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central station. Tliorc are, however, in every larjie city many minor in- 

 dustrial estaiilislunciits, such as d\ e works, bleadieries and laundries, re- 

 quiring? steam at high pressure, and lor these a general system of supply 

 from a central plant must be ])rovided. That this may be the more readily 

 accomplished, such industries sliould be encouraged to gnmp tliemselves 

 within a proscribed area to better accommodate themselves to some reason- 

 able plan of steam distribution. To properly supplant the fires of numer- 

 ous small boilers now- in service, it «ill be required, therefore, that stations 

 be established throughout the business portion of the city, capable of de- 

 livering electric current for power and lights, steam or hot water for 

 heating, and a limited amount of high pressure steam for iudustrial uses; 

 these central plants to be of sufficient size to justify the use of stokers 

 which will make them smokeless. When by municipal co-operation these 

 shall Inne been pro\ided. under conditions which will safeguard the inter- 

 ests of all consumers with reference to costs, then it will be in order to 

 prohibit, after a series of years, the use of soft coal under all boilers of the 

 city, except in connection with automatic stokers. 



Small industrial fires other than those under boilers should be sus- 

 tained by gas drawn from sources hereinafter referred to. 



6. Doincsttc Fires. While individual domestic fires are not the 

 sourcii of heavy volumes of smoke, their number in any city is large, and 

 their effect in the aggregate as a source of smoke is as pronounced as that 

 of any other single group of fires. So long as soft coal can be had more 

 cheaply than anthracite coal, just so long will there be a desire on the 

 part of the consumers to employ it in domestic service. Domestic fires 

 being small, it is impracticable to apply to them effectively the principles 

 of smokeless firing. A necessary step, therefore, in the development of a 

 smokeless city is a complete prohibition of the use of soft coal for domestic 

 purposes. As a preliminary, step, two things are essential. First, a sup- 

 ply of low-priced gas for use in cooking; and second, the distribution from 

 a central station of large cajiacity of steam or hot w:'.ter for domestic heat- 

 ing. 



I'here are no real problems in the supply of gas for cooking except 

 euch as may grow out of existing franchises. At prices now prevailing, 

 this form of fuel is much used in cooking and generally is less expensive 

 for that purpose than solid fuels. Add to this the fact that the cost of 

 gas to the producer is reduced as the quantity sold is increased, and an 

 abundant supply at a cost sufficiently low to permit all people in a city to 



