Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-11-03
THE REAL lNwARoNess.
ne cause u The uassa's Attack es the
Flrenea and Police.

While the Unions devotion to
fossilized ideas is in itself suffi-
cient to occasion the ridiculous ex-
pressions that have come from it the
past two mornings in reference to the
relative merits Of paid and volun-
teer firemcn. its course this MORN
ing in resorting to personal attack on
the one hand on the chief of the fire
department for seeking to do his
duty. and on the other on the chief of
police for the same cause, is indica-
tive OF the fact the soreness with
which it became afflicted when the
people turned down Bill McConochie
is still affecting it. To say political
malice is at the root of the
nonsense and stupidity that have
characterized the morning papers
screed is perhaps. too charitable an
excuse. Relative to lighting fires in
telligentlv. and the advantage of
awaiting the arrival of the chief of a
paid department who makes it a
business, ION all occasions where fires
are not beyond the control of fire.
men. the Union seems to be totally
incompetent to rid itself of the idea
Of volunteers that when fire occurs
there should be as much damage
done by water as possible, no matter
how great the fire. The Unions way
OF thinking is that contest should
at once ice entered into when a fire
occurs to see which should do the
most damage, the fire itself, or the
tiremen with water. and il the latter
succeed-bravO firemen. Otherwise
the department has failed in its duty.
The Object "t the P.id Derartmeat
The object of paid department,
which it seems impossible to hammer
into the Unions head. is by prompt
response to prevent damage-to
save property. Not to food and
ruin n mans personal effects
while his house is burning, but
to locate q fire first and then put it
out with rs little use of water as pos
sible. Very often, indeed in the ma
jority Of cases. what appears to be =
Il
and attacked may be controlled, if
intelligently managed. without DAM
age to adjoining property. The OBJ
ject Of paid department, ALWAYS on
duty.is to prevent the inaiscriminate
use of water, and while it is some
times necessary to flood building,
the chances are that if the depart
ment gets there in time. this can be
saved. As for Chief Brahm. he
has made an intelligent and ca
pable chief SO far. Because
he was once volunteer, il
does not stand that he has learned
nothing in his two years experience
in q paid department. In fact, had
Mr.. Brahm not been q member of the
paid department, he would not have
been guilty Of the comparison the
Union makes between volunteers and
paid firemen. Because the Union has
failed 10 grasp the enlightened idea
is no reason that others should be Sc
lacking in ordinary human intellect.
And the fact that MIR. Brahm is not OF
the Unions stripe politically. is no
more to his discredit than the fact
that he does not agree with it on
methods of fire fighting.
A. For the Police Department.
As for the Unions attack on Chief
Of Police Sexton for seeking to dis.
cipline his force, it is only necessary
to say that it's criticism of the CHIEF
on one hand for suspending officers
for conduct unbecoming their posi-.
tons. and its assertion in the next
breath that 1.-The force is honeycomb.
ed and weakened by jealousies and
chickering's of which the Ryan.
Maucker affair is sample, and this
condition finds its explanation in the
fact that The ARGUS Sexton does
not possess the capacity and breadth
needed in man placed in command
of other men," is in itself evidence
of the morning papers consistency.
In the first place the statement as to
the condition of the force is false.
Rock Island has never had better
police force than that of the present
time. and it has never had chief the
equal of Michael H. Sexton, not
even barring the instigator OF
the Unions rubbish. There has
been one case where action or
the part of the chief was necessary
to promote discipline. He has taker
the matter promptly and properly il
hand, and has given the force to un
derstand what to expect-tOr this h
is asssiled by the Usion for no Other
reason than that he succeeded thu
Union Met Onochie chief in Office.