The Washington herald., 1907-12-23
SMOKELESS, NOISELESS CITY
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

The municipal housekeeping Of the Dis
trict of Columbia is not the least among
the manifold things that win occupy the
mind Of Congress at the present session.
There is smoke from the railway lOcORO-
tives that is smirching the New Union
Station and the Commissioners Of the
District will not stand for it, so they will
recommend 10 Congress that the ozend-
ing locomotives be brought under the
smoke law. True the superintendent Of
the motive power division of the Penn
sylvania Railroad. with Others. has de-
cided that the locomotives will use coke
only in the city and its approaches, but
the new building-the finest OF its kind
in the worlds not to be jeOpardized
In any way, and action Of Congress viii
be asked in the matter
This question Of making city smoke
less is a bigger one than most cities
can handle Laws enacted have been too
impracticable for enforcement and fac
tories and power plants continue 10 belch
out quantities Of black smoke and SCOT
that disfgure buildings and kin vegeta-
ton while the law seems pOwerless. Chi
cago's ordinance Of 1903 changed the fines
'fOr offenders against the smoke law
from S and so 10 SO and 800. and made
new rules for boiler inspection. Yet there
is smoke and SCOT in plenty there. where
over 1900 boilers. no two Of which are
alike, send out smoke over IS6 square
miles of territory Memphis has a smoke
ordinance, though few people know It,
and so dense has been the SCOT fall this
winter that two weeks ago a misguided
countryman. under the impression that
he had found bust OF Booker T. Wash
ingtOn. threw mud all over the bust Of
Andrew Jackson in the public square be-
fore the police could stop him.
New York has an ideal smoke ordinance.
One is not only prohibited from using
soft coal. but is fined If the coal be dis
covered on his premises. yet there -
plenty OF smoke there. The law requires
the use Of anthracite when coal is chosen.
This is a law that could not be made gen
eral. for the present supply OF anthracite
in the United States will be exhausted in
a hundred years IL used at the present
rate. Were all Columbia's children com
peeled by law 10 use IL we would exhaust
the supply In a year Despite the fact
that New York is already using more
gas per capita than any other Y I'm the
country, and that hundreds of small
manufacturing institutions buy their
power from large plants, the cloud OF
smoke has not disappeared.
Congresses have been held In many
countries during the past decade or so IN
an effort 70 determine the most practical
and economical plan OF feeding the
worlds furnaces and protecting at the
same time the people and the cities from
smoke. Scientists have experimental and
figured over the matter. end the govern
ments Os the more enlightened countries
have laboratory tests Of various fuels
always going on. The United states had
such a testing station al the ST. LOUIS
Fair. and again al Norfolk. and as an
institution it Is now permanent. J. has
been found that each pound OF soft coal
requires 10 cubic feet of air for perfect
combustion. This air. heated and poison
ed. and partially consumed. rises above
the houses on clear days, and on damp
days falls into the breathing zone OF The
city pOpulace L bears minute particles
Of coal from the imperfect combustion
that went on IN the furnace and Gloss
the lungs OF the human being and the
pores .: leaves on the trees. The air
so USED IN weeks time would hang over
city 20 the height OF twenty-siX .eeL
In a locality where Sogs are common, as
! in London, the SCOT from the smoke
greatly Tetards the dispersion OF the fOgs
The sulphuric acid released in the CON-
( bustion Of soft coal and passing OFF In
the smoke has a marked effect on the
! buildings. statues. and iron work in some
cities. London, for instance, produces
/ from 100000 10 100000 tons Of sulphuric
acid annually in the combustion OF her
/ ie. 10000 tons OF soft coal The amount
would be even greater did not u pei
cent Of her people use gas for cooking
( purposes. Some Of the plants in London,
/ in the gardens and windows. have 10 be
washed with a sponge. as one would
wash the face of a child, in order tC
/ free tie tiny pores Of SCOT and allow the
/ air TO enter and give life TO the plant
American cities may anticipate just such
disaster TO plant life so long as they have
no smoke ordinances or have not the
power to enforce those already on then
statute books.
/ Since the supply OF anthracite Goa
would last only a year If all America
should take TO using it. and since gas
and oil are not available to every one
either by reason Of convenience or Ol
price. the householder, manufacture. and
promoter Of commerce must of necessity
] Keep 10 MS use Ul SOlL CoIl OI LEIu u
what has been termed the ideal fuel
coke.
With intelligent handling. soft coal car
be made smokeless. It is imperfect com
bustion that sends Up such clouds 10 bio
out the landscape and spoil the scenery
To bring about such UtOpIan results tn,
stOker must be a trained man. with 4
certificate showing that he has studied
so much science and has had so mucl
technical education fitting him for thii
particular field. This oan be done, fol
the Hamburg Society Of Fuel Users i
demonstrating II. The society wished L
demonstrate the possibilities of makinl
soft coal absolutely smokeless by scien
tific combustion, so they trained tn
stokers for the plants that would demon
strate it, and already several hundred
men have been successfully schOoled by
them. Vienna had this problem TO solvt
when the Central Electric Station of TIT
city was placed opposite the archduke''
palace and ordered to become smOkeless
They instituted the LANCER system Of fir
ing an automatic arrangement admitting
air and steam to the boiler furnace for
few minutes before firing-and the duca
mansion has remained unsmirched.
To have scientific stOking for furnace!
!