, 1874-07-16
THE FIRES.


doubt, but ho has
NO HEAD ron GRAND wonK.
arge fire found him Just as neap.s;ls -
spared no personal cxortion-lio risk Of life aud
i,nb-to sayo tic oity placod under Lis pro-
lection.
L1Eur.-oRN, BuER1pAN,
Who watched the fro with great Inherent and
who waH always wllere It r,inyod hottest, was
hoard to excaim several times agannt the stu
pility and niamanagomout that soomed to por-
valo tho Fire perarkmout, Ho looked at tho
situatton with military syo, and would have
proceeded to fight tho flames, ovon as ha fought
tho foe, on 4 systomato plan, had he boon In
command on july IA. but, unfortunately,
Little pbilN was not in command, and. pcr-
haps, he remembers that when, in 1871, he
holped to Bayo great portion Of tho city, cor.
tain nowepapers loaded him with abuae for
months aftcrvard. Evon had o man OF great
ahility beon At the head Of affairs, It Ii doubtful
Whether mitch could DO done to stay the
territory which was destroyed. In tho FIRST
place, thero wns not enough Of powder In Chi
c.go to do tho necessary amonnt Of blowing
up, md had thore been, therc were worry
work to 70 about It with tl,at confidence which,
In groat emergencies, generally commando SUD
sess.
soME ENTHUSIASTIC CITIZENS
ahecked on. tho line Of Van Duren atroot by tic
superior character OF our now buildings, but
This ta fallacy. Two agencies hclped to
savo tho city at that point-tho fortunate
L "nss soeoef q Tna oomoneaa ~sh to at soW little 9ds 9ss
ly toward tho lake, and the numerous
vacant lots, which the old oonnagrntton had left
behind. These agencies are directly tho cause
OF tho salvation Of the business district, al
thougl, Justice compos the admission that the
Fro Department worked In better ordor aud
with moro direct enthusiasm OH Van Buren,
atrcct ttRn on any other limo which they had
previously attempted to n,nintain.
Those cltizcns who had the common sonso not
20 depend entirely upon tho Firo Department.
Tor tue Ralvatiun Of their property deserve the
public thanks.
ny s1u1cIsa THE nooFB
ot their buildings with water, md sweeping OF
preventing fnrthor spread OF the tlamcs. TlH
VAS particularly noticeable on Wabash and
Michigan avonnes, whore tho house-tops wero
garrisoned not by idle spectators but by
the dread enemy with al tho energy Of despair.
Iher example IL woll worthy OF imitation,
anu ought to shame tho apatlloto
persons who prefer to gait Oh Providence
all unpleasant occasion a,iso in the future. Tho
necessity for iron shutters and careful closng Of
a'l Windows WAS we'll illustrated Oh Wabash
avenue, where a magnificent block, Btna.od on
obstruction, tho ianitor having forgotten to
close the upper windows Of tho corner building
whon going home.
ANOTHER GREAT OBSTACLE
In the WY Of guppressiug fires In
thts, as In all other cities, III
tho insane rush OF people, men, women,
and children, toward the point Of danger. Whom
the limo OF fire presents ao 0roRa front az it
did Inesday night it IL next to impossible for
our limited police forca to keop the Btreeta clear,
90 That the tlromen can work to good advantage
Tho constant change OF base did away with tic
possibility OF having the space properly roped
In, 30 that tho policemen could only battle With
tho imMonB0 aud turbulent human tide, club
IN hand, a mode of argument not rel
iHhed by tho average American citizen,
OF native or foreign birth, and certainly not q
very efficient nleanB OF preventing an unwlolo-
Sonic rusll, when the policeman Is compelled to
struggle against hundreds.
:. Still our Police Department, undor the digec-
ton OF noarly all tB chief officers, including the
Commissioners, worked worry we'll indeed. The
men kept stoadfastly at thoir posts, and, where
they could mako Htapd with any hope Of sue
eees at all, to keep the crowd back, they
did IL. Gprf Drok1nva ~,