The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-10-07
CHICAGO's SMOKE.
Leading Topics Of Interest In the
Worlds Fair City.
Efforts to Improve the Sanitary Condition
of the Great Metropolis-COpper Cure
for ChoIera-ValuabIe Ground DC
cupicd bv Railroads.
Especial Chicago CorrespoudenceI

drapery. as It were, hanging from tn,
cloud down to the earth below, show
ing where the rain was falling? If yol
did You can imagine how Chicago look,
when you approach it from Lake Michi
gan and the wind happens to be from
the west. You'll be out in the sun
shine. tie weather will be fair and
beautiful. but over the city hangs that
dark. threatening cloud and the vino
carries it out q mile or two on the lake,
and if the weather is heavy you can
hardly sec an object half mile away
when YOU are ia the cloud.
1t Is not thunder-cloud. however.
as you will perceive when you get into
il. It IS simply pail of heavy, brown
smoke and before you get up town You
will want to take bath.
For years the health department of
the CITY Of Chicago has made spas
modic efforts to do away with the
smoke nuisance" There Is city or
Ginance imposing a fine for heavy
smoke from any building and every
now and then number Of people were
fined. But it did no good.
The worlds fair preparations came
along and efforts were made to put
the city into presentable shape
Among these efforts was the organiza-
ton of society for the prevention of
smoke which was started at meeting
Of the Union League club. Some of
the best known and most influential
citizens accepted positions on the
board of directors. \ secretary and
several expert engineers were engaged
and the work began.
1t was an herculean task, for the diff
ficulties were extraordinary. Imagine
city full Of buildings that We're put
up only a few years ago and were ade-
quate for the business a. that time.
but subsequently had to be enlarged
and entire stories put on top. Yet the
space for boilers and furnaces was not
increased. The furnaces had to be
crowded continually 70 do the neces-
sary work. Then came the Sky
scrapers, buildings towering above the
cid ones 50 high that the part elevated
above the others alone was enough 70
make two or three respectable build
ingS. These structures We're put on
narrow space, so there was but little
room for boilers and furnaces. These
boilers also had % be crowded.
In addition. Illinois coal is cheap and
handy, and it IS soft coal that gives of
so much smoke under TIE ordinary
processes OF combustion.
Taking all these things into consid-
Grafton it was no wonder Chicago was
smoky. L was unreasonable to expect
people 20 do away with smoke without
telling them how these difficulties
could be o5yiated.
\ campaign Of education was com
meuced by the Society for the Proven
ton OF Smoke The conditions were
investigated and experiments made
with 4 number Of smoke consumers or. .
more properly. complete com bustion .
devices. for smoke consists OF those
parts OF the fuel which are not burned. .
The engineer q the society gave advice .
free of charge how 10 abate the smoke. {
in many cases enabling those who 2
seriously tried to aba,e the nuisance TO /
DO so without using any extensive pat /
ent device. by simply adjusting CRATE /
surface. admission o. ~. draucht. etc.
50 as to bring about the correct pro-
portions 20 the work required.
But education was evidently not
sufficient More vigorous measures
have Of late been introduced. Prose
BUTTONS for violations q the ordinance
are numerous and the fines imposed
are collected. too
Il voulG really seem that there is no
longer any good excuse for owners Of
bOiier plants making much smoke. OF
course. q certain amount VIII be made
IN firing an. bUt 10 one objects 10 that.
Il i the continual emission Of dark
clouds Of smoke tia; : 10 be prevented.
There are numerous good smoke pre-
venting devices. and even without
them the greater part Of the smoke
now made could be stopped. If 1t can
not Be done nov how will the city look
next year when every factory and
office building VIII re pushed to The
limit OF lis capacity by the necessity
Of supplying the great crowds OF visit
o-s TO the worlds t@ir?
There i great deal Of opposition 10
the efforts - aba;e the smoke NUS
ance. some outspollen opposition and
some OF that stol;d. silent kind which
simply does rot move but does not
$ peak cut Some raise the cry that il
VIII XII CEicaco-s manufacturing IL
du>tI.eS TO stop the smoke. The fact
l.. however. that where smoke is not :
made, ali the fIei ! burned and more
heat Is obtained from l. Coal zen ad-
nit that Il smoke prevention became
general the consumption Of coal would ,
fall or % per cent
The Society for the Prevention Of |
Smoke = backed by subscriptions from
numerous wealthy citizens and the !
press Is doing good work to help It !
along. i Is 10 De hoped that the cIty ,
may present clean appearance when
the hosts from this country and abroad {
zone 10 visit our graf exposition.
You al know the story OF the Irish
sailor who told about the. land where !
they copper bottom the tons OF their
houses Win sheetiron.~ There Is no
particular connection between that ut
-erance and the thing I want 70 men
ion beyond the fact that both have TO
10 with copper. and copper is a good /,
conductor OF impOnderable substances 1
ike electricity and perhaps, thought
They are selling or, At least, exhibiting
here = copper piece which is recon- I
nended 20 be worn as q preventative
II cholera That recalls the statement
recently published that there are reg
stored in the patent Office at Washing
not fourteen hundred. more or less.
recipes against cholera. all of them in
Of course That copper rem
edy Is likely % take its place along