Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-31
rx-currr nLA1R,s OPINION.

remain distinct or separate i'm OrganlZa-
tion. and be controlled each by CHIEF OF
their own.
esThe Chief of police force" he con-
tinued. ssmay be an engineer, and capable
of running a steam engine, but II ne mas
been accustomed for many years to other
work and should be suddenly called
TO not only take charge Of force Where
number Of engines are used, and most OF
the engines of an improved patteIh, ne
should become acquainted WIN the
minuti4 of all the parts and be capable to
saw whether each of the parts is being
properly taken care of, in order to ensure
| the perfect working of the machinery at
all times and on a moments notice.
He should, in other words, be
not only practical engineer, but an eX-
perienced fireman, man VINO can enter
a burning building and promptly locate
| fire There is a young man, put an eA-
/ Derienced engineer and fireman, In the
| city who would make good Chlei ior
the fire department. In fact there is no
one in the department that is better quali-
| fed for that Office"
THAT NAV be true" interrupted the
reporter, s'but could he control the men
under himW
question: said Mr.. Blair. "That has
been one of the stumbling blocks in the
experience of every Chief of the depart
ment. What is a chief for if his orders
are not respected and promptly Obeyed?
He is the acknowledged head of the SER
vice and is placed there by the City Coun-
ell as such. But what has been the
experience of the chiefs: l will explain
il by introducing the following lllustra-
ton: A fire is under Roadway; the
| chief orders a man holding the pipe to
direct the stream of water IRON the
place where it is being thrown to another
portion of the building where 1t can be
of more service; the man refuses, ana is
sustained in his opposition by the iore-
man of the company TO Whlch
he belongs. The Chief places the man
under arrest and should have the author
ity to suspend or discharge him. But the
insubOrdinate makes an appeal to the CITY
Council. He employs lawyer TO repre-
sent him before that body, and in about
| two months time, probably, the action
of the Chief may be sustained. IN
the meantime, however, the 1rlends OF
the insubOrdinate take advantage OF the
| issue, they 90 about the city and excite
| a marty shirt. and others take advantage
of it to make political capital. What is
the result? The fire department, instead
of being united in spirit, is practically
disorganiZed. Therefore, in answering
YOUR question is it not reasonable for me
| to say that his Office-nOt the man merely
should control the subordinate ana
| that the City Council should give the Of
flee the strength and the force OF authorl-
ty which the responsibilities attached to
| it imply? Now, then, suppose General
Anderson should order one of his men, In
| case of a riot, to do a certain thing and
| that man should refuse and one OF the
| Sergeants sustain the subordinate in
his INSTRUMENTATION. What would
be the effect? The fact is,
and that is the trouble now, the nre de-
partment is not organized as it should be.
| 1t needs, as / have said, a practical man
at the head of it. | admit that General
Anderson is a superior organizer of police
| and military forces, but he is not an en-
| gineer, a fireman or mechanic"
s.What besides Chief is required to
make the fire department complete in
organization, asked the reporter.
"All the men should be paid" said
| Capt. Blair, ''that is to say, the engineer
and fireman of each apparatus and the
| driver, say four or eight men to each
| steamer at least, should be we'll paid and
| there should also he a number of what we
| NAV term call mem who should be paid
| about 800 per annum. The regular
men should be on duty all the time.
| The call men should be expected to be
on duty only in the event OF a hre. Ihere
| should always be on hand for each appa-
ratus double supply of hose. Why, we
| are far behind the age in furnishing sup
plies tor the fire department. The rub
| Der hose used here is too heavy and rOts
| too soon. There is a cotton hose being
manufactured which is light and more
| durable. and costs less than rubber hose.
| The hose carriages can make better time
| with it in going to a fire, and 1t is lighter
| to handle on a ladder or in building.
| The Fire Department should also have
1 its own tools and FORCES, and the engineer
| of each engine should be expected to keep
his apparatus IN repair, under the super
vision of the Chief. The first outlay for
shop of this description might cost the
CITY few hundred dollars, but If COM
/ Detent Chief is selected a great saving
would be effected. Why, sir, don't you
| know that / have seen men about an en-
! CINE house all day who did not pretend to
keep the aXles of the machines creased
| unless YOU watched them and made them
do itT'
Silence, | say, place practical engi-
| neer and an experienced fireman at the
| head of the department. Give him
salary of about $1,500, not more, and, at
| least, not much less. Invest him with
| authority that men may know must be
| respected, and furnish good supplies OF
! materials and tools, and stipulate that
the Chief shall give his whole time to the
service, and keep the regular full paid
men employed, and the city will have an
efficient, prompt and superior fire depart
| ment.
''What would such a department cost
annually?"
II have estimated the cost at about $21,-
600. including the salaries paid the call
men,"
| WHAT WILL BE DONE.
The matter will probably be brought
! before the City Council at its next meet
| ing, when some step will necessarily be
| taken, owing to the resignation OF the
! present Chief Fireman. 1t is understood
| that a petition will be presented by
number of insurance men, recommending
| the appointment of Mr.. Adolph Fer
nandez. Whatever may be the result of
| the movement to con sOlidate it is at
/ present a matter Of interesting discus
| sion. 1t is believed that majority of
| the citizens favor the movement on the
! ground of securing more efficient hre
! service, and hence better protection OF
property. In conversation with Maj. John
! Cunningham, who was member of the
| City Council some years ago when the
| first proposition was made to unite the
| forces. and who has given considerable
| attention to fire matters, and collected
much information in regard to the work.
| ings of similar system to the one pro-
| posed in England and Scotland, especially
/ III Sliidll Cllltcs ne StdbSO NhoN1 ~ W
| lieyedthe union of the two departments
would bring about better system, capa-
BILE Of more efficient service, at a cost not
greater than that of the present force.
! This system, operated under police con-
troll, is in vogue in interior English cities,
and its workings are highly satisfactory.
HORSFORD'S ACID PHOSPHATE
In Nervous Diseases.
/
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