San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-06-01
THE CHIEFS..VIEWS.
SALARIES OF FIREMEN SMALL
ENOUGH.
If Any Salaries Are to Be Cut,
Then Cut His and Leave the
.Firemen's-An Alderman Says
Likewise-Some Valuable
Hints to the Fire Boys.i

Chief Kehoe, of the fire depart
nnent, in speaking Of the proposed
reduction of salaries Of firemen of
this city, and the cutting off from
service of the hook and ladder COM
pany, by the committee on econo-
my of the city council, thinks it an
ill-advised movement that. will
work serious harm to the whole
city. The firemen of San Antonio,
he says, are the poorest paid men
in the service in the United States.
They have to use a great deal Of
their money, too, for clothes, as the
service is very hard on their cloth
ing. No matter how man is
dressed, when the fire bells ring he
is bound to go, and good deal of
clothing is thus spoiled, for a fire.
man can't stop to think of how
dirty he will get at fire.
The men have now no way to
care for themselves if they should
fall sick or be hurt in the service.
They have no insurance benefit If
thew should die and no benefit So
-ciety if they should fall sick and
need friends.
II their salaries are cut they will
then be down to simply a bread
and meat basis and can't stand it.
They can't live.
81 have been trying to get them
to form a Mutual Benefit associa-
ton. The department consists Of
so men; ii with myself. The sum
of 80 per month could be put by
for a year by each man and then,
you see, the treasury would con-
tain 81 200, a nice sum in case Of
need, and there would be no agents
commissions or other costs to be
paid out for such insurance.
"Then, when the boys save some
valuable property from destruc-
ton they could in this
society, receive very proper
ly any donations which the
gratitude of owners of proper
ty chose to dictate, which, they
can not now, as they stand, indi-
vidually, accept. Such offers in
the past they have had to refuse,
on this score.
"The fire department, you and
everybody else knows, is running
Just as economically as it can. l
have not turned in any of those
former test alarms, because it
costs the city every time an alarm
is given, at least $50 in wear and
tear and damage to machinery OF
apparatus. am trying to save, too,
by doing the electricians work for
the same salary Of fire chief. This
saves the city 1925 per month and
a feed bill for the horse formerly
allotted the electrician, but 1
would willingly go further and
submit to having my salary cut
rather than see the salaries Of the
mon reduced.
because they SIT around and
seem so idle is no criterion to go
by. They stick to their engine
houses and are always ready.
They keep their apparatus bright
and clean and some of these days
if high building should burn and
human lives be lost through lack
of the aerial truck and the skillful
boys who form it's attendants,
there will be terrible howl go up
at the shortsighted policy now
seemingly exercising some Of our
aldermen.
zone alderman, in speaking of the
matter to me today, is of my
opinion. He says he will agree to
serve the city as alderman
for the rest of his term
without any salary il the
police and firemen's salaries can
be allowed to remain at their pres
-ent figure. l feel sure when the
matter is brought before the
mayor and the councilmen in it's
proper light there will be revul-
sion of feeling in this matter and
the economic committee will per-
haps be induced to investigate
some other places where judicious
trimming may produce an added
revenue to the city's Golfers"