The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-09-06
My GO Up IN SMoKE.

NH OO W IN SMOh e.
The smoke problem, so-called, has in
tested this community for fifteen or
twenty years. Indeed, since we began
to peep as a productive community we
have had this problem with us. Our
We are just about to have the whole
difficulty solved for US. DR.. Ohage, that
man of unfailing resources in his en-
deavors to conserve and advance the
sanitary interests of the community, is
now burdened with the task of abolish
ing the smoke nuisance with single
wave of his wand of sanitation
The G o b e has read with the deep
est interest the researches already made
by DR.. Ohage into this subject 1t re-
joices in his locomotive rides and in his
mid-alr examination of the chimneys of
railroad corporations, and it has faith
in the conclusions reached by him
through his conferences with profession
al engineers. But all this and even more
does not mean the abatement of the
smoke evil, Notwithstanding the pardon
able but somewhat newborn faith of our
contemporaries in the genial sanitarian.
There always existed in the past more
than suspicion that behind all the anti
smoke crusading there lurked a scheme
to boom some particular form Of smoke
;e ioin of
taching to the present crusade because
it has passed into the hands of a man
who has a hard head and good head for
such problems and who is single-minded
labors.
II some form of smoke consumer is
the indispensable requirement to the set
tlement of this difficulty of urban life,
it would have been settled long ago.
There have been smoke-censum prac-
tically without number, put on the
market as the result of the agitation Of
this subject Merchants and manufactur-
ers and their engineers have been ar
rested and punished or discharged. The
supreme court has declared in favor Of
the legality of the existing smoke or
dinance Expert authority has been
agreed that with careful firing and the
existence of some simple form of smoke
consumer there could and would be re-
allied to the owner of the smoking
chimney a degree of saving in the price
of coal that would make his fortune, II
only long enough maintained. Still the
smoke nuisance, like the poor, remains
with US.
The G l o b has undminished faith in
DR.. Ohage. He has gone about this mat
spection. He may indeed succeed in Sc
curing the active cooperation of the
owners of the offending chimneys in his
work of reform. Anything that is desir-
able in the premises may indeed happen
at any moment. But the 0 b has a
secret dread that as the outcome. it
may be found that after the smoke
nuisance has bsen thoroughly abated, and
we are all settling DOWN to the conVlctlon
that the air is no longer polluted by SCOT
corpuscles, we may wake up and find the
same old chimneys belching out the same
old smoke and find them reinforced by a
few additional offenders.
It used to be SO at intervals during the
past ten or fifteen years. The Chamber
of Commerce, as the result of it's deliber-
atoms, used to declare the smoke
nuisance ended at regular periods, and
afterwards be forced to resume jurisdic-
ton over the subject. 1t may be so
again. We do not say It will be So We
simply hold up warning finger to our
friend the doctor and tell him, Be-
ware!