The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-11
BUTTE News.
FOUR REPLIES RECEIVED
How the Smoke Nuisance Is
Viewed by Smelter Managers.
Mr.. C0NNOLLYS REPORT
No Answer Yet From the NJ O. P. Com
pany-The Court Will Wait for One
Before Ordering the County
Attorney What to Do.

Judge Lindsay yesterday afternoon
received report from County Attorney
Connolly on the result of his inquiry
sent to the various smelling companies
as to what, if any, steps had been taken
to abate the smelter smoke nuisance
The county attorneys report consisted
simply Of letters he had received from
four of the companies and the state
ment that no reply had been received
from the Montana Ore Purchasing
company. The substance of the letters
received We're that the Parrot smelter
at Gaylord would be put into operation
next fall, and that the Butte smelter
would be abandoned that the Butte
Reduction works has figured on several
too expensive schemes to get rid of its
smoke, and makes a sarcastic sugges-
ton about moving it's smelter to some
new location where wages are as cheap
as in Anaconda: that the Colorado
company has figured on several plans,
but decided on none, and that the
Butte & Boston has been seriously con-
sidering various schemes, but believes
that the only practical one is to carry
the smoke beyond the eastern range of
enormous expense. The different let
tiers read as follows:
From Robert D. Grant, general man.
ager of the Parrot: Il am just in re-
Areipt of a letter dated May from Mr.
Kelly, your chief deputy. in which he
states that the court has instructed you
to ascertain and report to him within
10 days what steps have been taken at
the Parrot smelter toward the abate-
of the smoke nuisance T1nop NV
recommendation to our Eastern people,
when this matter first came up--some
three or four months ago-it was de-
cided that we complete our new works
at Parrot, Mont, this year, and begin
treating our Butte ores at our new
works this fall, thus shutting down our
Butte plant. l wish to say that on
April 4. 1899, we disposed of all of our
interests in Butte and at Parrot, Mont,
to the Amalgamate ted Copper company,
and just what they will do l am unable
at this time to say, but l rather think it
is altogether likely that the Parrot
smelter in Butte will not contribute the
same amount of fumes-or anything
like it-during the coming winter"
From A. H. Wethey, secretary for w.
A. Clark, owner of the Butte Reduc-
ton works: Your favor of the 4th inst.
duly received, asking what we have
done at the Butte Reduction works in
regard to the smoke trouble, ] beg to
say that we have made series of tests
on the smoke coming from our stacks
to ascertain if it would be possible to
use the sulphur in the smoke for COM
mereial purposes. An average of sew
eral determinations showed 1.62 per
cent. by volume of sulphur dioxide. To
manufacture sulphur it would be ne
cessary to have a minimum of 5 per
cent, and to be profitable it should
run between II and IL per cent I have
had considerable correspondence with
firm in New York, who state that they
have perfected a method of removing
all smoke nuisances, gases, etc, and
saving all the bi-products. They state
they will soon be sending a man here
to look over the field and to make
proposition ito us.
I'VE have considered the ACCESSIBILITY
of erecting large stack, to be built of
steel, and about 600 feet high. We find
that such a stack could not be erected
in less than about IS months from date
and that the cost of it with all the ne
cessary connections would amount to
at least s15OO00. 1t would be more ad-
vanta geous for us to move our smelter
to some other point, where we could
have an abundance of water, and where
wages would rule a. the same rates as
they do in Anaconda, which are from
20 to 80 per cent. lower than we are
paying at our smelter here.
At such times as the smoke is caus-
ing trouble in Butte by reason of the
climatic conditions we should be will
ing to shut down all our furnaces until
the condition should change. This me-
thod seems to be the simplest and best
If we should erect a high stack at a
great expense we should have no as
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