The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1870-05-19
the FIRE ENGINE QUESTION,

T.. TnE FIRE ENGINE QUESTION. :
~ i IS L - --- ! u ~
/. EDi1oR JolaxAL.-As the people will b
4. called upon, on the S1st inst, TO- vot
, whether the city shall purchase q stea1
, fire engine or not, have thought that
plain statement of the facts in the cos
might enable some who are in doubt I
come to an intelligent conclusion. 4
In the first. place then, the Commo,
Council has been so importuned, for til
year ortwo last past, by the business mel
and citizens generally of St. Cloud to max,
some better arrangements for the preser
vation Of property in case of fire, thatasi
at last concluded to take some action Sc
the premises. The Committee; to whSa
the matter was referred ascertained thai
no good hand engines are now construotad;
that if the; city should conclude to pur.
chase such an engine it would have to;be
bought second hand; that hand fire engines
are now growing into disuse, and are being
generally displaced by steamers and that
the best steamer now manufactured is the
"Silsby Rotary Engine" The Council
therefore arrived at the conclusion that
when an engine is purchased by the city it
should be steam engine Negotiations
were Immediately entered into with the Sils-
by Manufacturing Co.. and contract was
made with them by the Council, subject to
the approval Of the people at the election
above referred to. :
The substance of the contract is, that
said company shall furnish q steam fire
engine. to be drascn by hand, capable of
raising steam from cold water in from S
to minutes, and Of discharging 500 GAL
Ions of water per minute; for the sum Of
$4,000; one thousand feet Of rubber COM
bination hose for S1.s5 per foot; one nat.
ent hose reel, for $3.50; duplicate set Of
fues for the boiler, and about 5000 worth
Of extras also to be furnished free of
charge; all to be delivered in St. Cloud be-
fore July 4th, 1870, freight and charges
paid by said Company, and the engine not
to DO accepted by the city until it is sub
jected, here, to every test and trial that
may be required by the city, and found
satisfactory.
The payments IN to be made as follows
$1,000 cash on delivery. - -
$4,000 bond, one year, at per cent.
interest.
interest. "a 50
The assessed value of"property tins4thse
city Of St. Cloud for tho past year .u,s5 was
100000. Estimating5it atIno larger sum
feE;the next four years, the tax to pay forst !
thb engine and accoutrements' would be
for this year nearly q mills on the dollar,
and for the next three years each, 4 mills
on the dollar. .sss
1t is supposed that all Insurance Com
panles will reduce the rates Of insurance
here, as they ore accustomed to do else
where, when steam fire engine is purchas-
ed. 1t will be definitely ascertained be-
fore the 31st inst. just how much. that re-
iuction will be.
1t will be remembered that hose, hose
reel, and all the accoutrements obtained
With the steamer would likewise have to
be procured If the city purchased q hand
engine; go that the relative cost should be
estimated by simply calculating the differ
'nce between the cost Of the engines prop
sr, which would be between three and
'our thousand dollars. Such water facili-
les and protection for the engine as may
be deemed necessary for a steamer, would
'lso, without material distinction, be re-
luired for hand engine. H.
Whether it is deemed advisable by the
voters Of the city to purchase steamer at
he present time or not, believe it to- be
he sense Of the Council not to expend the
money or:credit Of the city for any second
hand machine. The people have, then,
~ their vots on the 31st inst, simply to
1ccide two questions: LIST. Does the city
need any facilities for the extinguishment
IF fires? I'd. Is it advisable at the pres
ent time to purchase steamer fer that
purpose?. i 1884,. -.
desire to make no argument either for
Or against the propositions the people,
knowing the facts, ore abundantly able to
Judge for themselves on. the points of the
case, and I am not apprehensive of their
being much Influenced by the silly at-
tempts at irony or the petty reflections up
on the Council that have been INDUCED il.
Respectfully yours,