The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-12
THE ONLY REMEDY
The Civil Code Points the Way
to Fight the Smoke.
1T IS A PUBLIC NUISANCE
And II May Be Abeted by Any Public
Body or Authorized Ofnoer-vigor-
Gus Measures Necessary II
Relief IL Expected.

Butte still has the smoke complaint.
The town was sick all day and appar-
emily getting worse. 1t begins to o
now as though there won't be any wind
to come TO the towns relief. and It will
be necessary to wait until the stink
piles which some of the mining COM
panies have set fire to burn themselves
out. II Is hard. but how are you go
ing to help II when the mining COM
panies persist in evading the law and
no one seems to ave the nerve to
compel them to enforce IL?
While 1t is pretty well demonstrated
that the smoke nuisance will never be
entirely abated until the local COM
panies are required to put up a fiue like
those of the Anaconda company in An
aconda, yet the nuisance could Ne
greatly lessened IL some of the COM
panies were not persistently evading
the law. IL not breaking il. by setting
fire to stink piles. II is true that the
companies car save money by roasting
the ore outdoors rather than in the
smelters, but who can tell wha this
saving costs the community in life and
health?
When a man is suspended as on a
thread between life and death with
pneumonia, smoke like that which now
fills Butte Is pretty sure to turn the
tide. To one suffering from asthma, to
any one with weak lungs. TO delicate
infants, the smoke in Butte is a mighty
serious thing.
1t is no use bringing smoke messiahs
to Butte. There is not a mining COM
pany in the town that would ever offer
them the slightest encouragement. The
only thing which can stop the nui-
sance quick is the law, and the law
can do IL IL IL is enforced. The law
does not require that the people Of
Butte suffer from this offensive. deadly
smoke. The law does not require that
a man shall stand patiently by and see
his loved ones on a sick bed choke to
death for a breath of pure air.
III anything is a public nuisance II is
the smoke which now fills Butte. Sec
tion 1850 of the civil code of the state
of Montana defines a nuisance in this
language:
Anything which is injurious to
health or is indecent or offensive to the
senses or IN obstruction to the free
use of property so as to interfere with
the comfortable enjoyment of life or
property, or unlawfully obstructs the
free passage or use in the customary
manner of any navigable lake or river.
bay, stream, canal or basin. or any
public park, square, street or highway.
is a nuisance"
Section 4551 of the civil code defines
a public nuisance as follows:
"A public nuisance is one which az
fects at the same time an entire COM
munity or neighborhood, or any consid-
cradle number of persons. although the
extent of the annoyance or damage in
ficted upo individuals may be un-
equal"
Section ASH of the civil code gives
the remedies against a public nuisance
as follows:
- First-Indictment or information.
Second-A civil action; or,
Third-Abatement.
Section 4574, civil code. says: "A pub
lie nuisance may be abated by any
public body or officer authorized there
to by law"
And further than that, section 1915
of the civil code says:
ANY person may abate a public null
which is specially injurious to
by removing or. IL necessary, de-
stroying the thing that constitutes the
same without committing a breach of
the peace or doing unnecessary injury"
So any officer or any person even car
abate a nuisance without mourning the
penalty of the law.
Chief Of Police Mulholland yesterday
went out to the BUTT Reduction Works
to see the stink piles which are pouring
forth volumes of the offensive smoke.
There is about 100 feet of the piles of
ore which are roasting in stalls. and
all the stalls do the ore might as
well be on the ground. There Is a
at one of the stalls. but scarcely
any smoke comes through the stack.
The sulphurous smoke creeps through
the sides and tops OF the stain and
keeps close to the ground, creeping up
the hill into the town. The cloud from
the Butte Reduction Works is met by
large loud from the Parrot
and the two together are
to make life as unpleasant as
could well be imagined.