Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-09-05
srsIter Smoke Burns Foliage to
4 Crisp Inside the City
Limits.
BLIGHT AREA is SPREADING.
o,,l,ratiOn That SCourge Would
s,re1d Into the Municipality
Mas Finally Come True.
A., rsa of the Smoke Following
~. pornt Rains Can BE Traced
Ior Great Distance.

The Rernt kaihs 'ah dc iraceu
lQr Great Distance.
. smers OF Salt Lake City have
,..,,i Tor years that the smeiter
- you'd one day blight the proud
49,. Of the residence district. as IT
:, sshted their potato patches and
,..,,red their grain fields, leaving
- only harvest Of damage suits
~ hVyer fees.
ne time for the encroaching plague
.,r the ciiys beauty seems now to
save arrived. for there is a path OF
,-,rsd trees in the wake OF the recent
..-n stretching far within the citys
,-r II Is marked most notleeably on
4. foliage OF Liberty park, but can
!, traced four blocks north OF the
,,-k itself Heretofore the northern
,-rs have usually been the old
rspreh farm on Twelfth South street.
"A the Christensen nursery on state
s,set where the more tender trees,
mwsrs and plants have occasionally
ben blghted.
WHEN FIGHT COMMENCED.
The aeht Of the farmers on the
,-,,rer smoke began IN earnest two
y,ars ago. At that time committees
we're organized. funds were raised by
assessment, and meeting after meeting
cured between committees Of smell
70, OPERATORS and farmers Manager
Canning Of the Highland Boy scent
"a disposed TO attempt means Of REM
ewing the situation, but the attitude
n Manager Whitley was not 20 en-
courseing. and Il finally resulted III q
hrssk The farmers broke on an nego-
,isHors and plantcd q suit against ne
shelters Jointly. They peuuoned me
Nod of health TO declare the smel-
,srs nuisance. and close them unle's
,hey would promise to aoate u, ~
M gr,e tho county commissioners
..nsb, m visit the plants and were re-
80 .sr,ittanee TO that conirollen ny
,,..sasr Whitley. while they We're
$3.50 .aritted and shown the Work
h,t.'s so1c to control the smoke AZ the
80 rlar,s An order was readiiy
s,p,,,,s COMPELLING the American smell
~ n snsn ts plant to inspection, but
M uors VAS found looking TO solu-
ton Of the problem
~ FEDERAL COURT.
since that lime Inc fight has been
carried on mainly In the federal court.
Judge William Il. King and senator
JOSEPH Z. RaWllns have had the mat
tef On charge and their suits have been
FOR a permanent Injunction closing
4 ne smeliers Briefs were submitted by
4 both sides the farmers alleging the
/ valley and their homes were being
4 ruined. and the shelters alleging that
hey brought il too much money for the
state 10 be- able 20 AFFORD 10 lose them.
The case was referred 10 a master for
he hearing. and an abundance Of tes-
tmony vas collected from all avail
able sources II is stlll pending In
Dlu
STORM Is DREADED.
Meanwhile The smelters were active.
specially the Highland Boy, with an
hrenton calculated 20 negative the
f.son o. The smoke. The chemistry Of
De case was that the sulphur gas. %
Which about 10000 pounds is given out
DAY, remains harmless while dry, but
converted into sulphurous acid when
lsMpened. Hence severe storm II
h'sl severe In It's damage. and TIE
sumner rain that was once looked on
" lne FARMER as a promise OF album
laal crops. and a blessing from the
,hts, ls now looked upon as a plague
Ugm me powers Of destruction.
Vnce there was a shelter smoke zone.
mis- "as when the smokestacks were
0" and not so numerous as now. Two
9tefs ago The area spread over the
western bali Of the valley, and since
'en NE great white smoke streaks that
.soell from the stacks have awaited
e gay oi any rainy wind TO 20 forth
on thelf mission Of blight and desiruc-
lon me direction was never certain.
,Dl mas year il has taken a path far
'es,"afd from any yet before trav-
~ ana has carried blight in a new
ARSENICAL DUST DEPOSIT
ne sulphur gas is not ire only source
uamage The farmers brought I'm
ne Meath authorities the skull OF
- ne Teeth Of which were covered
s eodting Of lead. Copper and lead
-, yours out on the surrounding
.sns hut 4 fails before the distant
80 ere reached. and worse than this
ne afe about three tons OF arsenic
esloslied In fine dust over the valley
~ cay A few grains OF this h
.lolgh ia prove fatal. ana from 4
.anliul ~ dust collected from harn
80. several miles from tho smelters.
ID, les last year found enough arse
~. I, hii several people Horses drink
~. U pools whore the deadly sulphur
~, gas has been dissolved. have died in
" numbers in the valley. while neo-
.e'e found their crops Of berries
!, ull p source Of danger too great
SLOW To ACT.
i,eallzng the great good 10 the cor,
~, wealth Of the money brought An nv
,,,. shelters salt Lakers have been
n SLOW 10 join their rural neiehbors
-,es. aggressive fight 10 force The ev.
. ,,.,.ufe o. enough money By the
~, ''tiA 10 take care " their smoke
80. money thus expended doesn't in
,,ase dividends. and managers have
-. Wy SLOW TO undertake II. ana
wv. objections from boards of direc-
~. N me east, who are interested
10y, i INC dividend end ~ the bust.
~ Newspapers which have printed
\, \, ,slofy az the loss In vegetation out
:, ns valley have been roundly scored
',iellles Of the community. ana A.
!. ing The death OF one Of the great
-,luslries o. the state.
q, n- ieoeral court sun has lis decislon
nae on a proposition OF ahsolu,e
:, uN-uon OF the smelling operatinrs
Nniray IN California Uncle sam
~. 'laed with the farmers on a sjmllar
49,, on ihs ground that they were The
49, suefs' but this case was agra.
-, ul he fact that the hie irees
~ % danger from the smoke.