CHAMBERLAIN SAYS BRITISH FIREPLACES PRODUCE FIVE TIMES AS MUCH SOOT AS INDUSTRIAL FURNACES
London, U.K. (JFK+50) On July 9, 1926, Associated Press reports that the laundry bills paid by British city dwellers are increasing "because of 2,000,000 tons of soot* poured into the air."
The claim was made by Minister of Health Neville Chamberlain** in an address before the House of Commons in an attempt to advance "the government's smoke-abatement bill."
Mr. Chamberlain said that British fireplaces...
"produce five times as much soot as industrial furnaces."
*soot is a fine powdery black or brown substance composed primarily of carbon. It is considered hazardous to human health.
**Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940) was born in Birmingham, England & served as a Member of Parliament 1918-1940. NC is best known for signing the Munich Agreement with Nazi Germany ceding the Sudetenland to Adolf Hitler. As Minister of Health, 21 of 25 bills he proposed to Parliament passed.
SOURCE
"Laundry Bills Jump As British Stick to Sooty Fireplaces," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., July 9, 1926, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
