Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-20
FIRE PROTECTION.

The HarG1ships Imposed Upon the Bust
ness Men by McCOrd by Insisting upon
HIS Adramcs in Insurance Rates, DesLi g
the Demonstrated Efficacy Of Our Water
Works System as FIRE Protection.
The action of McCord, who unfortunate
ly occupies such position on the local
board of underwriters as to control in
surance rates, in increasing the rates upon
the pretext that our waterworks system is
no safeguard nor fire protection, is ex-
citing more than ordinary comment and ex-
pressions of dissatisfaction by our bust
ness men.
It has been clearly demonstrated by a
competent and fair test that our water
works system is efficient if properly han
died. The city council and the board Of
water commissioners have adopted meas
ures through the operation of which it is
only just and fair to assume
that at all fires hereafter
the gates will be handled SO as to con-
centrate all the pressure of the water
works upon the mains which are to supply
the water for the fire department in the
locality of the fire. With a pressure of
only ninety pounds to the square inch at
the pump house four powerful streams of
water were forced to the top of the high
tive-story Hurlbut block on Nicollet
avenue, which is fully or upwards of thirty
eight feet above the pump house, only
fifteen pounds of pressure to the square
inch were lost by the altitude, distance
and friction of transmission. Con-
sidering the fact that
the pressure at the pump house could have
been increased, and can at any time be
almost instantly increased-from the nine
ty pounds pressure used in the test, to two
hundred pounds pressure strong, the re-
suits can be easily imagined. The build
ing could have been flooded within fifteen
minutes from the time of turning in the
alarm.
Like all other institutions. the Minneap-
oils water works system has suffered the
misfortunes of being mismanaged, but
within the history of the works during the
past dozen years, comparatively few disas-
tiers have resulted from even this prolific
source. The fire departments in every
metropolis in the country have met with
fell disasters in cases of destructive fires
through some blunder of an officer or en-
ploye of the respective fire departments
and the city of Minneapolis can well be
congratulated upon the infrequency Of
such occurrences. They can be counted
Oh the fingers of one hand. The last mis-
fortune was in the case of the Knicker-
booker fire of last Monday. Through
some mismanagementt two of the gates to
mains which supplied the water in that
locality had been inadvertently shut off,
and the misfortune was discovered too late
to remedy the evil. Even the steamers
were of no avail, as no water could be
pumped from empty mains.
But ample precaution against
the recurrence of a similar
accident have been provided by the au-
thOrities. A competent man has been APP
pointed whose sole duties it shall be during
a fire to handle the gates. At the instant
the alarm is turned in from a certain To-
cality, he is to drive swiftly to the
gates and shut Off the water
from the mains not needed in the trans
mission OF water to the fire, thereby con-
centrating the entire force and power of
the water works upon the very locality
where the fire is.
Mr.. McCord is looked upon by the bust
ness men of Minneapolis as serious OBJ
structionist and is. prompted by the single
motive of eXtorting money by stubbornly
and persistently adhering to his advance
of twenty cents on every 500 covered by
insurance. Unfortunately he has the power,
and still more unfortunately, he is logged
ly determined to exercise it in the very
face of proof positive that the facts con-
corning the fire protection will not war
rant it.
A meeting of the insurance men should
be held and the question fully discussed,
with view to adopting some
measure which shall make the McCord po-
sition so intentionally unpopular and un-
pleasant that the old rate will be re-estab-
lished.