Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-05-09

THE STEAMER TRIAL.-The "grcat old
squirt promised our citizens by the
agent of the Silsby Steam Fire Engine
Company, and for which he imported
one of their best Sd class engines, proved
but grand tizzle after all. The steamer
is here, in good order, with competent
engineer in the employ of the company
to manage it, and all the conditions are
favorable for the most thorough and fair
test of its merits, but the orders arc from
headquarters not to go on with the trial
dnless the city authorities will give a
pledge preliminary thereto, to purchase
it eff it does good work" Regarding
good work" as a relative term and only
to be determined by comparison with
other work, the committee of the council
decline to pledge themselves in advance
of all trials to buy Silsby engine, and
so, as we said, the squirt" is indefinitely
postponed. The circumstances of the
case plainly indicate that the Silsby com
pany would like to evade a comparison
of the merits of their machine with those
of other manufacturers, and especially
with the Clapp & Jones machine. The
facts relative to the matter are as follows:
As soon as it was known that our city
contemplated the purchase of steamer,
the agents of the rival makers made their
appearance First the Clapp & Jones
man, claiming superiority for his engine,
and offering to prove it by a fair test with
other engines, the purchase to depend
upon the result of such test. Next came
the Silsby agent and made his PROPOSE
ton. He was informed that the city
would not pledge itself to buy any engine,
but that the authorities were anxious to
see the practical workings of all. He
then proposed to bring a Sd class Silsby
engine here and test it about the 9th of
May The engine is here, but unless sold
in advance, as indicated above, will not
be tested The Clapp g. Jones agent is
here making arrangements for the trial
of bis engine when it arrives, and adheres
to his original proposition to prove it
superior to all others by actual test, or
not attempt to sell it.
Mr.. Rogers, the agent of Clapp &
Jones, has made the Silsby company
through their agent here, several propo-
sitions for trials which would test the
relative power and capacity of the rival
machines. First he proposes to bring a
4th class Clapp & Jones, ordered for Es-
canada, Mich, and ready to ship, to In
dependence and pit it on equal terms
against the large 81 class Silsby now
here. The second proposition was to
have trial here on the 10Th of July be-
tween engines of the same class, and that
other builders Of engines be notified and
invited to participate. The third propo-
sition was to invite a committee of our
citizens to go to Lansing, Mich, where
both engines are in service, and have a
trial there, the Clapp & Jones to be han
died by the engineer now in charge, the
Silsby by anybody they may choose, both
engineers to run their machines without
dctation, and the loser in the contest to
pay the expcnsesof the entire party, in
Guiding from s. to $15 per day to each
as compensation for loss Of time &C.
Lastly the Silsby company were asked to
make trial upon their own proposition
of terms.
All Of these propositions were uncondi-
tionalIy refused and the Interpretation put
upon such refusal together with the eva
stve, trif1ing manner, in which the Silsby
people have conducted the negotiations
with the council committee, have been
generally interpreted as an acknowledg-
ment that fair trial is feared by them.
We know nothing Of the rival engine, the
Clapp & Jones, but our people will un.
doubtly have an opportunity of witness
ing it's performance in the course of two
or three weeks, and they will not proba-
bly, be asked to buy it like pig in a
poke.