The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-08-02


the government Of debt ridden city to ente
upon large expenditure to bring i'll water from
S0Hfcrheit. cites our two great fires us instances
where supply OF water would have stopped tn,
contlagraion As to the last, not all the wate
which dozen engines could have thrown coult
have stopped it much short of where it was tinall,
got under control. fire once started with gale
of wind TO drive it, laughs at few tiny streams
water suppose our city government instead o
fussng over the Muck Hole and looking for wate
TO put into it, should have some more reservoir;
dug. and should offer to owners Of blocks ant
other buildings having good deal Of useless cella
room, small yearly sum for constructing csterns
III them for use in case Of fire, wouldn't that be
more practicable enterprise than that which is now
urged And this wouldn't amount TO q tenth part
of the interest Of the sum which would be required
for the proposed project. Progressive Age.
We are free to say that we dORt think
that cisterns in cellars, in any number
would be Of much avail to control fires
We would have not only water, but water
with sufficient force to it to reach every
part Of building. Water coming from
the hill. with 100 feet head, would amount
to something, without engines There is
Il large supply of water in the basement
Of the Journal building, but we never
considered it of much account for eX-
tinguishing purposes until a pipe was run
from it to a steam force pump. When
that was DONE the insurance companies
discounted one half per cent from our
fire rates showing what they thought OF
the difference.
1t may be, us the Age SAYS, that Il dozen
engines would have failed to control the
great fire of 1873 But the water system
that we suggest would be much more eff
ticlent than any dozen engines-tOr ii
would place in every house a pipe that
would, without any engine throw a good
stream. The great need, in both of the
contlagratlons, was water. The Age, in
The fire was now fairly under way and there
seemed to be no escape from contiagration of the
whole city. Water! water! for Gods sake can
no water be Obtained was the almost agonized
expression on every hand BUT THERE WAS NO
WATER IN ANY OF THE RESERVOIRS
Suppose all the reservoirs and cisterns
that the Age demands had existed then,
acith no Water IN them, how much would
the situation have been improved? 1t is
easy enough to talk tlippantly about the
matter nor, but for the real facts as they
existed, we had rather go back to the
hour of danger.
The great fire of 1873, eight years
later, was started during strong gale
but had there been good water supply
with Il propelling head, fire would never
have got beyond the wharf on which it
originated. There was the same fatal
lack of water. Says the Age of August
30, "BUT LITTLE OR NO WATER WAS TIC
BE HAD, EXCEPT AT THE WHARvES nc
THE LEEwARD OF THE FIRE" Chie1
Engineer Baker, in his official report OF
the great fire Of 1873, says
The department was promptly on hand, but
owing to terrible northwest gale then prevailing
and THE GREAT SCARCITY OF WATER, they were
unable to check the flames until late in the night
All accounts agree, that the destruc-
ton of Il large part of the city, on these
occasions, was from the lack of water
owing to a protracted drouth. "Early
and provident fear is the mother of safe
ty," says the philosopher. Let us have
such provident fear in respect to a thir(
destruction of our city by fire, that VIZ
shall provide means for eXtinguishing il
at the outset. The time to cry "Water
water. for Gods sake can no water be
obtained" is now-not when devourins
confagration shall be sweeping through
our streets.