The New York herald., 1921-12-04
LOND0N'S WORST FOG
Brings DEATH, HUGE
COST And SICKNESS
$3,000,000 a Day Estimated
LossLAnti-Smoke Agi-
tation Is Revived.
PLANES SAFE IN MURK
PLANES SAFE IN MURK
Frenchman's Invention Will
Guide Steamships Also in
Thick Weather.

EpsosoI Cobrs to TIE NEW YORK HElAID.
Copyright. 1891, by THE New YoHk HnaALp.
New York herald Bureau.
London. Dec. 3.
Tho fog IN London this week. the
worst the city has had In years. re-
vived the agitation for abatement
measures. with the Coal and Smoke
Abatement Society launching a new
campaign against those of the popu-
lation who hold to the old tradition
that a fog is the most distinctive fea-
ture Of London and want 1t preserved.
1t Is estimated that the fog this
week cost 100000 day. 1t lasted
three days. All trains were delayed
because signals could not be seen, om-
nibus service failed completely several
times and much work was interrupted.
Sixty odd vessels with London cargoes
were tied UP Off Gravesend. II was in
every respect smoke fog, for twenty
miles out the sun shone brilliantly.
"It Is impossible to compute the dam
age which this smoke canopy inflicted
on health. clothing, buildings. works Of
art and property OF every kind" said
Lawrence Chubb. secretary of the abateI
ment society. ''Huge drapery establish
ments must have lost thousands OF
pounds sterling as a result OF the tissue
Of dirt which the fog left on every arti-
Gle exposed to the air. Moreover. thou
sands OF persons suffered headaches and
were incapacitated temporarily due to
breathing unclean air.
"Slides taken Of atmospheric condi-
tions prove that 1t was smoke alone.
The air was full Of particles Of SCOT
that had been pitched out OF factories.
kitchens, fireplaces and trains. This re-
suited in a dire Il waste OF valuable fuel.
including coal. Thers was no need for
the emission OF this smoke. and until
tho necessary legislation is enacted 1t
will remain blot on London"
Large Loss by bus Company.
An omnibus company alone reported
that its vehicles lost 10000 miles during
the fog. and a million fewer passengers
were carried during the period of the
fog than would have been the case had
there been no fog.
j. s. Owens, a fog expert, estimated
that between 200 and $50 tons of SCOT
were In the air over the city. He fig
ured that in a year unnecessary smoke
costs London nearly s50.000.o00. He
said the fog this week was the worst
since 1902. Torchbearers were at all
corners. The fog caused many collisions
and many curious accidents. Two
women lost their way at Shepherd s
Bush and met blind soldier who
guided them home.
Men who were gassed in the war felt
the pressure Of the fog keenly. Hospi-
tai records show that many persons col
lapsed in the streets. a man fell into
the fountain In front Of Buckingham
Palace, but fortunately the fountain was
dry at the time. After falling In he
found two other men lying there stunned.
Six drownings were reported as a re-
suit OF men walking off piers.
At Norwich a funeral procession lost
its way and the carriages containing the
mourners were separated, one group
finally wandering into a garden party.
The mourners finally reached tho ceme-
terry, however, but 50 late that the fu-
neral service was postponed.
syeciaI Cable to THE New YolK HrRALD.
Copyright, 1881, bv The NEW YonK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
Paris, Dec. ,.
Fog and mlsts no longer have any
terrors for aviators, thanks TO another
French invention, which again shows
the close attention the French are giving
TO all matters pertaining to aviation.
vice-Admiral Fournier this week caused
something akin to a sensation when he
told the French Academy of Science the
details of system which a French
naval lieutenant named 10th has sue
cessfully applied to ships and airplanes
that have lost their course.
During the war Lieut.. 10th, as re-
lated in THE NEW YORK HERALD last
year. discovered that submarine cables
could be utilized to send a current that
n - xlolrA Axr alt e. tvaaf
ments aboard a fogbound vessel. but It
was not believed that the same idea was
applicable to air travelling. Constant
experiments with ordinary telegraph
wires, however. convinced the inventor
that the contrary was true. Lieut.. 10th
Immediately set TO work to devise an
instrument to make night and day fly
ing almost as safe as travelling on ordi-
nary Continental trains.
Plane Gets Route From Wires.
BY sending two or three amperes of
alternating current with n certain fire.
cuency over wires usually used for Morse
code messages and installing electro
magnetic appliances tuned to the same
frequency aboard an airplane. the pilot
Is able TO follow the route OF the tele-
graph wires without the slightest difil-
Guilty.
inc apparatus that Lieut. Loth has
devised weighs only ten pounds, but 10
able TO pick up vibrations from tele-
graph wires three miles distant.
Lieut.. Loth's discovery is no less In
toresting than the result of long series
OF experiments just concluded to test
the efficiency OF French dirigibles as an
aid to fishermen, and II Is likely that
French porte next year will be equipped
with an airship feet whose sole duty
will be to seek schools OF herring. sar-
dimes. sprats and mackerel and send the
information by wireless to port authori-
ties.
According to DR.. Joubn in report to
the French Academy. airship observers
at a height of 1000 yards not only are
able to obtain accurate Information as
20 ocean depths and shoals but arc also
able to recognize any definite movement
OF fish schools along coasts.
Hese