St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-21
They Concur in It's Recon-
mendations, But Fail to
Adopt 1t.
Conservatives Uphold Runge
While Radicals Favor Re-
Election OF Stetson.
Alex Mullen Appointed Court
0fficeP--The WorkhouSe
Investigation.


ment of the Lumber Exchange fire.
This is the report which has been so
anXiously awaited by the public. The
committee had been so long at work on
the investigation, and then so long on
the preparation of the report, that pub
lie curiosity had abated. But the i'll
Surance men were still deeply inter-
ested III the matter, and that interest
was intensified by the recent fight over
the Office of manager of the union. They
expected fight, so they went behind
closed doors. When they had finished
and the newS-hungry reporters called to
find out what lad been done, this reso-
luton was handed out as emb0dyng
everything:
Resolved. That the report of the commit
tee OH investigation of the Lumber Exchange
fire be received and its recommendations be
concurTed in, ard this association appoint
a committee of live to take such action as it
may deem eXpedient to bring about the sep
aratlon of politics or personalities from the
management OF the fire department Of the
city of Minneapolis. And that such commit
lee be also requested to use its best endeavors
to remove flom our city by proper legisla-
uon. the storage of highly combustible ma
tcrial in large or dangerous quantities. and to
do such other acts and things that, in its
opinion, will tend to afford protection 10 the
property Interests of Minneapolis.
o. NJ. Laraway. A. f. Gale, A. l..
Belknap, !. c. Seeley and w. A. Doli-
yer were appointed as the committee of
five.
But that wassnot all of the report of
the investigating committee. Some
portions of that report were little
sharp. and through the influence of the
more conservative element in the union.
1t was ordered suppressed. Underwrit-
erS' unions cannot, however, suppress
sound waves. The report found its
way into the open air. Its rather long,
but its main observations can be con-
denSed.
The report begins by charging,
plainly and unequivocally,t that the man
agement of the fire
Was Inefficient.
This, it is claimed, was proven by the
evidence given before the committee.
Under this head Chief Runge comes in
for some criticism because of his alb
sence at a season when fires are most
prevalent and most dangerous. The re-
port particulariZeS.
III IS alleged, as an example Of the
lack OF discipline in the department and
lack Of competent authority at the fire,
under the influence of liquor, but drunk.
Their names are not mentioned. The
report does not say that their names are
known to the committee. 1t rests on
the assertion that the men were drunk.
1t is claimed that five of them went into
the engine room Of the Edison building
while in that condition. They were,
literally. rolled out of the building.
AS further evidence of inefficient
management, the report alleges that
Engines 10 and Il were not at the fire.
The committee wants to know why that
was so. The fire was large enough to
demand that every piece of apparatus
IN the city be called to assist in fighting
1t. The danger was so great that aid
was summoned from st. Paul. Then
why were not all the engines in Mime
apOllS employed.
The report states, 'boldly, and with
out fear of contradiction, that the stand
pipe on the Lumber Exchange build
ing could have been used
10 Flood That Building.
The standpipe was there. Its foot
was but a short distance from the
ground, and was provided with n Siam
csc coupling. There were connections
for the attachment of hose on every
floor. None OF them were used OF even
sought out by the iiremen-so the re-
port says. Then comes q flaw in the re-
port. The committee admits that the
top of the standpipe was without cap,
and that the pipe could not have been
used IN that condition. The force of
the first assertion, however, remains
that the firemen did not try to use the
The blame to them remains
the same as II the standpipe had been
IN good condition.
Now, as TO the temperature in
the alley between the Lum Der
Exchange and the Russell building.
The report holds that that alley was
passable for some time after the arrival
OF the department on the scene. Sew
eral witnesses testified that the aIlev
didn't look 10 be too hot for man to
pass through until well on toward /
O'Clock. They testified further that the
1lremen made no attempt to enter that
alley. They did not try to get at the
Still more does the report allege in
support of the sweeping statement that
the fire department was
PRACTICALLY WITHOUT A HEAD
that night. 1t is stated that at one
time fully fifty firemen we're wandering
about or standing sill in the Edison
building doing-nothing. Engineer
Egan, of the Edison building. called
He directed them to get
hose and fight the fire from that
side. Then he returned to his
engines prepared to food the
exchange. But he was too late. The
torrents of water thrown all around had
invaded his engine room. The water
rose OH his fires. The steam pressure
tell accordingly and he could do moth
ing.
That was about all of the report de-
voted to the fire itself. The remainder
of it discussed the political side of the
question. The committee ascertained
that politics and personal feeling had
crept into the management of the fire
department. On those grounds, not be-
cause he was inefficient, +. l.. Stetson
had been removed. Aid. Woodward
was referred to. not mplimentarily.
and his connection with that deal was
fully calculated. All that has been eX-
planned in the GLOBE. The result of |
this branch of the investigation is en-
bodied in the resolution printed near !
the head of this article. As the
GLOBE announced couple of |
weeks ago, when this investigating |
finished its labors, the in |
ouIdnce IIlen VIII invoke legislation TO |
remedy the existing condition of affairs. |
10 further legislation looking toward |
the removal of the fire department man |
agement from the realm of politics will |!
be the duty of the committee of five |
printed before.
There was warm debate in the union |
over one omission in the investigating |
report. That report was |
confined strictly to discussing the man. |
agement of the fire, the discipline of |
The fire department and the political |
questions raised. Not word was said |
about what might have prevented the
fire in the Lumber Exchange. 1t is |
that iron shutters would
nave gone far toward keeping the
ire out of the Exchange. Yet this was
never touched upon by the committee.
To score the fire department seemed
he sole aim of the investigating com
nittee. And it was done.