The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1913-01-04
UNCLESAM
GETS GOOD.
EXAMPLE
Shows How Smoke NBl-
SanCe in Cities Can
Be Abated
Special to The palIx Express.

| Washington, Jan Setting the
good example Of operating its power
plant smokelessly in city that is at
tempting to combat the nuisance, the
United States bureau OF mines is out
with the statement that the smoke of
cities can be largely reduced and per
haps entirely prevented. The power
plant is connected with the experiment
station Of the bureau at Pittsburg, Pa.
and It has been conducted without OBJ
jectionable smoke for more than two
years.
The bureaus report, made public to-
day destroys the popular notion that
attacking the problem from the same
a so-ealled "smoke consumer" some
special device, which, if placed in the
stack or in the smoke passages, will
in some way consume the smoke
Samuel B. Flagg, engineer in charge
Of the smoke investigation, declares
that although such a method may not
be an impossibillty, it is impractical.
Smoke, he says, Is caused by the
flames from the coal coming into con.
tact with the cool surfaces OF boiler.
"As an illustration place a saucer in
the flame Of candle, and the bottom
Of the saucer will be covered with
smoke. Hold the caucer just above
the flame and there will be no smoke.
Coal can be burned smokelessly, if you
give the coal the proper chance to
burn That is all there is to it,
The bureau Of mines is charged with
conducting tests to increase the effic-
iency with Which the fuels purchased
by the government are used, and Incl
dentaly It has found that federal build
ings throughout the country are not
only wasting coal but are adding to
the smoke nuisance of the cities. This
led to taking up an investigation on
this troublesome problem.
It was discovered by Engineer Flagg
that no two cities in the country were
attacking the problem fro mthe same
angle, and he soon came to the con
elusion that many Of them were wrong
and were wasting their efforts. He
found drastic ordinances in some mu-
inequalities that could only serve to
make the citizens fight them; he found
in other cities, laws that could not
possibly be enforced AS a result Of
his investigation, he declares that the
most progress can be made in cities
by the authorities insisting that in all
new buildings furnaces shall be in
stalled that are absolutely smokeless.
In his report he quotes number Of
the different smoke ordinances, ex-
plains where they are good and bad
and builds up a series OF ordinances
that might prove OF value to munich
palities of various sizes.
Mr. Flagg says:
Under present conditions it is too
often the case that buildings are SO
designed as to leave insufficient room
for the proper equipment. Boilers are
so placed that they cannot be properly
cleaned or operated; hence they are
forced, or additional capacity is crowd
ed in, and smoke-producing conditions
result. It is therefore important that
the situation Of the boiler plant and
the providing OF adequate space for it
should receive consideration no less
than the proper design Of furnaces.
The smoke ordinance should there
fore require that plans and specifica-
tions for all construction work on fur.
naces be submitted to the smoke in
spector and be approved by him before
work is started II this protective
feature is 10 be included, the smoke
AhSptStOt must bc eu CuSiHttI, uudI- /
fled by technical training and expert
ence for the duties of the office, and
the ordinance should specifyt that these
qualifications are required.
THE most important conclusion
reached is that smoke abatement by
ordinance can not hope to succeed IN
less supported by public sentiment and
that a smoke ordinance should look to
future prevention rather than an i'm
mediate prohibition. In other words.
strict control of furnace construction
offers much greater hope for smoke
abatement than desultory imposition of
severe penalties on the escape of
dense or black smoke
The report just issued by the bureau
is entitled Smoke Abatement and City
Smoke Ordinances" Copies may be
had by those interested writing to the
director. Of the bureau Of mines, Wash.
T.