El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-07

II HE International association for
the Prevention Of Smoke will
meet in annual convention in
Minneapolis today. Delegates from all
of the principal cities of the United
. States and Canada, with many visitors
! from abroad. viii be in attendance. Re
ports as to the success Of the crusade
against smoke viii be heard from the
various cities or America, and these Will
! show that much good has proceeded
| from the quiet crusade tha- has been
made during the past few years.
Many Of the principal cities of the
country have stringent anti-smoke laws,
and they are being enforced with de-
termination never before evident New
York has banished the smoking IocOmo-
tive, and Chicago is trying to bring
about the identification OF its railroad
terminals There are at least a dozen
cities in the United States where the
crusade against the smoke nuisance has
accomplished nearly all that can reason
ably be desired.
Smoke Damages Vegetation and Books.
During the past few years public
spirited men have made a careful study
of the economic losses caused by the
prevalence or the smoke nuisance in
large cities St Louis was one of the
first municipalities seriously TO take up
of the question are quoted wherever the
anti-smOke agitation is carried
1t was concluded. as a result of these
Investigations. that the loss to the veg
citation of the surrounding country by
reason of smfOke, amounted TO at least
four percent. 1t was also found that
great damage to the books in the IL
braries of cities and to the pictures in
its art galleries was caused by the pres
nf 9nl- in
CIeVeland's Heavy Losses.
The city of Cleveland has some four
hundred retail drygOods stores, doing
business ranging from $4,000 to $4,000
600 year. 1t was estimated by the
Cleveland smoke committee that on all
white goods the merchants sustained a
loss Of at least 10 percent through dam
age by the presence of smoke. Taking
the single items of underwear. shirt
waists, linens and white dress goods,
eleven stores placed their combined loss
on these lines. because OF the smoke
nuisance, at $4,000 year. Taking all
items of less sustained, the Cleveland
authorities figured that the nuisance
was costing the people of the city sew
eral million dollars a year
When the Chicago auth orities came to
investigate the cost of smoke 70 it's
people, the figures became surprisingly
large. One department store alone de-
clared that its annual loss through the
prevalence of smoke amounted to a;
least 100000. 1t was estimated that the
yearly loss to the business houses along
State street amounted TO $4,000, 600.
the whole city together, it was
calculated that the smoke of its fac
tories cost the city approximately as
much as its people paid in taxes.
Loss by smoke a Half Billion.
The people of the United States spend
nearly two billion dollars annually for
heat, light and power. 1t has been
estimated that the damage wrought by
the smoke nuisance in America amounts
to at least half a billion dollars.
. Someone has figured that there are at
least two million men in the smoky dis
tricts of the United States who wear
white shirts and collars, and as many
women who wear white clothes at times
He figures that the added expense Of
their laundry bills by reason of the
presence of smoke in the atmosphere
to an average Of ten cents per
week On that basis the outlay for
clean linen alone would amount to at
least S2O,000,000. In addition to this
must be taken into consideration the
great loss to vegetation, the blacken-
ing Of public buildings. and the injury |
to the public health
Some men have asserted that the |
smoke nuisance is not injurious to |
health, yet this seems contrary to the !