Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-24
He Promises to Aid the Ladies' Health
Association to Make the Smoke
Curl Out of Sight. -,
THAT LOST ORDINANCE Is FOUND,
But 1t May Not Be Needed, Since for Two
Bays Not an Engine Has Pulled
Ont Even a.ClOud.
FACTORIES CAN EXISTSWgTHOUTsFILTH
Facts for Manufacturers Furnished BY Chicagos
Smoke Committee

nuisance is already bearing fruit, without
even the intervention of leg sslative enact
ment. Most apparent is the result of the,
espionage kept over the soft coal. consuming
engines of the Junction road. For two
days not an engine on that railroad has
puffed out clouds Sof smoke. The relief
from SCOT now experienced by the
residents along that line is all
credited to the publication in THE DIS
PATCH of Mrs George f. Denniston's list,
The ladies, of course, have their doubts as
to the permanence of the reform, and if the
nuisance is again continued they will lay
their complaints before Chief Bigelow with
q request for him to prosecute the railroaG
company, as theordinance directs.
The Smoke Ordinance Pops Up.
Yesterday the ordinance regulating the
matter, and on which the ladies built their
fight, was discovered Although on Friday
Chief Brown did not know whether such an
ordinance existed, and said if it did he
knew nothing about it, when Chief
Bigelow WAS asked the same ques
tion Yesterday he was thoroughly familiar
with the subject Picking up a Thomson's
City Digest, he quickly found the place.
The ordinance is to be.found on page $50,
under the caption, "An ordinance granting
to the Pittsburg Junction Railroad Com
pany right of way from the Monongahela
river to the Allegheny river,,with branch
along the Allegheny river" 1t was passed
November 30, 1881, and can be found on
page 273 of Ordinance Book No. .. Section
6 of the ordinance is,the part which refers
to the prevention of smoke, and reads as
follows:
Text of the City's Authority.
That bitumicous coal shall not be used as
fuel in locomotives of said road, but thatt
coke or other non-smoke-producing fuel
shall be used, and councils hereby reserve.
the right to alter or modify this section so as
to require the use of smole-consumers on
said locomotives should the same, in their
Judgment, be to the advantage of the city;
provided, that for any violation OF this
section. said company, on conviction, shall
forfeit and pay the sum OF $50 per day Tor
each day that any locomotive is so i'm.
properly used: said fine or forfeiture to be
sued for before the mayor or any alderman
OF the CITY. and be collectlDle n : other lines
and torfeitures are now by law collectfble;
and 1t il hereby MADE the duty OF the street
or road commissioner TO cause the necessary
information to he made whenever his atten-'
tion shall be properly called to any violation,
OF this section.
duly certified copy of resolution passed by
the Board of Directors accepted and agreed,
TO this ordinance in all its provisions and
stipulations This resolution was filed with
the Citv Controller, and can still be found
sf1 his office.
In that portion of the city code pertaining
to the government of railroads i'll general,
the following section of an ordinance was
found yesterday, upon which the ladies
base great hopes
An Even More Sweeping Ordinance.
WHEREAS, The running OF railroad trains
through the inhabited parts of the city is
attended with great risk, and it is the duty
OF the city to protect the citizens and other
persons who are entitled to the use of the
public streets, by reasonable regulations for
the running of said trains, it is hereby pro-
vided that hereafter no trains shall be run
upon or over any public street of the city OF
Pittsburg between the outer depot ofany rail-
road company and any inner station there
OF, except in accordance with the following
regulations:
No bituminous coal or wood shall be used
in the engine of any locomotive employed
in conducting trains upon any railroad.
Speaking further Of the matter, Chief
Bigelow. said: II have looked into this
smoke trouble myself on several occasions
during the past few years l had no abso-
lutte proof myself, and every time / called
on The OIlGldlS lutN htCldTtu lud6 Oull CDhC
was being used for fuel. As for the excuse
that was given the ladies, that Baltimore
and Ohio engines may occasionally go over
the road burning soft coal, must say il is
rather thin argument. The ordinance in
tends the prohibition of the use of bitum-
inous coal on that road, no matter what
engines are used on it. If the ladies present
their complaints to me l will carry ont the
duty imposed upon me by the ordinance
All they need to do is to furnish the wit
nesses"
No Difficulty in Getting Witnesses.
Controller Morrow, when spoken to on
the matter, said: eff witnesses only are
needed, they certainly will not have any
trouble. From my house can see engines
putting smoke on the Junction road every
dav almost. Immense black clouds are
thrown out, but it is too far away TO bother
me very much. Why, for the past five or
six years the smoke from the Junction road
was the only coal smoke we saw
Although the Ladies' Health Protective
Association have not vet received an answer
70 the letter TO the Mayor of Chicago, The
DISPATCH was able Yesterday to secure the
last report Of the Smoke Committee of the
Citizens Association of that city. 1t con-
tainS tabulated statements of the firing de-
vices Of all the firms visited, and it was
learned that where smoke consumers were
used. together with careful stocking, there
was scarcely any smoke and vast saving of
fuel. Concerning its work the committee
says:
Some Observations of Investigators.
The observations made extended to 533
establishments where steam is in constant
use for various purposes, including $50 boil
ers, OF which 234 places have in use devices
for the prevention of smoke and 80 have no
apparatus for the purpose. The particulars
are infinitely set forth in the tables prepared
by the expert. From an analysis of these
tables it will be seen that, although the
devices in use have q very marked effect on
from the chimneys is very black or offensive,
somuch so AS TO incline us to the opinion that
proper apparatus is almost indispensable
for the complete suppression of the smoke
nuisance, vet we believe that the greatest
amount of good can be accomplished by
careful attention to the firing; and the use of
q good quality of coal by combining these
three conditionS-an efficient smoke-pre-
venting device, Il lair quality of coal and
careful urmg-the OffenSe arising from the
chiulCys in the business and manufa curing
parts of the city can be reduced to insignif-
cancc.
Good results have been obtainediby ming
ling coke, or anthracite screenings, with soft
coal, but Tint is pTacticeI to but a small
extent, and its beneficial effect is com.
nenSurate, after all with the observance of
proper conditions rs 20 use, which are Il part
of, and included in the general term-careful
firing. We see, by ANIMATION of the tables
given, that the smoke arising from some
chimncys where the poorest quality of coal
Is used is reported as very light, when ae-
companicd by the oDservat tion of careful, or
automatic mechanical stocking.