The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-18
MONTANA CASE IS
OF INTEREST HERE
Similar Troubles Were Passed
Through by the Several
Utah Smelters.
WHAT RESULT WAS
OF LOCAL LITIGATION
United States Company Solves
Problem by Putting in
Bagbouse System.

The principal topic OF conversation To-
cally yesterday was the suit brought by
the government against the Anaconda
Mining company. seeking to close down
smcltcr operations or force improvement Is
by which all alleged injury to the sur
rounding forests may be done away with.
The suit follows proceedings which were
instituted by the farmers surrounding
the plant, and In which the smeltcr com
pany was successful The issue In the
case or cases with the farmer plain
tins was injury to farm vegetation, while
from the press reports the issue in the
newly instituted proceedings is damage to
the forest reserve.
Local readers arc reminded by this suit
OF the cases against the various smclt-
Ing companies OF Utah. the result OF which
was the complete withdrawal from the
local smelling field by the Utah Consoli-
dated and Bingham Consolidated compa-
MES ana the cessation UP 10 dato of
copper smelling by the United states
Smelling company. The evidence i'm the
Utah cases apparently demonstrated that
sulphur dioNidc ordinarily given of
by blast furnaces win not damage Vcce-
tation: but associated with the tluc dust
is combination known as sulphur tri-
oxide. which. when free in the open air.
and when Joined with a corresponding
quantity OF water, forms sulpluric acid
the reaction being U2O plus SOB equals
l12SOi. This Sulphurlc acid, therefore,
is the agency of damage TO vegetation.
BY exhaustive experimenting the United
states Smelling company found that a
playhouse system would prevent the cS-
cape Into the air Of the flue dust and Its
associated sulphur trioNidc by altering
the same through huge canvas or wooden
bags, and II is OF interest in this con-
noctiOn To note that these experiments
were first attempted and demonstr tra ted
in copper smelling, although the United
states company has not yet installed
copper playhouse system. Permission has
been granted by the courts for such an
installation, and ii is understood that
plans arc well advanced to this end. But
the United States company Is now operat
ing lead smelling playhouse system most
successfully, so successfully, I'm fact, that
the farmers have made no complaint dur
ing the year or two that this method has
been In use. II Is n matter OF interest
ing detail to state that the acid gas ate
the fabric of the bags until the company
placed Into commission a patented ncu-
trali2ing device by which zinc oxide Is
added 10 tho fumes before they reach tho
playhouse. making zinc sulphate. n salt
easily caught by the bags without in
jury 10 The fabric.
The question naturally arises as TO the
efficiency Of the playhouse system for
the Anaconda plant but there are con
nicting theories in regard to this. Some
believe tnat the prcponderancc OF acids
in the ores treated by the Montana
smelter over those in the Utah plant will
prevent any installation sufficiently eco
nomlcal 10 allow it's commercial appli-
cation. Utah smelling circles sympathize
panies. and all trust that when the diff
Guilty finally is settled the plants To the
north will emerge equally as fortunately
as the Utah Smcltcrs have.