The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-03
Delegations of st. Louisans Appear
Before House Committee for
and Against 1t.
AN Amendment is PROPOSED
Letter Presented From President
McMath of the Board of Pub
lie Improvements Bearing
on the Subject.
BY A STAFF CORRESPONDENT.

BY A STAFF CORRESPONDENT.
Jefferson City, March "A number Of st.
Louisans appeared this morning before the
House Committee on Municipal Corpora
tions to plead for the passage Of the Dra-
| belle smoke-abatement bill. A number Of
st. Louisans also appeared to oppose the
adoption of the Drabelle bill and to argue
in favor of its amendment.
The amendment proposed to the bill was
to compel the State to prove in each case
to the satisfaction of the jury court
that there is some known practicable de-
vice procurable at reasonable cost" by
which the discharge of the smoke could
have been prevented.
Those St Louisans who favored the Dra-
belle bill, in speaking before the commit
tee, contended that the adoption of the
amendment asked for would entirely defeat
the purpose of the bill. They contended
that 1t was sufficient for the State to provo
the emission Of the smoke. and that it was
the province of the defendant to show that
the smoke could not have been abated by
shown, made special provision that 1t should
be a good defense to show that the smoke
could not have been abated by any known
device.
Those who pleaded for the Drabelle bill
presented a letter from President McMath
of the st. Louis Board Of Public Improve
ments declaring as ain engineer the entire
practicability Of smoke prevention and at
tracing attention to the fact that under
the old law before 1t was made ineffective
cent of the smoke had been abated. The
letter pointed out that the present law was
imperative because to make case the
State had to produce some mel person ,o who was
stack in question. 1t was practically i'm
possible to trace the injury from smoke to
a particular stack. President McMath
posed to the law.
'"The proposed amendment his letter
said. would give form OF law without
substance, q more delusion."
Resolutions of City Council.
The st. Lousans also presented to the
committee copies of a resolution adopted by
the city Council Of St Io Louis l, calling "a, at
declaring the entire practicability Of smoke
abatement and telling the present difficult
ties which confronted St Louis in its de-
passage of the Drabelle bill. (which has
been Endorsed by the Smoke Abatement AS
sociation, the Bar Association. the En-
gineers' Club, the Business Mems League
COMMUNICATION from the Business Mems
League was also presented. embodying reso-
lutions In favor of the Drabelle Smoke
The st. Louisans who pleaded for the bill
were o. L. Whitelaw, former president OF
the aasyey Il
Manager Spencer of the Hamilton-Brown
Shoe Company: Henry T. Kent. represent
ing the Executive Committee of the Worl1's
Fair: George NJ Wright of Bars. William
n. woodward of the Woodward -Tiernan
Printing Company, Attorney Eugene Nc
Quillin and Major Edward Cunninghem m. Jr.
Those who favored the. amendment Of
the bill to make it difficult or iuoossiole
of enforcement. were Tom l. Cannon, sec
retaTy of the Manufaetursrs Assoc,aaon n, T.
Company; President Russell Of the PARKER
Russell Manufacturing Company. and Attor-
ney james P. Dawson, representing the
Blaclmer-Post Manufacturing Company.
The attitude of the Manufacturers' Asso.