The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-24

- per cent were making Just as much
smoke as they did before they were APP
preached. IL seemed clear that the
promise that people were making smoke
because they did not know how to stop
making it was not true. Accordingly the
society faced right about and began TO
prosecute vigorously the offenders who
had been told how they could prevent
smoke and who had not taken steps to
prevent il.
For year from July, 1852, a vigorous
campaign was conducted by the society OF
prosecution of offenders against the smoke
ordinance. In that period over 500 suits
were brought against owners OF smoking
tugs, locomotives and stationary chin
neys A good deal was accomplished.
The smoke from locomotives was mater
tally lessened. In the fall of 1892 the tug
men were forced to burn hard coal, and
for the first time in its history, the Chi
caCo river was comparatively free from
smoke. In the business district of Chi
cago the smoke nuisance was appreciably
diminished. During the year and half
in which the society worked it spent
about $25, 900. In the spring of 1898
the tug owners and num-
Der OF owners Of stationary
plants combined and formed an Organiza-
tion to fight the movement in favor of the
abolition of smoke. Every case brought
by the society and the city was bitterly
contested in the courts. All the legal
technicalities and all the delays of the
law were taken advantage of, and from
April, 1898, to September, 1893, little
progress in smoke abatement was made.
In September, on account Of the financial
stringency, the private organization
lacked for funds, and its directors de-
cided to-suspend operations, at any rate
temporarily.
Some very important truths have been
established in Chicago during the last
two years in regard to smoke prevention.
The question in which every one is most
interested is. Of course, as to whether
there is any furnace or device which will
burn soft coal reasonably smokelesSly
with economy of fuel The first part of
the question can be quickly answered in
the Affirmative. Within two hundred
yards of the board of trade of Chicago
can be found three different furnaces
which are burning every day an average
quality of soft coal without making any
smoke to speak of. 1t is not necessary to
mention them, because this article is not
written for advertising purposes. Any
one who cares to see them can easily do
so with little trouble. With regard to
economy it is not possible to say truth
fully that any furnace or de-
vice has yet been found which
will prevent smoke with any pronounced
used in the ordinary furnace set
ting. Claims of economy were made for
a variety of furnaces, but these claims
have never been established. The fur
naces which prevent smoke are very eX-
pensive a first cost, averaging $500 perS
boiler. So that Chicago'S experience, if
it has shown anything, has shown that
smoke prevention at best is bound to be
an expensive operation to the steam-user.
His unwillingness to undergo this expense
is the principal reason why it is so diff
cult to rid large city of smoke. Smoke
prevention at the present stage of devel-
Opment of furnaces is not business prop
osition, because if he would prevent
smoke the owner of the average steam
plant must invest dollars which do not
bring him back their equivalent in dol
lars.
Another thing has been demonstrated
in Chicago, and that is that the fireman
is very large factor in the smOkc-pre-
venting problem. 1t has been shown CON
clusively here that all the various fur
naCes for preventing smoke increase the
labor of the fireman and engineer. The
coal must be broken up in small pieces.
The furnace must be fired lightly and
! frequently. The furnace itself must be
! operated with constant care. The av-
| erage fireman fires his furnace about once
in every half hour, and the rest of his
| time he sits down and smokes his pipe
and reads his newspaper. Smoke pre-
vention means that the chair and the
7 pipe and the newspaper must go. There
! fore, the average engineer and fireman
are unalterably opposed to smoke proven
! ton, and in many cases cannot be in
| duced to use a good furnace that is given
! them with average care. They do not
| want the furnace to prevent smoke, be-
| cause if il does they must work harder.
/ A fpNU nppriDaarc hppn fnuD6 also
who are willing to be the paid agent of
this or that furnace company, and recon-
! mend the furnace to the steam user who
! employs them whether the furnace be
! good or bad.
1t has been shown in Chicago also that
among steam users there is astonishing
! ignorance upon the question of smoke
! prevention. The true method OF curing
smoke is to study the needs of a smoking
plant to ascertain Just what the condi-
tiOns are which prevail at that point
These being known it's possible to recon-
mend what should be done just as phys
ician would prescribe for a patient. But
the average rushed business man has not
| time to do this. He sees a furnace pre-
venting smoke at one plant, and he
straighuway reasons that what the fur
mace will do in one place it will do in
another and he puts the furnace into his
| own plant irrespective of the amount of
boiler room he has, or of the draught OF
his chimney, or of the amount of work
his plant must do. His course is just
about as reasonable as that of a phys
ician, who would reason that because
aconite cures cold it win also cure a
broken leg
To the general question, is smoke pre-
ventiOn pOssble2 Chicago's experience
gives the following answer: 1t is possible,
but to secure it it is necessary to compel
the steam user to spenu money he does
not wish TO spend it is necessary to COM
pei the fireman and engineer to work
hard when they do not wish to work
hard, and it is necessary to conquer the
ignorance which prevails generally upon
the subject To do all this is a difficult
task. 1t can only be done by continually
maintaining an organization similar to
that which Chicago started, or some kin
dred organization, which shall be entirely
free from political or any other out
side influence. The organization must be
kept up perretually. Within two months
of the time it stops it the city will be
full of smoke again. The annual ex-
pense mast be met. of course, by public
spirited citizens In any event, smoke
| prevention has been shown to be, in
Chicago, a constant warfare and con
slant souce of expense to the friends and
enemies OF smoke alike. IL will be inter
esting to see whether the experience OF