.
IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP CLEAN.
Ptttsbury b Like the Driven Snow Com
pared to the Windy City.
FUNNY EXPERIENCES OF VISITORS

in its worst days. Editors are cutting ont
anything their reporters write about smoke
because they do not want the world to
know the truth. But what will the mobiles
of Europe, all in fine linen arrayed, say Of
the smoke nuisance, when they visit this
city in go
1t takes visitor about q week to thor
oughly appreciate the qualities of the air In
central Chicago. When it Is remembered
that in that section are the places of amuse-
ment, principal restaurants and stores, one
can imagine how any Objectionable feature
must affect the entire population. The burn
ing of soft coal in the factories, locomotives,
steamboats, and tugs is the cause of the thick
SCOT and the smoke that envelops the main
part of the city In cloud on the sunniest Of
s ummer days and makes it dark and dismal
when it should be bright and cheerful.
There is no escaping the SCOT, and the result
is that men who wish to appear presentabls
wear colored linen. It is extremely rare to
see a man with clean collar, or clean cuffs,
or even clean face during work hours.
! Strangers have noticed that Chicago men
have little style and are extremely negli-
| gent in personal appearance. The appear.
ance Of well-dressed man in any prominent
| place is certain to attract attention.
Impossible to Appear Well.
Compared with the average Eastern man
| the Chicagoan is provincial. That is not
| due to his lack of care so much as it is to
the impossibility of appearing we'll. Fifty
| times day he will mop his face with his
| handkerchief, but that only results in dis
| tributing the specks of soot instead Of al
! lowing them to stand out prominently in
! places. The ultra-fastidious man keeps a
| supply of linen at his place of business, but,
even though he changed it a dozen times .
day, he could not keep it clean The laun.
dries of Chicago do big business, bat the
proprietors complain that it is next to i'm
possible to do satisfactory work, because
the Crime and SCOT are ground into the
clothes and cannot be removed by ordinary
methods
To the strangers the heavy black clouds
over the city are extremely puzzling. They
form black veil that seems to obscure the
sun and envelop the streets and buildings
in mourning. The first impression is that
the sky has been clouded suddenly, and
that one of the quick storms for which
Chicago is noted has sprung up. 1t does
not take long to become fully cognizant OF
the effect, and it becomes almost unendura-
BILE. Friends and acquaintances enjoy re-
minding visitors of it BY remarking: 'T
beg your pardon, old fellow, but you are
looking awfully comical. Chicago smoke
seems to have special friendship for you.
Here's glass Just look a. yourself See.
there are black spots all over your face"
Best to Wear q Coat of SCOT.
Some time was required by man accus-
toned to the pure air of an Eastern city to
be resigned to the effects, especially as the
more frequently he washed the moro the
SCOT would seem to be attracted to him. ID
was only when he learned that washing ag-
gravated the difficulty, and that the only
remedy was to let the SCOT cover the face
and hands until there was q harmonious
blackness, that he could escape criticism.
The born Chicagoan glories and thrives in
this atmosphere, but settlers from the East
never become entirely accustomed to it
It it be disagreeable and offensive to men,
what is its effect on women? The experi-
ence of lady now residing in New York, who
spent her girlhood in Chicago, will illus
trate some of the unpleasant features Of
life in this city She left Chicago after she
had been married She had enjoyed life
here very much and she retained her love
for the city after she went away. The slow
ness with which new friends were acquired
and q new social circle was formed made
her pine for the lesser strictness of society
here, and she asserted over and over again
that she could never enjoy herself any
where 30 well as here. She came here on .
visit last summer. She hugged her old friends
with Joy, and expressed in enthusiastic
terms her hope that she could return to her
beloved Chicago again for good
The Story of a White Dress
The second day she arranged to go shop
ping with friend. The latter looked at
her in amazement as she came down to the
reception room in beautiful white broad
cloth costume, one of dozen dainty dresses
that had been made especially tor her visit.
"Why, Lu," she gasped, "where in the
world are you going with that dress? Don't
you remember the Chicago smoke? Why,
your dress will be ruined In ten minutes
after we reach downtown"
The former Chicagoan could not realize
that, and she persisted in going as she was.
The result was disastrous, The beautiful
white became gray within very short time
after the shopping center was reached, and
the costume was ruined in one afternoon.
The next day she went downtown again, but
in more sensible costume. She was to
meet her husband at luncheon.
"Good heavens" was his first exclama-
tion. "Look at your face! Why, it il all
covered with black spots.
"And your light scarf is black, she re-
piled, with an expression of horror. "Oh,
Jack, let's go home"
The visit was cut short, and her love for
Chicago is a thing of the past She will
stick BY New York now.
Hote, Keepers Sue for Damages.
The extent of the damage done by the
smoke can be judged by the outcry of the
hotel keepers. As with everything else Of
general utility and interest all the big hotels
are located in the business center of the
city. The proprietor, have been complain
ing bitterly of the smoke and SCOT belched
from the smokestacks of the locomotives
and tugs along the lake front and the river.
The tugs are particularly offensive. Some
time ago Mr. Bemis of the Richeiieu sued
the most serious offenders, laying damages
at many thousands of dollars. He alleged
in his complaint that the smoke from ths
tugs had ruined much of his most expensive
furniture, decorations and hangings and
had at times made it impossible to open the
windows of his hotel.
Physicians say that the smoke and SCOT
IRE extremely dangerous to health, and that
nhaling the impurities contained in the
Chicago air must inevitably result in con-
sumption and other dread diseases There
IS law against the smoke, and occa-
when the health officers have been
purred to unusual activity, they will ar
est few foremen in factories that are ex-
remely offensive. The fines are always
,aid, but the nuisance is abated rarely. In
ONE respects it is unavoidable, as soft coal
must be used because of its economy and
because the manufacturing interests de-
nand it.
Ammonia for Beast Tamers
The last accident tnat has happened toa