Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-02
zdnrdstrr fn:cll;gel1rfr.
WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOV. 2. 1881.
Tried and Found Wanting.

Tried and Found Wanting.
Tie ideas of the secretary of the Fire
mems Union, as to what is needed to
make the volunteer fire department of
Lancaster efficient, are excellent, and if
we could feel confident that they could
be enforced we would readily believe
that the volunteer organization would
be quite equal to that in Reading. But
we cannot see the ''esprit du corps" as
Mr.. Goodman sees it. No doubt it is
better now than it has been : the good
miserables who have brought
shame upon the department have retired
to the rear, now that they see the result
of their work in the proposed demolition
of the volunteer system there being
nothing TO fight over but the whiten-
ing bones OF the old system, the
buzzards have abandoned the body,
and the good liremen are left to bemoan
it's fate and seek its resurrection. We
entirely sympathize with the desire of
Mr.. Goodman and his fellows in the Fire
mems Union to preserve the old system
and give it the fair trial, which they
think it has not had. And it is true that
it has not had the support from the city
which was needed to secure its proper
efficiency. But we think that this has
been the fault Of the department. 1t
has not been awell-managad body in the
past, and Mr.. Goodman seems to agree
with us in SO thinking. Some of the
individual companies have not mer-
tied public esteem. and consequently
have no: deserved public support.
Among these Was Mr. Goodman COM
pany, which we are glad to admit has
now been greatly improved by the Jealous
efforts of himself and the other respect
able members. 1t is true that it was good
men in the Shifler itself who collected
the evidence that convicted its own
members of incendiarism, and who
placed that evidence i'm the hands of the
officers OF the law. The guilty men es
capped not through their cOntrivancc,
but through the wilful negligence Of the
public officers, who were controlled by
the polil ical influence of the miScreant' S
friends and did not fret themselves 10
keep in their hands the evidence they
had of the crime. 1t is an oi, way OF
doing things around here, and probably
never will lie amended.
Mr.. Goodman tells us that other con-
panies beside his own have been brush
ing themselves clean of late, and we alt
glad to hear it. We quite agree will
him that there are Us good men among
the Lancaster iiremen rs can be fOunt
anywhere, and if they would lay theil
hands to the work and could find mel
to lead them, possessed of the indepen
dencp, zeal and organizing spirit needed
for the task, we will readily admit that
the DEPARTMENT could he made to give
Satisfact ion to tIe citizens. But it would
b, Il great work. 1t has not been sue
cessfully csSayed SO far. For number
of years the companies have presented
themselves rs bound together in 4 union
with a chief and assistants and all th'
paraplernaIia of an efficient OrganiZa
ton and ,leader failure, we think Mr.
Goodman will agree with us, ha
ne-cr l,ern exhibited. 1t would have
been really ludicrous, if it had not bcel
absolutely disgusting, to contemplate th'
fire n.,t,u;.dti"n-GOd save the mark
as exhibited at the places it wa
created to he exhibited at--namely fires
We are safe i'm saying that wlatcve
good has been done in supprcaSing fire
has been 10y the work of good liremen il
individual companies, not 10y the bod
asan organization. 1t has not been al
organization except in name. There ha
been total lack of SubordinatiOn anon;
the men and an entire absence Of abllit
among the chiefs to secure it.
Under these uE.loubted circumstance
is it not asking too much of us to cXpec
that, if the volunteer system is furthe
tried. there will bc an immediate chang
to sui;nrtlination. discipline, peace an'
efficiency ? We do not say that it ma.
not happen: for it may and will i'll time
if the right men get into the right plac
in control. But we do say that the I'M
dertaking Will be very difficult; ia
more so than to secure the efficiency OF ;
smaller body of men in Il paid system
1t is one thing to be able to control ;
hundred men, and another 10 manage
a Thousand : and when the thousand arr
volunteer fremen, in seven companies
each with a machine and foreman
armed with pipe loaded with watC
and an intense hatred of another fore
man similarly armed, ard backed b.
bowling comrades similarly inspired,
boss is needed of peculiar kind to hav'
all this energy and water expended o,
the fire instead of the liremcm.
Wolfe.