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57
"this Act, and the provisions of this Act relating
"to those nuisances shall apply accordingly
It will be observed that the above qualification,
"such quantity as to be a nuisance," affords a
loophole for forensic ingenuity, and it is this
ambiguity of language which constitutes the
chief obstacle in entering upon a sanitary
crusade for the annihilation of smoke by the
prosecution of offenders.
The exemption of dwelling-houses from the
operation of the Act is manifestly unjust to
small traders, many of whom, and particularly
restaurant keepers, do all the cooking they
require in stoves no larger than are found in
private houses.
In large buildings in which steam boilers
are used the smoke nuisance can be dealt
with in a different spirit, and no rational
excuse can be found for any infraction of the
law, which directs that the owners shall avail
themselves of the best engineering skill, in
combination with the most suitable fuel, as
the best means of preventing the vomiting