Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-08-22
LETTERS FRoAa rME pEoPLE.
THE FAME AND WATER wIroH

THE FAME AND WATER WITCH
3 TO The Editor of he Commercial:
As it is evident from the reports published in
the papers, that the Fame Hose and Water Witch
Fire Cos, fail to come to any definite agreement
n relation to the challenge, and = spirit of ILL
feeling and prejudice seemed to permeate the
meeting held recently, would it not be infinitely
to their credit to calmly and judiciously consider
the whole matter, and nip the thing in the
bud, before it eliminates in a settled bad feel
| ings or results in disbanding the old volunteer
| system and substituting the paid department
We have seven steamers, all of them equal to
| any emergency and constructed in the best man
ner possible for fire service, and as there is no
building in our city that will require an engine
| to get up the highest amount of steam on their
gauges to force stream three hundred feet, il
IL simply nonsense to inaugurate anything that
will, in the end, bring discredit upon the depart
ment and be Of no use after all. Engine trials.
like workmens strikes, are never productive of
any good, but serve only to engender feelings OF
hatred and ill-feelng. Fireman,
THE CANAL BOAT TRoUBLEs-A CORRECTION.
To lie Editor Of The Commercial:
The Phila. "Press, OF yesterday contained
letter from its Wilmington correspondent in ref
erence to the canal boat difficulties, In which
their appeared several erroneous statements cal
culated to reflect unjustly on the Custom House
officials at thus port
The first was to the effect that the canal boat
Erln, which was seized on the 18th was unlaw-
fully detained here several days previous to the
seizure. This is an error. The boat at the time
OF Seizure, was not get unloaded hence there
was no delay. The demand for the penalty in
Cured was made on the 18th. and time given
until the boat was about unloaded to pay it in,
falling in which the seizure was made as above
when the agent OF ..the Lehigh Coal and Naviga
to1 Company gave bond on behalf OF the own
ers, and the boat was released on the goth.
The second erroneous statement was to the
effect that the canal boat owners can neither
obtain license here or in Philadelphia which
tends to keep said boats away from this city, in
consequence of which the price OF coal will be
increased
The facts are that at the present time there
are over ten thousand canal boats regularly IL
oensed, as required by law, and authorized to
engage in the coasting trade, while there are
about one in twenty-five arriving at this port
not licensed and hence liable to the penalty,
amounting to about sixty dollars
These unlicensed boats are either now or
have formerly been owned by the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company, whi'h company re-
fuses to take out tho required license for its
boats and by the direct interference of its agents
prevents the captains OF those owned by private
parties doing 30.
Temporary papers Qhis not being their home
distrlc) can be obtained at this port for any Of
these boats after they have paid or secured to
be paid the penalty already incurred by being
engaged III the coasting trade without said pa
pers. FRANK NOLEN
Inspector OF Customs.