Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-06
The Elastic-Inelastic Smoke Law.

The smoke law as It stands today Ia not
a workable statute. and therefore needs
amendment In the interest Of Justice and
equity The embarrassment OF a few boiler
owners during the present failure Of the
hard coal supply has brought to view more
acutely than ever before the absurdity OF
the law as interpreted and enforced. The
necessity for Its amendment, however.
bears no relation to the anthracite coal
famine The reasons In support of the de-
mand of the citizens for further legislation
lie apart from any emergency and are
based upon the normal conditions.
The law declares any emission of dense
smoke. save from residences, to be an Of
Tense punishable by the courts. 1t grants
no margin for stocking, as has been done In
terms of law in other cities. Such stat
ute Is impossible Of strict enforcement be-
ing practically prohibitive of boiler use with
soft coal, which is chiefly consumed here
for this purpose. The health officer rec
ognizing this fact, has undertaken to in
terpret the law to make 1t workable, de-
clarng that a smoke emission of less than
a minute Is not illegal. But practice has
shown that his Interpretation is insufficient,
and when he Is asked for broader margin
OF tolerance he refuses and sooshes the
spprehensions of the boiler owner by de-
clarng that there Is no reason to rear
hardship because his inspection force Is
too small to permit him to attend to any
but the more fragrant cases of smoke null
sance. And, he adds. in further consola-
ton. II any hardship be caused by the re-
ports of an increased force of inspectors
the boiler owner may throw himself on
the mercy of the Police Court when the
case is brought for trial.
In the beginning this court held that the
law was explicit in declaring that the ennis
sion of smoke for the briefest possible
period was illegal. 1t is not officially
cognizant of the health officers dictum
granting a one-minute allowance, but when
that official appears as prosecutor 1t ac-
cepts his evidence and convicts when the
evidence suffices, and then Furnishes 1t
now says to the aggrieved boiler owner that
It can show no mercy. 1t expresses its
sympathy and intimates that the prosecu-
lions might better be based upon broader
margin OF tolerance and be suspended dur
ing the coal famine But it is powerless to
grant relief. Then the boiler owner asks
the Commissioners to suspend the law at
least during the emergency, and Is an
swered that those officials have no warrant
10 nulify the statute, even temporarily.
The health officer Is now asking Congress
for larger inspection force. This can
mean only that he hopes to enforce the law
more strictly than heretofore. What be-
comes OF his suggestion of leniency based
upon his present small staff? II that IN
crease is granted will not the boiler owner
be mulcted more often than before on the
one minute basis? Does not the health
officers course indicate a purpose to apply
the law Unfortunately to all who may
chance. at any hour Of the day, within
sight Of his watchers, to exceed by frac-
ton the arbitrarily established margin of
smoke emission?
The health officer having conceded that
the law as il stands is not workable, by es-
tablishing a one-minute allowance for which
there is no warrant in the statute and hav-
ing ractically conceded the harshness Of
this Interpretation by suggesting that the
courts may be merciful to technical offend
ers: and the courts having intimated while
deploring inability to show mercy, that the
practice under the statute iS too severe,
what remains but to give the law in its own
terms those margins Of unpunishable smoke
emission which actual conditions demand
and which other cities grant? A law-es-
tablshed margin Is much to be preferred to
an arbitrarily declared margin, varying at
the discretion of an individual. The present
Interpretation of the present health officer
can not be regarded as permanent, and
affords no guarantee that season or two
later the boiler owners may not be con-
fronted with a new practice, based upon
even brefer period of tolerance than Is
now granted.
There should be no question Of the laws
meaning or scope. or of the health off,
GERS ability 10 enforce 1t or of the courts
disposition or power to show mercy. The
boiler user should not be tossed back and
forth between the judicial and administra-
tive battledores while honestly trying to
observe an impossible statute. Amendment
10 imperatlvely demanded in the interest Of
equity.