THE SMOKE NUISANCE 157 



the above-mentioned saving would be that accruing to the treasury because of 

 the absence of the necessity of defending damage cases before the courts, 

 involving, as they do, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and, naturally, the 

 saving of the very large sums paid annually in fines. In addition to this, many 

 incidental savings would be made in the form of less labor and time required to 

 clean all classes of equipment both inside and out, including an increased life 

 for the varnish on all classes of equipment. Coupled with this would be a 

 decidely improved appearance. 



"Whether moved to do so by force of public opinion, by lawsuits, 

 by economic considerations, or by the strong arm of the law as in the 

 New York cases already cited, the railroads of the country are moving 

 in the matter and moving in the right direction at a fairly rapid 

 degree of progress. 



The American Master Mechanics, in their latest session at Atlantic 

 City, have declared that it is possible to stop the nuisance. Expert 

 firing and proper stoking are the most efficient means. These master 

 mechanics, who are mostly connected with the railroads, are of the 

 opinion that smoke-consuming devices are of assistance in keeping 

 down the flow of black soot that has resulted in the passage of city and 

 state laws against use of cheap, soft coal as fuel, but the firing is of so 

 much more importance in the work that recommendations will be 

 made to sacrifice cost of expensive devices of the kind in favor of 

 higher paid and more expert firemen. 



This opinion is unquestionably shared by the Pennsylvania Rail- 

 road, for their most recent instructions are in harmony with this prin- 

 ciple, and when their Cincinnati superintendent was asked if the com- 

 pany's firemen were arrested for violations of the local ordinances 

 would the companies pay the fine, he said : 



No. The men would have to pay that themselves. We favor your getting 

 after the men. We have suspended some firemen for making too much smoke. 

 If they throw one shovelful of coal into the furnace at a time and do it fre- 

 quently, they will not cause so much smoke. But instead of doing that, they 

 throw in ten shovelfuls, and then take a rest. We have pleaded in vain with 

 many to stoke in the right manner. Perhaps better results could be obtained 

 if the league's officers went after them rigidly and called them to time. 



Another student of the subject (Z. A. Willard, of Boston) has also 

 reached the decided conclusion that the fireman on the locomotive is 

 largely responsible for the nuisance. The firing of any furnace, loco- 

 motive or stationary, although generally considered a perfectly simple 

 matter, is, on the contrary, a science requiring the services of a con- 

 scientious and experienced fireman, an opinion which is supported by 

 Mr. Angus Sinclair, president of the Society of Locomotive Engineers, 

 who, in his book on locomotive firing, gives his experience with two 

 firemen on the same locomotive, running the same distance, on two 

 successive days. The first fireman, in one hour and fifty-five minutes. 



