Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-05-05

Report on the Subject by the Engineer
Departmental will Not Be Q Nuisance.
Some days ago TIE STAR published q
communication from citizen relative
to the nuisance which would probably
result from the smoke from the new
power house for the cable road, which is to be
built on Pennsylvania avenue between 49, and
14th streets. President Hurt Of the railroad
company replied to this in letter to the Com.
missioners. and stated that the company did
not apprehend any nuisance from the smoke
from the new power plant and referred the
Commissioners to the 9TH street plant. Upon
the recommendation of Commissioner Doug.
the engineer department for report. Mr.. H. F.
Hayden, the superintendent of the water de-
partment, was entrusted with the duty of in
vestigating and reporting upon this question.
Today he submitted his report.
He refers at length to the plant of the com.
pany now in operation at the foot of It'll street,
and gives detailed description of the same.
its operation and forwards numerous cuts
showing how at the 18th street plant the
production Of smoke from coal is re-
duced to a minimum. The construction Of the
BOILERS and the furnaces and mechanical stokers
as applied to them at the 7th street power
house, he says are essential features They
burn the fuel more perfectly and manage Il
more economically, carefully and skillfully than
ispossiblein ordinary plain boilers In observing
the stack at the It'll street power house several
occasions he was unable to detect any smoke
escaping, except when Q fire was first started
or when the fuel bed on the crate bars was be-
ing broken up with Q bar, which usually occurs
about six times in twenty-four hours, at which
times q little smoke Of q grayish color escapes
and at no time could 1t be seen longer than q
minute.
These admirable results, he continues, are
produced, not by the carbon alone nor the n.y.
drogen, nor the oxygen, but by the mechan-
ical and, finally, the chemical, combination Of
all three elements, causing nearly their COM
plete combustion.
II the new power plant to be erected is pro-
vided with boilers and appliances for feeding
the furnaces Of the same design and construc-
ton as now used at the 7th street power house,
with stack adequately proportional for
it and Is as carefully "a and ''qu .sififul HI
managed, he does not think any
objection can be Justly made to locating the
plant on the site selected on account Of smoke
by any one residing or owning property in close
proximity thereto. In making his invsstiga-
tons in this matter he says he found q number
of buildings on Pennsylvania avenue and vicin-
ity using ordinary boilers and bituminous coal,
and dense black smoke may be seen escaping
from the chimneys OF any one OF these build
inge at frequent intervals during the day when
In conclusion, he says that the influence Of
the escaping products from imperfect combus-
ton OF fuel upon the community is one that de-
serves careful consideration. In Q large city
the sources Of mechanical and chemical impuri-
ties can be hardly pointed out - they are
SO varied in their nature, but IL
breathed with the air in which
they float, they are deposited in the lungs and
like all foreign substances il long continued
cause disease. The question Of either pro-
hibiting the use Of bituminous coal or prevent
ing the formation Of smoke during It's COM
bustion within the city limits viii soon become
an important one.
Resigned Aftsr Thirty-Eight Ysazs' Ssrvies.
Mr.. George Emmerick, . clerk In the city
post Office, has resigned on account Of failing
health He has been for thirty-eight years In
the mailing division of the once and has
served under eleven different postmaster, in
Guiding Postmaster Sherwood, who, in accept
ing Mr.. Emmerick's resignation, spoke most
highly Of his faithful services and conscisutious
devotion to his duty.