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Show in use is Similar Troubles Were Passed Through by I he Several Utah' Smelters. WHAT RESULT WAS OF LOCAL LITJGAT10N United States Company Solves Problem by Putting in Raghousc System. The principal topic of conversation lo-cnlly lo-cnlly yesterday was the. suit brought by the government against the Anaconda Mining company, seeking to close down smeltor operations or forco Improvements by which all alleged Injury to the surrounding sur-rounding forests may be done away with. The suit follows proceedings which wore instituted by tho farmers surrounding the plant, and In which the smelter company, com-pany, was successful. The Issue In the case or cases with the farmer plaintiffs plain-tiffs was Injury to farm vegetation", while from tho press reports the issue in the newly instituted proceedings is damage to the forest reserve. Local readers are reminded by this suit ot tho cases against the various smelting smelt-ing companies of Utah, the result of which was tin: complete withdrawal front the local smelting Held by the Utah Consolidated Consoli-dated and Bingham Consolidated companies compa-nies and the cessation up to dato of copper smelting by the United States Smelling company. The evidence li the Utah cases apparently demonstrated that sulphur dioxide as ordinarily given off by blast furnaces will not damage vegetation, vege-tation, but associated with tho due dus't Is a combination known as sulphur tri-oxldc, tri-oxldc, which, whon free In tho open air, and when Joined with a corresponding quantity of wator, forms sulphuric acid, tho reaction being. 1 120 plus S03 equals 1I2S01. This sulphuric aeld, therefore, Is tho agency of damage to vegetation. By exhaustive experimenting the United States Smelting company found that a bnghousc system would provont the escape es-cape Into tho air of the lluo dust and Its associated sulphur trloxldc by tutoring the same through hugo canvas or woolen bags, and It Is of Interest In this connection con-nection to note that these experiments were Urst attempted and demonstrated In copper smelting, although the United States company has not yet Installed a copper baghonse system. Permission has been granted by tho courts for such an Installation, and It Is understood that plans are well advanced to this end. But tho United States company Is now operating operat-ing a load smelting bnghousc system most successfully, so successfully, in fact, that Ihe fanners have made no complaint during dur-ing the year or two that this method has been In use. It Is a matter of interesting interest-ing detail to stale that me acid gas ate the fabric of tho bugs until tho company placed Into commission a patented neutralising neu-tralising device by which sclne oxide Is added to the fumes before they reach tho haghouso. making zinc sulphate, a salt easily caught by the bags without injury in-jury (o Ihe fabric. The question naturally arises as to the efficiency of tho baghouse system for the Anaconda plant, but there arc con-lllctlng con-lllctlng theories in regard to this. Some believe that the preponderance of acids In the ores treated ly, the Montana smelter over those In the Utah plant will prevent any Installation sufficiently economical eco-nomical to allow Its commercial "application. "appli-cation. Utah smelting circles sympathize sincerely with the troubled Montana companies, com-panies, and all trust that when tho difficulty diffi-culty finally Is settled tho plants to the north will emerge equally as fortunately as the Utah smellers have. . |