Evening star., 1935-04-05
ANT|-SMOKE LAW
URGED At HEARING
District Officials, Business
Men and Housewives
Favor Legislation.

The legislation designed to rid
Washington of its smoke nuisance
was supported today before the Sub
committee on Public Health Of the
House District Committee by a group
of District officials. business men and
housewives.
The subcommittee, headed by Rep
resentative Jenckes, Democrat, of In
diana, had under consideration two
bills aimed at smoke control-one
sponsored by the District Commits
sioners and the other by William A.
Roberts, peoples counsel.
Two Bills Analysed.
The hearing, Mrs. Jenckes an
nounced, was preliminary because of
general unfamiliarity with provisions
in the two measures. AS a result all
the witnesses, with the exception of
Roberts, made brief statements
recommending that drastic steps be
taken to eradicate the smoke nuisance.
Roberts. however, presented an analy-
sis of the two measures, but pointed
out he did not particularly care which
of the two bills the committee ap-
proved as long as the District is
given effective smoke-control legis-
lation.
Roberts also explained that he
drafted his bill because of numerous
complaints received at his Office about
the smoke nuisance. He said he did
so without any intention of specifying
a particular kind of coal or apparatus
Boiler Regulations Cited.
In his analysis of the two measures
Roberts said the one sponsored by
the Commissioners was predominantly
boiler inspection bill, since only three
of its paragraphs relate to smoke regu-
lation. The principal purpose of the
Commissioners bill, he declared, is to
transfer jurisdiction over boiler in
spection and installation to a new
board that would be known as the
Boiler and Smoke Advisory Board.
He said his bill, on the contrary, is
devoted entirely to improvement of
smoke regulation.
Mrs. Mahlon Pitney told the sub
committee that while the air here. is
not as bad as in some cities, the Pub
lie Health Service had made a test
and found that as much as 296 tons
of smoke and dust were deposited per
square mile at Seventh and B streets
southwest in 1882.
Damage Estimates Cited.
"The damage chargeable to smoke
Is so staggering" she declared, that
only the general uniformity of the
various estimates makes them all be-
lievable. The figure usually quoted to
cover the annual bill for smoke in
the United States is in the neighbor-
hood of 100000, 900, of which s140,-
100000 is said to represent the cost
of spoiled merchandise and building
cleaning"
Joseph L. Gammell advocated crea-
ton of an advisory board to educate
the people to fire boilers properly
rather than enactment of new legis-
latiol. to cure the smoke evil. He op-
posed particularly the bill of the Com
missioners, declaring its enactment
would place undue hardships on 40
to so per cent of the residents of the
District and increase fuel bills so to 60
per cent.
Citizens Resolution Read.
Mrs. Margaret H. Worren, president
Of the Columbia Heights Citizens As
ISOLATION, read a resolution adopted by
that organization urging establish
ment of a municipality owned hydro
electric power plant which would fur
nish electricity cheaply for heating as
we'll as light and power. She said the
smoke nuisance in Washington had
increased until the city "looks like a
little Pittsburgh"
j. Frank Butts, chief of the Divi-
sion of Sanitation of the District
Health Department, told the subcom-