The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-21
SMOKE NUISANCE y AND THE LAW
Chicago's Smoke Bill $21,- 830,00O a Year-Smoke Closes a School In St. Louis-A Smoking Chim- ney Means Waste.
Cyrus Locher, Cleveland Chamber of
 Commerce. Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Rurp3ul

Cyrus Locher, Cleveland Chamber of
 Commerce.
 Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Bureau)
 With the beginning of the use of soft coal as a fuel arose the problem of how to get rid of the disagreeable smoke. The question has grown more serious yearly in every growing city where bituminous coal is burned. The dweller in such town needs no defi- hilton of the smoke nuisance and it has become matter of real impor- tance to every large community to rid itself as far as possible of this nuisance Interest in the question is widespread. More than 1,500 patients have been granted by the United States Bureau of Patents to inventors of so-called "sn1oke consumers" and smoke burners and every where municipal governments have taken up seriously the abating of smoke.
 Experience has demonstrated that objectionable smoke may be prevented even though soft or bituminous coal be used exclusively as fuel. By care full firing, either by hand or a mechan- icaI stoker or feeder, fresh coal can be evenly distributed over the hot furnace bed. This with the aid of me- chanical devices designed to perfect the draught and so cause suffi- cient uniform degree of heat to reach all parts of the coal, avoids a ''Smoth- ering'' which produces lower degree of heat favorable to the separation of the material which makes smoke from the body of the coal. Sometimes an entirely new furnace equipment is the only remedy.
 In Chicago an estimate by the smoke inspector shows that smoke be- sides being a nuisance causes a loss to the citizens of $21, ,S30,O0O annually or about $10 per capita. The laundries clothing merchants, dyers, house rem ovators and painters and operators of vacuum cleaning machines are reap ing harvest. In St. Louis six hun dred pupils in one of the public schools had to be dismissed at Il o'clock on one of the darkest days while at other schools within the smoke belt the children were enter tained with stories by their teacher during the time it was too dark to study.
 ment leagues exist because it is re- cognized that those who live in a smoke laden atmosphere are especial ly liable to disease of the respiratory system.
 Frederick L. Hoffman, statistician of the Prudential Life Insurance com pany goes so far as to say that the dust, and smoke problem underlies all deliberate efforts to improve the con- ditions which determine human life. Other things equal, the length of life will be in almost exact proportion to the degree and kind of dust and smoke exposure.
 What is required today is effective public supervision for all matters of this kind involve the question of community responsibility. The control of the smoke nuisance must needs have its effect on real estate values which are now in many places de- pressed because of it.
 Smoke abatement, which is simply complete combustion and utilization of all heat-producing parts of the coal is economy to the consumer of fuel In every case is a preventable nuisance, and every smoking plant or locomotive is a sign of wastefulness and a disregard for the rights of the public. Creating dense smoke is waste in itself. and its emission creates additional waste. Thus it follows that the interests of the pri- vate owner and the requirements for public health. comfort and convenience run in parallel lines.
 Proper laws for the regulati tion. pre- vention and abatement of dense" smoke are. therefore, just to the con- sumner of fuel and highly desirable to the public.
 The source of governmental author ity to abate the smoke nuisance is the police power of the State. This