New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-19


and the accomplishing tdeways Of Its commerce
Manhattan and Brooklyn. the rivers and the
Bay. are for few hours bound all but helpless
by the intangible letters. Then. as at Angvalds-
ness the rising sun disperses the warlocks. and
before noon the air Is clear and the sky blue as
Now this last circumstance almost unerringly
dinerentiates the New-York fogs from those of
London. The former are fogs. msts. pure and
simple
A shape OF the brumal
Rain. and the darkness
Fearful and form.css.
Day dawns and thou art not.
Or II. at times. when melting snow lies over
all the land. the fog abides throughout whole
days. II Is still only n gray, or pearly. or, per-
haps. opalescent suspension OF almost pure
moisture in the air. 1t Is often said that such
phenomena more frequent now than they
used to be. that the oracular oldest nhabitant"
can recall the time when fogs were wellnigh
unknown. Perhaps. There are reasons for such
change. The growth OF the city is one. Still
more potent 10 the same end Is the enormous
Swallowing Of the waters OF the Lower Bay and
the adjacent ocean outside OF Sandy Hook
Where the last generation knew deep water the
present knows only shoals and sandbanks in
evtably productive OF fogs. All these however
are mere miss, like those Of the English coast
and the Channel. of Plymouth and Ushant and
OF what not other sea and shore. But contrast
them with a typical London fogl
Let II be granted that OF the latter the chief
constituent. or one OF the chief constituents Is
gray sea mist swept up by the east wind from
the North Sea and the Essex marshes But
what Is added thereto in London? Well there
are to-day about nine hundred thousand private
houses within the metropolitan area with an
average Of five chimncys each. Thus there are
some 100000 private chimneys to be taken into
account. Then there are hundreds OF thousands
OF factories and other establishments brlstllng
with an aggregate OF 100000 chlmneys more
There is then. a grand total OF $500. 900 stacks
belching forth the smoke and gas OF bitumnous
coal. Perhaps Ncw-Yorker can scarcely APP
precate what that means without an object les.
son. Blu: one 10 ready. close at hand Go up 10
the top OF "sky-scraper' or 10 the centre OF the
Brooklyn Bridge any clear day. and see here
and there the foul black clouds that rise from
chmney-stacks that mark where some men. in
defiance alike Of law and dcconcy are stocking
furnaces with soft coal. Even one such beIching
u blot upon the Landscape Then multiply IL
by five millions. That Is London!
COMPOSITION OF LONDON FOG
Scientific observation has asoertained that
there are daily thrown into the air OF London
no less than sixty tons Of unconsumed coal-an
impalpable powder suspended in the atmosphere
That amount OF carbon ana more for the cumu-
lative law prevails. Is what transforms the gray
sea-mis into pail Of dun There are also daily
discharged into the burdened air at lcas, two
hundred tons Of sulphur chiefly In combination
with ammonia. In the delectable form Of sui
phate OF ammonia. That is what makes the fog
80 Irritating, acrd and choking. Finally. there
are a million or more drain-vcntilatIng pipes
discharging an incalculabc quota OF sewer gas
with all its filth md poison. into the whole float
ing witch-broth Of metropolitan atmosphere,
Immersed in such mixture. and forced TO
breathe 1t and be saturated with It, what won
der that the people Of London suffer and die?
True the pure water-thouFh somewhat scanty
and the superb sanitary drainage system !
fhich gives grateful and everlasting remern-
brance TO the name OF HazGlscttc. contribute
to make the death rate In London the lowest in
any great city In the world. But what does that
rate become in time OF pro;ractod fog? The rec /
ords Of the RcGistrar-Gencral tell n fearful tale /,
In the single first week Of February. 1850 dur /
Ing which practically unbrokcn fog prevailed. /
the number Of deaths nearly two thousand /
above the average. In the black month from /
December II, 1873 TO January If, 1874. moe |
than four thousand extra deaths occurred Dur
Ing that same fog hundreds Of cattle In the
Smithhcld Market were suffocated and had to
be slaughtered at once ito save their lives! !
Many cattle died Of the fog In the great exhibit
ton OF live stock In Agricultural Hail. Islington
others had to be butchered on the spot, and the
rest were hurried out Of the city by railroad in
hope OF thus saving their livca
That bad state Of affairs Yet It would
have been far worse IL Lord Pamcrston's act
compelling factories to consume their smoke had
In Do hid