The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-03


field that ordinarily yielded eighty
bushels to the acre, this year yielded
only ten and one acre Was so badly
burned that it could not be harvested
at ALL
Mr.. Taylor picked some leaves from
one of the many dead shade trees
around his house and upon looking at
il with a microscope il was found 10
be covered with tiny specks of shining
metal. both the white lead and green
copper The smoke hung thick about
lis farm, and to illustrate how the
plague works one OF his friends took
the reporter up on a haystack and
there exposed a white cloth to the
smoke for fifteen minutes. Then he
applied water and wherever the black
spots of smoke had gathered holes
were burned through the cloth. TIE
water had released the sulphuTic acid.
Over the river i'm Granger ward was
the farm of Bishop Daniel McRae. He
says $500 would not cover his loss in
shade trees and crops. He said that
about three weeks ago he had gone TO
bed one night with lis farm in the
| best of condition, and awoke next
morning TO find that the smoke had
gotten in its deadly work. During the
night a south wind had prevailed with
a slight rain, which is the condition
most likely to cause damage by the
smoke. He said that he could not
replace his shade trees, many of which
were imported. in ten years of hard
work. In dry irrigating ditch near
his farm the sand was seen TO he COW
cred with green copper dust, illustrat-
ing how thick the deposit from the
smoke has become
Down the Redwood road 10 Murray
these conditions were duplicated every
where. Hardly a tree was there but
had its quota OF yellow, burned leaves
nor corn field that was not merely an
acreage Of dead stocks, and all this de-
struction had come suddenly, when
the crops We're we'll on the road to ma
turity.
Cause of the Trouble.
The south winds of the last few
weeks have no doubt caused much OF
the destruction, but at the Highland
Boy snelter a much more important
cause was found. Years ago, when the
shelters were only the Germania, the
MingO, Horn Silver, Pennsylvania and
Flagstaff, there was no complaint
from nearby residents, for they were
all lead shelters and the heavy deposit
settled near the shelters. But ever
since copper smelling came with the
establishment Of the Highland Boy
there has been an area of constant and
ever widening complaint. The smeltel
owners wished to avoid trouble and al
first paid for the damages of the farm
ers who complained loudest. But find.
ing this expensive, they decided to add
an extra fifty feet to their smoke staff
This they did early in the year, anG II
saved the nearby farms from the curse
Of the sulphur smoke. But when tbs
south winds came the taller chimney
simply increase the smoke area till il
included the richest and best part 0t
Salt Lake valley, and this is why the
damage is so extensive, and why the
farmers Of the whole valley are com
bining so unitedly in the attempt Ii
save their homes and lands.
What the outcome win be it is hard
to predict, as il is not known whether
it is possible for the smelters TO put in
smoke consumers. and the smelters
themselves represent the expenditure
of millions of dollars. so that it is con-
coded to close them down would be a
misfortune to the city and state.