The morning news., 1889-04-14
o11R GREAT CONFEDERATION.
r,a Lessons it Teaches - What lie
Needed.

Wha L655OAC AZ AOS~1SS w -@~S 49,
Needed.
Editor Morning Neius: OF all the works
Il nature. perhaps the most useless creation
:. the post facto prophet, man who pre-
dots what is come after it happens; who
s,tnaw it, all along and could have pre-
rsnted disaster at any time had he been
o,nsulted. But the wiser man is he who
oon 50 far profit by a misfortune as to learn
Nv 70 avert or avoid it in future. 1t is
9TH this latter view the writer will seek to
cansjder the recent confagration.
Given mass Of combustible material in
taIl building, closely built locality, a
irving wind, and let fire, starting at the
initial point, once escape control, and there
inst he conhagration. This once devel-
nn-d no human power or skill can check or
stand before it, until it shall have run its
curse. This is shown by. study OF all, or
onT such catastrophes. Especially great
Fre at Boston, some dozen years ago,
which. owing to very slight unavoidable
delay in getting at it during its incipiency,
escaped from control, and then ran its
course through masses of brick, granite
and iron structures, as though they had
baan but dry stubble. Let any one note the
To,yer of little lamp fame when forced
bv the breath and blow-pipe against any
snhstauce, or on more grand
scale how the heat from
few tons of coal, driven by an air blast into
furnace filled with iron ore, will melt the
eolid rock until it flows as water, and thus
a faint idea may be formed of the terrific
force of such mass of fire as the Hogan
building and contents, driven by a fierce
gale upon anything that stood in its path
wav. Under such conditions no amount of
mechanical appliances and no number Of
men can stand before the course
of destruction; the utmost that can be done
is bv acting on either flank to coDfine the
fire into as narrow path as may be,
and this even Is difficult and uncertain, for
the reason that gale in the intensely
heated atmosphere becomes a cyclone Of
fire, sweeping onward in concentric circles
which defy all calculation as to the exact
course, In the Boston fire, above referred
TO. there were over 100 powerful steam fire
engines, and all the men and material re-
auired, directed by consummate skill aud
Intelligence, and yet nothing could be done
in the front of battle until the fire had de-
stroyed everything that stood in its course.
The lessons to be learned from these facts,
are that when, under certain conditions,
fire escapes from control nothing can be
done to stop its career, and hence the
remedy is not to be found in multiplying
men or engines. ...
Fortunately these conditions very rarely
occur in full conjunction, but in any and
every case it is essential that fire shall not
escape from the building in which it origi-
mates aud to attain this object, celebrity, GER
rainty and skill are the means to be relied
on. tits, then, to the cultivation and de-
velopmsnt Of these qualifications, and not
to the quantity Of machinery and material,
that we should direct our attention in order
TO insure safety-quality before quantity
is the term that best expresses the question
before us. x. X.
The Augusta Steamboat Trouble.
AUGUSTA, GA, April 11.-Editor Norm
iug Nel6S: Seeing an article in your issue
of April s, headed Another Postpone
ment, in relation to the receivers sale of
the property. Of the Augusta Steamboat
Company, would ask sufficient space in
your paper to put things in a somewhat
different Fight. The article states "that
much indignation is felt among the crews of
the two boats, some Of whom it is claimed
were unable to get pay for back wages due
them, and had to go to the mayor and get
passes to bring. them home" But two of
the men ever asked for passes, very cheer
fully gave them q letter each to the
agent of the Central railroad ask
ing this favor of him, which / presumed.
be would readily grant as our boa 8 hal
been II some assistance to them In the past.
At the time these letters were presented
the agent was out Of the city, and his as
sisant IN his absence could do nothing
They then requested a loan from me. Bear
ing that one desired to return for no other
tNav, 30 Eba1 ha boats ,raf,coI. Nhn
other stating he desired to see his family, |
cheerfully assisted him The last money
We had we gave to them, dividing it out as
we thought it was most needed, and
promised them the balance due as soon as
we could raise it, first by subscriptions,
by selling the boats.
We shared our last crust with them, gave
them all the money we had in preference to
other creditors whom God knows vera
numerous enough they were well aware
OF the fact that the boats were tottering on
q financial abyss; expected that each trip
would be the last; had been paid promptly
month after month up to Dec. l. Had we
paid others and had them suffer in conse-
quence, had we been capitalists and with
plenty of money in our pockets, turned
them off in the middle of the month because
the venture was not found to pe paying
one; had we attempted in any way to de-
fraud them of their money, then there may
have been some excuse; but in the face of
the above, to have given any such report
Tor publication smacks of ingratitude.
The sales were postponed from time to
time TO enable our merchants to save the
boats and for no other reason. Our bust
ness men possess but limited means. They
nave been severely taxed for subscriptions
10 various things for our city's good, and
some OF them were sorely crippled by our
disastrous freshet of last September. Under
these circumstances the necessary amount
was much harder to raise than it otherwise
would have been. One of your river men
uid visit Augusta, but not for the purpose
oI buying boats. If he did so, that fact was
not developed during his stay here.
Understand that we desire to pay every
one OF the seamen of the boats all that he is
justly entitled 10, but we feel that their de-
ioand for the extra fifteen days in which
Ihey dld not work, including board and
"a Tatlons is excessive. HAROLD LAME,
TX PRESIDENT and Receiver of Augusta
Steamboat Company.
Catarrh Cured.