Morning journal and courier., 1888-03-13

l tural beauty of Ithie1 Towns plan obtain from Sing Sing, N. Y., more marble for the
 pavement of the porches and for the steps
 and replace what cannot be redressed and
 used again. For less than $12, ,000 the strus-
 turs can be made as good new. The sides
 and pillars te bs rsstuccoed last. X. X. Suggestions Which Might Go Toward Saving Life.
 I To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 hope someone with capital and enterprise will experiment. on the subject as herein sug- gested. It came to my mind while reading | of the lives lost in the Springfield fire. In l addition to the useful devices now used somet 1 thing like the life saving apparatus used by | the Iife-savers should undoubtedly be used. There should be system of reels containing | from three to five lines, small brass cannon or mortar mounted behind the reels, each
 reel to work separately on the same shaft. Each reel to carry proper small rope coated perhaps with preparation of asbestos, except central reel or two to carry strong small steel chain of links five or six inches long of tested tension, to carry say two hundred pounds weight. To each machine a sufficient number of cartridges and shot of designated character to which the lines and chains can be attached and shot into windows or onto high roofs, if people are taking refuge there. On this shot or near it particular kind of grappling hook to be determined here after, as to folding and opening, only of steel, capable of taking hold firmly of wood, brick or even stone work. On the lines near the grappling hook certain kind of travellers, which people can take firm hold of and fling them selves into the air cautiously and slide down an incline made by the cord or chain stretch ed to distance and fastened firmly to post or firm object or held in the hands of people present. Once the grappling hook placed, the line made taut, the weight of the person sliding down ought to make it anchor still more securely and
 make it slender but safe bridge and escape from fearful peril of burning to death or be- ing more quickly lost to life on the sidewalk
 Having personally seen the life-saving ap- paratus on the coast at Cape Cod and having read more or less of the good results thereby obtained in rescuing impe rilled ires, am strongly impressed with the idea that the apparatus propose can be made sufficiently strong and simple and not very expensive for each machine, and that city like New Haven could afford to have half-dozen of them rather than incur the risk of valuable lives for want of something ready and almost in stantaneeus in application to one window and another wherever necessary in quick succession. For if telegraph wire would probably be strong enough to sustain 8 per son sliding down an incline of 150 or 200 feet or more properly secured at the ends, if suspension bridge makers can travel in the air on very slender support, why could not an endangered person take hold of "trav
 eler' on proper line or chain with hope of es- caping severe injuries and by his own weight get out of the fire! You see the chain ar- rangement is necessary, for not seldom the
 fire at the windows would quickly burn off the ropes The chain need weigh no more than 1 13 pounds to each linear foot. It ought not take gun longer than twenty-four inches to send that ball and accompaniments into five- story windows in less time than I can write this L. BosTwICK.