The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-06
SHELTERS LOSE,
ARE ENJOINED
Farmers Win the Consolidated
Smoke Cases in the Unit
ed States Court.
PLANTS WILL NOT CLOSE
CONDITIONS ENABLE THEM TO
OPERATE-WiLL APPEAL.

Judge John A Marshall. of the
United States Circuit court. yesterday
granted the petition of James Godfrey
and 4OS other complainants for an in
junction against the American Smelt-
ing & Refining and other comp9nies
operating sinelters in the valleys south
of this city for maintaining nuisances
in the discharge of poisonous fumes
and gases from the various plants. In
order to give the defendants ample
time i'm which to perfect an appeal he
ordered that the injunction should not
become operative for one month, or un-
til the 9Th day of December.
The injunction does not order that
| the shelters BE- closed down. IT en-
joins them from. roasting or smelling
ores that carry ten per cent or more
of sulphur and arsenic and discharginS
the fumes into the air. with the quail
flying proviso that the defendants may.
at any time. apply TO the court. upon
due notice to the compliments, for 4
notification or suspension Of the in
junction upon a showing that such
changes have been made in treatment
methods that the nuisance complained
of no longer exists
Many Big Mines Unaffected.
Representatives of the defendant
companies will meet with their attOr-
neys today and decide upon the next
step TO be taken. 1t is certain that Sn
appeal Will be taken to the Circuit
Court of Appeals and it is also certain
that some Of the Smelters, at least, will
not have to quit business in the valley
when the question has been finally de-
termined. because, whether means re
devised for the perfect elimination of
the deleteriOus fumes or not. their FUR [.
mace changes can be easily regulated TO
come within the requirements of the
courts order.
The decision falls hardest on he
Utah Consolidated company, whitn
handles practically nothing except its
own ores and these carry from 80 TO
35 per cent sulphur The United States
company and the Bingham COnsoii-
dated are each severely hurt by ,he
order. while the American company IS
in a position 70 get within the demands
of the court without much trouble, as
the bulk Of the sulphide ores handled
by it go TO it's Garfield works, at the
point of the mountain west OF this
CITY a long distance removed from the
area covered by the decision.
None of the operating companies
which sell their product to the Ameri-
can company such as the Boston Con-
solidated. Utah Copper, Newhouse
Mines & Shelters Columbus CONSOLE
dated and many other properties AMI
companies will be at all affected by the
order, as their ores will find Judgment
almost entirely at the Garfield plant.
Uneasiness Is Relieved.
The local mining and smelling world
was upset yesterday when il was learned
that Judge John a. Marshall had granted
the petition of the 400 farmers and ranch
erS in the vicinity of the shelters in the
valley for an injunction against the con-
tinuance of what is commonly called the
smoke nuisance" An uneaSineSs was
companies known 10 produce ores OF
Sulphide character. but few, If any, after
mature elaboration, felt constrained 10
sacrifice their holdings.
1t was late in the afternoon before the
full text of the decision became knowa
ard after 1t had been analysed. the feel
ing of uneaSiness gradually subsidized, for
II was then realized that II did not mean
a e4esing down of the smelters and the
resultant closing of the mines. The most
annoying feature OF the decision was
found in the contention of the court that
he could not find for one defendant as
against another, owing TO the comming-
ling of the fumes from the different smell
terS because of which he was compelled
TO place them all in the same category.
Some consolation was found by the smell
ter managements in the fact that the de-
cislOn ola not Tx limit on the amount
of ore that might be treated as long as
the requirements as 10 the percentage of
sulphur and arsenic in the ore was com
piled with. All. so far as could be learned
were grateful for the proviso which gave
them an opportunity to get the injunction
removed when they could show that the
pre- blem of removing the deleteriouS sub
stances from the ores during treatment
had been solved.
What the Smeltermen Say.
Manager r. II. Claiming of the Titan
Consolidated company's works was I'M
willing 10 be quoted on the subject at all.
He urged tht he had not read the decision
and tLaL he 1I-al,lL -