, 1875-12-27
OUR PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE,

Inc communication written by AlF. ALEI-
ASpER SULLIVAN, Secretary Of tho Board Of
| public Works Of this city, to Tho manager of
London insurance company, which waa
| printed in tho last issue Of TnE TRIBUNE,
| contains somo facts Of prime importance
touching tho security Of Chicago against
fires, completely answers the carping csisi.
cfsns Of tho New York press, md ought 10
be n sufficient inducemen. for insurance CON-
panics to reduce their rates. First, On 70.
gards tho security Of Chicago against fro,
rho total pipe mid from April i, 1874. to
Dec. 7, 1876, was 3o?,172 feet or ST milcs
md 1,ol2 feet; ~, 533 feet Of 4-inch pine
havo been taken up and thrown away and
Inrger pipe substituted. Tho mean diameter
Of tue Pipe 1aid in 1872 was 7.el iuchos, aud
tho mean diameter now is 8.Gl inches Since
April, 1879. the delivering capacity Of Chi
caeo's water-p;po las been increased II
per cont At tho time Of tho Great
Fire there wcrc 1862 lytlrauts; now there
aro 2,So7. Then, Chicago had 27a
miles of wnter-pipo; now 1t has 4os
miles. In addition to this, tho city il
now surrounded by 80 md q inch mains,
from which pipes radato in every direction,
frequently tapped by hydrants. A new tun-
ncl his been constructed. The fire limits
hnrc been made commensurate will, the limits
of The city. Tho wooden buildings burned
in tho two great fires havo been havo been re-
placed by brick and stone structures In
oToEy possible way, Chicago 1las protected
hosself, until she las become ono Of tho
safest, If not tho safest, city in the Union.
Mr.. Su111vAN'B report furnishes another
important fact in it's comp!ete answer
to tho critics of the Now York
stamp. On Doe. Z, 1876, Chicago Ind
.,157,7 ,78s feot Of pipe, and on Nov. u, 1875,
New York had but e.17s, 100 foet. In other
words, Chicago had 40s miles and New York
Az miles, and during 1874 and 1875 Chicago
Ind four times as much Pipe as New York.
The sualler-aized pipes in Chicago aro moro
efficient than those in Now York, for tho rca-
son TINT they are connected at every street
crossing, while in New York there is no
system of inter-connoction. We commend
these facts to tho New York World in answer
to its criticisms, as we'll rs to tho recent
statements 1natlo by the Committee Of East
ern Underwriters.
1u WOW OF these uunnswerab1o facts, there
ia no good reason why tho insurance COM
panies should not reduce their rates. The
figures furnished by the Secretary Of tho
Board show that Chicago is not only moro
secure than New York, but that as compared
with auy other city In this country, it IL a
firEt-class risk. Since tho July Gro. thero
have been scarcely any fires worth mention,
and the loss has been very small. They haye
already savcd III ther extra rates moro than
they lost In the July fire. In addition to all
these reasons, it may he urged that tho Fire
Department was mover better ofl}cercd and
equipped than now, nor has It ever
reached higher legroo of efficiency,
Its promptncaa and thoroughness have
been tested ovar and over again. The outlay
which Chicago hos 1nalo, the resources Which
Bho has collected with tint outlay, the policy
which sho is pure asing with regard to security
from fire, and the profitable field which she
now otfers for underwriting, should lend the
insurance companies to reduce their ratos cor
respondingly. Chicago deaeryes it. by what
abe hna dono and is still doing.