National Republican., 1873-05-24

Il
always be available, and thus II would last
more than double the time II now does, and
/ we would always have good line at fire,
certainly the most Important article In ser
vice. The entire hose now In service, and
which has been In use for more than two
years, is T. 800 feet.
This has had hard work, and really not one
foot OF II can be called In frst-claas condition.
/ The least extra pressure causes II TO burst,
| thus often occasionlng more damage las In
| the Imperial hoteD than the fire, Just after
the FIRE at the Washington arsenal, In July,
1871, thorough Inspection Of the hose In the
department was had, and II was found to be
In such bad condition that the board Of com
mlssloners then In charge deemed u their
duty TO purchase thlrty-hye hundred feet Of
| new and they did 40. This action OF the
board and their reasons therefor were re-
ported TO the Legislative Assembly at Its en-
suing session, and, II is said, an appropriation
made TO pay the bill, but the item not appear
ing In the engrossed bill, Of course the ac-
District officials. In order, however, 10 keep
faith, as far as possible, the board imme-
dlately preceding US paid nifty per cent OF
the amount out OF an appropriation TO pay
the deficiency In the contingent expenses, and
the balance still remains unpaid. We rcspect-
fully urge In this case In particular prompt
relief.
TuE DEFICIENCY.
As will be seen by the statistical report and
the estimate OF expenses furnished, there Ia
a considerable unpaid deficiency for the year
1s7l-'72, and further deficit In last years
appropriation. For this the old board is re-
sponslble, but We. feel justified In saying that
the Indebtedness incurred was for the good
Of the service, and could not have been
avoided. We would also urge upon your
body the great necessity Of making sufficient
appropriations to secure the monthly pay
ment In cash Of the Indebtedness OF the de-
partment, "a by the present system persons,
while willing 10 furnish material, necessarily
add q large percentage to reimburse them for
the use Of tholr money, and thus swell the
expenses beyond what they should be. As
an evidence Of this II may be mentioned that
some OF the bills included In the deficiency
for 187l-'72 have been due over two years,
and that since July !, lS72, the beginning OF
the present fiscal year, not one dollar OF the
appropriation for contingent expenses has
been paid, although a requlsitlon for the
amount then due was made In November.
when II Is understood that the larger por-
tion Of the expenses are for feed, fuel and
repairing, all Of which IL cash, Il will be
readily seen this point deserves attention.
THE ESTIMATES
for the ensuing year may seem TO your body
large, but the past experience fully justlnes
us In making the demand and insisting upon
the appropriations. The fire department
must either be maintained or abolished. II
the former, the money must be furnished this
body created by law for the purpose Of con-
trolling II I; and II the latter, the citizens
must be content to again intrust their prop
erty TO the good services Of men under the
old volunteer system. With you rests the
responsibility, and, rs their representatives,
you must make the choice.
THE CosaREssIoNAL APPRoPRIATIoN.A 4
As Is known to most all the citizens OF the
District, at the last session Of Congress bill
was introduced and passed, providing that
s250Co annually should be appropriated
from the Government fund to aid In the
maintenance Of the department, but, owing
to an oversight, the item was not Included
In the appropriation bill, and will conse-
quently not be available until the assembling
Of Congress next December, and then only
10 the event OF Its being included In the de-
flclency bill, contingency we do not care to
rely upon.
THE EIRE-ALARN TELEGRAPH.
One Of tho most pressing needs Of our de-
partment Is the reconstruction and extension
Of the fre-alarm telegraph. Saving Of yalu-
able time by the use of the electric ilre-alarm
effects the rescue Of millions Of dollars worth
OF valuable property from the flames every
year; without II, the usefulness Of the depart
ment Is increased In ratio which makes the
expense Insignificant In comparison. Our
city was one OF the first TO adopt the fire.
alarm telegraph, but that was many years
ago, and now large portion OF the most val
liable property In Washington and George
town e outside the limits OF the area guarded
by the wires. This may result ut any time In
q disastrous conflagration. Worse than that
Is the fact that the area covered by the sys-
TEN Is very lneniciently protected, and mis-
placed confidence In the alarm boxes may
lead to worse results, even, than the absence
Of the telegraph.
As stated above, Washington adopted the
electric fire alarm many years ago, and the
now old-fashloned crank boxes furnished US
Chen the best In use) are not always reliable.
An alarm turned IN from them by ignorant,
careless or reckless hands may strike the
wrong number and mislead the hremen, thus
wasting instead Of saving time. The wires,
too, have been 80 long In use that they have
become unreliable In transmitting signals,
and are subject to frequent breaks.
Then, too, numersus complaints are made
by citizens OF the unpleasant humming OF the
wires attached to their residences while the
work OF detecting and rcmedying the imper-
fectlons In the wires Is made much more diff
cult and expensive when they arc thus at
tached. There should be new wires on poles,
reaching every section Of the two District
cities, with o sufficient number OF alarm
boxes 10 make them convenient 70 all our
residents; also, two or three additional bell
strikers, which may be heard everywhere In
the District. The old crank boxes should be
replaced with the latest improved boxes,
which are certain In transmission, no matter
how ignorant or careless the person turning
In the alarm may be.
In this connection we respectfully refer you
sor further Information 10 the accompanying
reports Of the chief engineer and the superin-
tendent OF the flre-alarm telegraph. Both Of
these officers enlarge upon the necessity for
the work, and urgently recommend II. A
careful estimate OF the cost by the superin-
tendent OF nre-alarm telegraph Is also sub
mitted herewith; and whl'e the total may
seem large, yet II should be remembered that
. failure 10 signal one FIRE, or the turning In
OF q wrong number by these old boxes, by
which the department Is misled, might cost
our citizens ten times the amount required 10
do the needed work. -
REPORT OF THE CHIRF RNGINKKR.
Number sf Fires Daring tho Year-Rsti-
a.