St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-31

In 1870 the city sold the old hand ell
gines to the United States government
for use at Fort BufOrd and Fort Suily,
\. ID. This step is to be regretted, for
the old machines are links in the his
tory of st. Paul, and should have been
retained as relics. About this time ''Old
Hope Company No. got into dispute
with the city authorities. They desired
to elect their own engineer, but the city
objected. After wrangle, the mem
berS of the company offered to sell all
laid claim to it ALL and law suit re-
suited. The company disbanded, but
won their case at law.
In September. 1877, the volunteer
companies disbanded, few men being
paid small salary by the city to attend
fires and sleep in the engine houses at
night. On June l, 1883, the regular
paid department, as it now exists, came
into force. Many of the records of the
old volunteer companies were placed
in the historical Society's rooms. when
the organizations disbanded. In the
capitol fire in 1881, these valuable books
and papers were lost. Superintendent
Birge, of the police telegraph alarm
system. possesses the records of Mime
haha" company, and some of the entries
are very interesting. On one occasion,
the "boys" hitched up the engine with
four horses and drove it over to st.
Anthony minneapolis was not in exis-
tence them. They went to the engine
house of that burg, and challenged the
fire company to e match to
pump water ''for love or $780,"
But the rivals up the river would not
accept, SO the boys came home and made
merry at their headquarters. At an
other time the record shows that at a
fire the engine would not work, as the
valves were full of paper. An inter-
eSting story is told in connection with
this matter, but it cannot be youched
for as being true. The engine houses
were always used for election purposes,
and, OH one occasion, man was put on
the ticket for alderman who was not
liked by the boys of the company. He
received 4 big vote, however, and felt
sure of his election, but when the bal
lots were counted it was found that he
had been severely beaten. The story
runs that when the election judges
adjourned for supper, leaving the ballot
box in the engine house, some of the
"boys' entered the building through a
window, pried open the box. wrote a
new set of ballots aud deposited them
in place of the genuine ones, which
were stuffed inside the valves of the
engine. One of the rules of the compa-
MES was that whenever turnout was
made to an alarm, the steward should
be allowed $40 from the funds to supply
refreshments to the men who answered
the call. In the hot weather a key or
two of beer were generally purchased,
and it the boys were especially thirsty,
one would be sent off to ring an alarm.
OF course no fire would be found, but
the steward would spend the $40 for
refreshments when the machine" was
brought home.
But there were times when the volun-
teer firemen were called upon in tenn
pestuous weather to battle for hours
with the fiery clement. which often
threatened to wipe out the young city,
and leave them homeless and ruined.
They were gallant pioneers of system
which has been perfected TO a-degrec
never dreamed of thirty years ago, and
st. Paul is proud of the men who, with
out recompense, in the early days ran
with the old machine"