Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-07-12
AdlrdStrr f..tril,Gfnrer.
TUESDAY EVENING, July -, olss
Remarkable Accord.

There is a remarkable unanimity OF
sentiment in this city in the matter OF a
new fire department, among the firemen
rs well as the citizens, and the path
seems to he very clear for councils to
abolish the present system. We are sur
prised to find how much we are in accord
with the deliverance Of the Firemen's
Union, as made the other day. We do
not find ourselves disposed to challenge
any of their statements or conclusions.
They claim for their fire service no more
than it is probably justly entitled to, and
they admit the defects which are appar-
ent to us in it. That it has been fairly
efficient, we think is true. That the
companies have not received from the
city a sufficient appropriation to pay
their proper expenses is also undeniable.
We agree again that the begging from
the citizens, to which the fremen have
had to resort to pay the cost
of their service, is a necessity
that should not he put upon them. Moth
ing can le clearer than that it is the duty
of the city TO proyidea sufficient sum to
tlefray the cost of an efficient fire Organi-
cation out of the moneys raised by taxa
ton. We all agree that this has not
been done and that the efficiency of the
fire department is much greater than the
city councils have any reason to expect
it to bc upon the money they provide to
sustain it. 1t is absolutely insufficient
for the purpose and the firemon should
have declared long ago, what they de-
clare now, that they will 80 out of scr
vice unless the city provides the money
to pay the cost Of their voluntary Ia
bors. That brings the city authorities
right up to the rack. II is Il manly and
sensible resolution to take. The tremen
say to the city that they are willing to
continue to give their services without
charge, il the cost of the maintenance of
their apparatus is furnished them and
if the city authorities consider that they
can provide better service for the
money in any other way the liremcn are
ready to surrender to them the field.
That is just the way to talk and now
il is for the city to act. IL the volunteer
firemen are to be retained, we join in
their demand that every dollar Of their
necessary expenses shall I've paid out Of
the city treasury and that they shall not
he required to pay or beg i cent them
selves. But before this is done the city
councils will consider whether four en-
gines, served by three fire companies
one engine being Il rcserve-will not
supply the need of the city. And next,
whether the cost Of running these ell
gines with paid labor will be any greater
than that of maintaining seven volunteer
fire companies. In considering this
question, the fact must be recognized
that whether the service is paid or vol
untccr, proper efficiency requires that
horses shall bc provided TO draw the en-
ginrs and that the houses shall be
electrically connected with the central
police station. We do not consider it
doubtful that the paid system will be
found the cheapest. Our neighboring
city Of Reading has IN excellent volun-
teer system, with horse and electric ser
vice, and of admirable efficiency but it
costs certainly I'LL that u paid system
would. But quite independently of the
question of cost the political evils of the
volunteer system condemn it for our
further use. 1t is true, Us tho Fire
mems Union declares, that the
decentralization Of the liremen largely
comes from politicians Of every degree,
even those who hold their heads high in
the community and assume to he very
pious and good. They admit that they
have in their membership tho unworthy
citizens whose votes these politicians
successfully seek to buy. They admit,
too, that their efforts TO cast sucl, men
out have leen unsuccessful. They give
4 plausible reason for it in their inability
to do without the service OF these char
acterS, rs long rs they require mem to
draw their engines. Ii the companies
were enabled to have il smaller member
ship, by tho Use of horses, it is apparent
that their officers would be more ilde-
pendent and more able to preserve disci-
plinc, and if they were men of the proper
stamp there would probably bc little
cause Of complaint against the tiremen.
Tho smaller the force the less of a polti-
Cal influence will it be; and that is one
great advantage in paid department.
which must always be smaller than with
volunteers, who cannot give all their
time to the public service.
The Firemen's Union says another
thing with which We agree when it
declares that all the incendiary fires in
Lancaster cannot be reasonably charged
upon disreputable lircmen, in view of
the great temptation given by the insur-
ance companies themselves to the owners
Of merchandise to fire their stock to sell
it. They charge, in their premium, for the
"moral laZtrd," and il they are not
sufficiently careful in their management
to make the moral premium cover the
hazard they should mend their own ways
before charging their losses too conf
IDENTIFY upon the firemen Of Lancaster.
The unions statement has ono refer
ence which we do not altogether under.
stand. In admitting that the hangers
on OF fire companies have in some cases
been shown by the investigation of mem.
bers of the companies to have been