The New York herald., 1869-02-02
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
70 THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD


70 THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-'
Commissioner Furev OF the Brooklyn Fire De
parrment, recently expressed the opinion In meet
1ng OF their Board Of Estimate, with Mayor Kalb
neisch In the chair and surrounded by the lictora
and fasces OF municipal authority, that the Fire De
partment OF this city Is extravagant and corrupt
organization" The people OF Brooklyn have long
since made up their minds that their own Fire De
partment Is entirely inadequate to their protection
and have been and are now seeking for an organiza
tton modelled after thar of New York, and now Com
missioner Furey is filled with apprehension OF extra
vagance and corruption In case the control goes
into other hands, Who is Commissioner Furey, and
is hts opinion Of value to the citizens Of Brooklyn
Is he q capable, honest and efficient ofncer. CON-
mandng the confidence and respect OF his fellow
oitizensY This would be test OF the value or his
opinion which he has given so freely OF our own
Board, which Is composed Of gentlemen who have
pursuits. There was once Commissioner Furey on
this side Of the river, who was the Comms-
same gentleman, translated to Q new field
Of usefunesss Our Furey from his opportunities,
may have known something Of such matters, and
would be an authority on question Of corruption,
having walked IN the midst OF It In his day, how
ever pure himself .'My name" said Montague
IN the way OF loan smay not be Unfamiliar to you
IN connection with some Of the leading events OF the
Peninsuiar wars" and yet that grand evidence OF
solvency had no weight with the party applied to,
FOR its present possessor, when he "dove down for
. shirt collar, brought up string" and was Of q
decayed and dein0iallzed presence In the case or
Commissioner Fnrey, as we have said, his own
standing will be the measure OF value as to his
opinion. There are large class Of men lin which.
As we do not know him, we do not include the
Brooklyn CommisslQner), to whom office Is the
breath of the nostril, and who, when In the ranks
OF the "outs,' honestly consider the "ins' as cor
rupt and extrayagant because they know they
would be 80 themselves II opportunity offered, and
VINO keep up cry OF corruption against every man
N
on limited personal experience, that some man
when holding Office is thief. These men despise
frequent groceries and adOrn street corners,
and illuminate their opinions and bad tobacco, and
manufacture IN their own circle sentiment which
they sometimes succeed in working into Sunday
paper. They are candidates for every office, from
Collector OF the Port TO nignt watchman. conductor
on horse railroads, fireman or policeman, and i'm
press those who hold once with the value OF their
services aud the necessity 0f their reward serve both
parties in primary meeting in controlling the
ganlzation aud either at the polls which pays the
best. Ihey the vuiture3 that hover over politi
cal battle field They are the critics In the pit OF the
theatre OF pubic life, and sometimes succeed IN ap
pearng before tue iOotlghtS in some minor cast,
and having no character to lose, brazen out their
brief hour OF corrupt administration without fear
OF the consequences SO that their engagement pays
Mhen respectable citizen assumes position this
Class OF politicians "a The RI denounce him as cor
their immediate yiclults. TO the charges OF such
@lewd ellows'' no pubic officer Is called upon to pay
attention, and their eaor understood by respect
able citizens. The opinion OF Commissioner Furey,
beng hinsefHn o.iIaal, aud being given at meet
3ng Of the Doqkn oara Estimate @ @ the Fire
him for the grounds on which 1t Is based.
AS they had the opportunity Of an investiga.
winter Of these loose charges and net them
30 triumphantly that the committee, composed
mainly OF their political opponents, OF which Mr.
Chris. Johnson OF TINS city, was the leader, failed
even to report (and the testimony would never nave
been given TO the luDllc had not the commissioners
printed it and circulated 1t with their report they
be assumed St.iIlu from gusDCiOu OF
naty until Commissioner Furey produces new evil
dence that they are not an exception TO the rule,
and hold public office la city where corruption Is
rife with clean HANDS and unsuilied character as
citizens. Now that all men admit that the Fire De-
partment OF New ork is one OF its greatest objects
Of satisfaction and those IN charge OF II have shown
capacity, Intelligence aud nnesS. the last resort OF
ats enemies Is to charge against 1t the same c0frup-
lion which would east II they had It's control. AS
for example, the statement oil Sunday paper that
there 200 deadleads on the pay roll OF the de-
partmeht (when Inquiry we have the positive
assurance that no man mas received pay for single
hours time not given To the depaitme means
that the man who inspired that article had the con-
frol he would have zUJ uaaueads on the pay roll OF
the. department. IL was simply the difference be-
tween swallowing black crow or something as
black rs q crow, anu yet some credulous reader
might have believed 1t true because lac saw 1t In the
paper.
The Late Fire In Cnrmansville-Card from
the Fire Commissioners.
so THE EDITOR or THE HERALD:-
In the HERALD Of Sunday last q communication
published In which that portion OF the Fire De-
partment doing duty in Carmansvlle Is charged
with gross lnetlcency, the charge being founded on
the result Of fire which occurred at 152d street and
Broadway on the 25th ultimo. As the communica-
ton In question reflects severely and unustly on the
members OF the department stationed al Carmans-
Vile brief and truthful statement OF the clrcunl-
stances connected with the nre alluded to may put
an entirely dilierent phase on the matter.
The house In winch the lire occurred IS one story
and attic building which was erected In 1769 and
the woodwork was consequently good food for fire.
When the alarm was gwen on the 18th Engine Com
pany No. SO was promptly at work. but as the nearest
point al which water could be obtained was from
the aqueduct at both street. fully 100 feet from the
fire, the engine did not 60 direct to the burning
house, but was stationed near the tap In the aque-
duct Through the aqueduct at that place the water
rushes at the rate OF about four or five miles an
hour, so that II was found necessary to anchor the
suction pipe 80 that 1t might be kept steady In the
water. All this was done and fourteen lengths OF
hose stretched TO the OF the fire, and yet not
witnsfanding these drawbacks the fire was extin-
guished with the destruction OF only the roof and
attic and q pecuniary loss " the owner and occu-
pant for damage to house. furniture, clothing, &c,
OF $780,
BY publishing the above you VIII do an act OF jus.
tice and obge Commissioners OF the Metropolitan
Fire Department..
HOMICIDE IN hartford, CONN.,
From the Hartford Courant, Feb. IL
Early ON Thursday morning Joel I. Green and VIII.
liam WadsWOrth. the former prOprietOr and the