Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-07
MINING, BUSINESS AND STOCKS.
may HAVE EFFECT ON
SHELTER. SITUATION.
Smelter People Arc Wondering What
Change Montana Decision VIII
Have On Snit Lake Valley.

| Details of the dismissal by the United
States court of the action brou, ut
| against the Washoe Smelter at Ana
conda, is the source Of considerable dis
ctlssion among The s1neiter men Of the
Salt Luke valley and just how far that
decision will apply to conditions here
Is a matter OF conjecture. The amount
of fume and arsenic that escapes
through the stack at the Anaconda
shelter is in excess OF that from the.
com bined stacks OF all the shelters of
the Salt Lake valley when in full blast
it is commended and has been SO stated
in courts At Anaconda the court al.
lowed the company 10 continue.
AT the present time there are but two
smelters, both lead plants, in operation
Smelling e. Refining company at Muir
ray and the United states smelte. at
Bingham Junction. The American
Smelting and Refining plant Is allowed
to operate copper plant at Garfield
which covers part of the territory under
which an injunction was granted
against the United STATES smeitar at
Bingham Junction. The Injunction
against the latter Is still in force and
not dismissed
The United States smelter as now
operated, it Is contended. filters its lead
fume through a mammoth playhouse
and permits nothing of an injurious la-
ture to escape. 1t has asserted that 1t
Is able to handle it's copper fumes in
a like manner, but to&datet nothing has
been done toward allowing the COM
pany to carry out it's assertion. 1t Is
declared by the smelling interests that
in the light of the action in Montana
1t would seem an injustice not only to
the smelter interests but to the pro-
Queer of copper ores, as under the ~ IS
ent conditions competition Is removed
and the marketing of copper ores call
only be made at Garfield. Still there is
tho other side OF the case.
The question of how far IL similar
ruling to that just handed down in
Montana should apply and what
amount OF damage has been sustained
In this valley is perhaps open to dis
cllssion among the Interests ingo we'd. 4
1t is commended that the United States
company has demonstrated to the APP
parent satisfaction of all who have in
vesigated it, that It's lead smelter is
operating under decree of court with
out doing any damage to soils, vegeta
ton or animal life. With this in View
1t Is commended that it appears unfair
not to allow the company to operate
it's full plant.
The decree of court as applied to the
lead smelter entities the farmers com
Mite and its experts to investigate it's 4
operations IL not satisfied. Similar re-
strictions might be imposed on It's cop
per operations. The fact Is that at
the United States smelter the arsenic is 1
entirely removed from the fume and
marketed as a bi-prpduct and the sui
phuric acid. which, in conjunction with
flue dust (and aI'senic), has been the
damaging element to vegetation, is en-
tircly eliminated by patented process
of naturalization. That the United
States company has the only method
that has thus far been found CONNER
cially possible, by which all deleterious
matter is removed from the gases. ex-
plains the statements made by the
Anaconda smelter and affirmed by the
decision of the United States court Cor
Montana. that the known methods Ut
handling the fume would not be prac-H
ticable Mt Anaconda. The United States
method Is unknown to outsiders and
secret at least until the patents are
perfected in this and foreign countries.
In the Anaconda report of the pro-
ceedings, Mr.. Matthewson, manager or
the srnelter, is quoted as saying that
playhouse would be imprncticable be-
cause the bags would be destroyed An
Inquiry on this point here develops that
such would undoubtedly be the result
at Anaconda but conditions here being
different. especially in the composition
of the ores smelted, that the destroy
Ing element, the sulphuric acid. Is by
the United States process entirely neu-
tralized by the zinc oxide driven into
the fume and does not reach the bags
III q form to destroy them 1t seems to
be the opinion locally that the state 4
snents of the Anaconda smelter men as
to the methods that are available there
are absolutely correct but that condi>
lions here by which the necessary zinc
oxide Is obtainable in its own Bingham
ores and the much smaller amount OF
acid to handle, makes it commercially
possible for the United States smelter
to filter all Its gases by its own system
OF neutralizlng the acids in tho copper
as well as the lead fume.
.----- DIR OLlIIss