The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-11
THE FLREMENS RIOTS YESTERDAY


The rioting and incendiarism with which
this city was disgraced yesterday must con-
vince those who have doubted heretofore that
the substitution Of paid fire department for
the present volunteer system is demanded by
every consideration of decency, economy, and
public safety. Uhe volunteer department has
done such good service in times past, and it
has numbered in its ranks so many of the
most esteemed and worthy citizens of Phila-
delphia, that many who saw the growing ne
cessity for change were 10th to interfere
with it. A great city like this, how
ever, cannot afford to maintain in its
midst an organization of men who
will be able, whenever they may want
a little excitement, or desire to crafty
their bloodthirsty dispositions, to get up a
riot like that of yesterday. All the evidence
that has yet been adduced points conclusively
to the fact that the outrages of yesterday
were deliberately planned by the ruffianly
element of the department, and the respect
able fremen, for whose sake chiefly the
present system has been submitted to so
long, owe it to themselves that they shall
unite with their fellow-citizens in denouncing
the rioters, in endeavoring to bring them to
punishment, and in bringing about
radical reform which will make such occur
rences impossible in the future. There is
no reason to doubt that both of the fires that
occurred early on Sunday morning were the
work of incendiaries in the Fire Department.
They we're lighted by men who have made
extensive claims upon the regards of the pub
lie, who have been subsidized from the pub
lie treasury, and who had been granted
various privileges on the ground that they
undertake to protect the lives and property
of the people of Philadelphia. Thousands of
dollars worth of property, however, were con-
sumed yesterday morning for no other pur-
pose than to afford gangs of ruffians an op-
portunity to start a riot, which was kept up
almost without intermission during nearly
the whole of the Sabbath.
1t is not necessary for us to go into the
details of the riot in this place. aud it is
enough for us to recognize it as the culmina-
ton of long series of outrages that show
the utter Generalization of the volunteer de-
partment. The fremen have been warned
again and again that it depended upon them
selves entirely whether a paid department
would be established, but the decent men
among them have been utterly unable to con-
troll the ruffianly element, and between the
incendiarism, thieving, and rioting that have
characterized the volunteer department of
late years, the people of Philadelphia have had
quite enough of it, and now demand that a
change shall be made.
A large portion of the blame of the present
decentralization among the fremen is charge
l. III l.
support to the orderly and respectable men
that they were entitled to. 1t is nearly USE
less to suspend a company for rioting or other
bad conduct, for an application to Councils
for reinstatement and the refunding of the
appropriation forfeited by suspension is
almost invariably considered with favor, and
a direct premium is thus paid for bad con-
duct. This sort of thing will continue so
long as the present system of extinguishing
fires lasts, and the only way to produce COM
plete and radical reform is to abolish the
volunteer department at once and forever,
and establish a corps of men, under
the immediate orders of the munich
pal authorities, who will make the
extipguishing of fires the business of their
lives, and not the amusement of their idle
hours. A great city like this cannot afford
to run the risk of having its Sabbaths desc
Grated, its property destroyed, and its citi-
zens outraged by bands of ruffians; and all the
arguments against the increased expense of
paid fire department are of no moment what
ever, if few thousand dollars per annum
will insure us against the repetition of such
scenes as those of yesterday. Councils have
adjourned for the summer, but we believe
that the Mayor would meet the wishes of a
very large majority of the people of Philadel-
phia if he would call a special session for the
purpose of taking action upon this matter
Immediately; but whether he does so or not,
it is sincerely to be hoped that no effort will
be spared to discover and bring to justice the
ringleaders in the riots of yesterday. Unless
this is done there will be no security whatever
for life or property, and every citizen will feel
that his family and his goods are at the mercy
of gangs of rufians, whose opportunities for
mischief are only equalled by their propensity
to commit it.
TIE INCOME-TAX X INFAHY