Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-28
TO SILENCE BIG SAM.
Chief Brown is Determined TO Ring No more
DOwntowu AIarms-He Talks Fire he-
form All Along the Line.

chief Brown Is Determined 10 Ring No more
Downtowu AIarms-He Talks Fire He.
form All Along the Line.
Chief Brown said last evening that his or
der, published yesterday afternoon, would
be enforced from January l, notwithstano-
ing the objections offered by several gentle
men whose interviews were published IN tne
same paper.
In rsgard to the objections offered by the
insurance men Mr.. Brown said:
''What right have a lot of insurance
clerks to be running around during nre,
impeding the movements of the firemen ana
adding confusion to all concerned? Show
me an instance where the insurance men
have been of any benefit by their presence at
fire in this eitv. What the insurance men
want to do is to procesd to do something
practical and not do so much extemporane-
Gus talking. If they would organize sal
wage corps here, as insurance men have zone
in the other big cities, provide 1t with tar.
paulins and other equipments, and man IL
with a force of experienced men, we woulo
supply them with gong at their headquar-
tiers and a running card, the same as we nave
in our own engine houses, and then when
fire occurred the insurance mems interest
would be protected much better than 1t ever
can be while they do nothing but stand
around with kid gloves on their hands crit
icizing the work of the fremen and those In
charge of them. If they have their own sys-
TEN they can employ good man, at as high
a salary as they wish to pay, to conduct
their interests at fires and he can criticize
the work of the firemen intelligently, but
we object to the criticisms of the curb stone
engineers.
"The only people at the present time who
have any business at fires are the hremen,
police and newspaper reporters, who are
there to apprise the public of the extent
and incidents of the conhagration. If the
insurance men have a uniformed salvage
corps they will be admitted to fires and as
sisted in every way by our fremen. The
fire last night was an excellent illustration
OF the pernieious effect of ringing the big
bell in the first district. Before the first en-
gine arrived on the scene, the avenue was
crowded with people. The saloons, club
houses, poolrooms and hotels were emptied
onto Fifth avenue in less than five minutes
and there were soon at least 10000 people on
the street. There is no argument possible
for shen condition of affairs as that.
"As for the business men who live uptown
who say they would not know, unless the big
Dell SJTuck, WHETHER Iuelr pfopcEb1 was III
danger or not by fire, 1 will simply say
that my order only silences the big bell in
the first district The other bells will ring,
when a fire occurs, as they have in the past
81 propose to have gongs, or '.jokers, " as
they are called, placed in each of the daily
newspaper Offices downtown at once. Mr..
Mead, Superintendent of the, Bureau OF Elec-
tricity, will 90 around tomorrow, and make
arrangements to put in jokers at such offices
as desire them. Then the reporters will be
able to locate fire just as quickly as the
fremen, although 1 suppose it would not
make much difference whether they heard
the alarm or not, for have noticed that the
newspapers don't often miss much that is
going on
"If there is any other class of men whom
L think should be provided with these gongs,
of course, they will be supplied too, but the
big bell will not ring alarms for fire after
next Tuesday, of that you may rest as
sured"N