The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-11-04
COUNCILS AND THE FIREMEN.

YESTERDAY a desperate effort was made in
Councils to restore to active service, with the
loss of but two months pay, the Good Will
Hose and Independence Fire Companies who
were suspended for rioting last July. In spite
of the indignation which the scandalous Con-
duct of portion of the volunteer firemen has
of late excited, and which has caused a move
ment of the most decided character in favor
of a Paid Department., the disposition of
many Councilmen to display a most culpable
leniency towards the perpetrators of such
offenses as the members of the two compa-
MES named were guilty of, was shown in a
striking manner by the action of Common
Council in consenting to the above men,
toned proposition. In the Select branch,
however, a commendable frmness
was manifested, and the offending
fremen were unable to procure sufficient
votes to carry their measure through. The
reasons given for the reinstatement upon the
active list of the Good Will and Indepen-
dence Companies was that they had entered
upon an agreement by which hostile collisions
would be avoided in the future. This agree
ment, which exists only under the signature
of the presidents of the companies, with
whom there is no assurance that the ma ority
of the members they propose to represent
have Joined, is that if, in proceeding to fire,
one company wishes to pass the other, it
must turn off to another street to do so, and
that hose carriage shall always give the
track to a steam engine. This plan
looks very we'll on paper, but the public
are interested in knowing how much power
the officers of the companies have to enforce
it. The men who profess to be the represen-
tative volunteer firemen of Philadelphia are
always eager to lay the blame of rioting upon
bummers and hangers-on, who do not pro-
perly belong to the Fire Department, but
there is no doubt that much of the outrageous
performances that have lately disgusted all
respectable citizens with the volunteer sys-
tenn were participated in almost entirely by
the regularly enrolled members of the
offending companies. The respectable fire.
men have shown themselves totally unable
either to restrain their ruffianly comrades or
to rid the engine-houses of the outsiders who
do not belong there, and who are
made responsible for all the sins
of the legitimate members of
the Fire Department. They cannot, there
fore, expect that the public will believe in
the power of the presidents of the Good
Will and Independence Companies to pre-
vent rioting in the future by any such agree
ment as that which they entered into for the
purpose of inducing Councils to reinstate
them, and the whole proceeding is marked by
that puerile spirit that is as characteristic of,
as it is discreditable to, the volunteer Fire
Department. There is no doubt that Coun-
ellis have been in great measure
responsible for the bad behavior of the
fremen, by the readiness with which they
have almost invariably interfered to reinstate
companies suspended for bad conduct; and we
are glad to record that enough members were
found yesterday with sufficient pluck and de-
termination to protect the public peace and
to give the firemen lesson by refusing to
grant the petition for placing the Good Will
and Independence Companies again upon the
active list