Omaha daily bee., 1895-08-23

Sioux City Times: The Denver hotel hor.
ror is another of those which are due en-
tirely to carelessness or incompetence and
an effort to economize where economy is
worse than wastefulness.
Kansas City Star: The terrible catastropbe
which resulted in the death of so many peo-
pie in the Gumry hotel in Denver is only
what might have been expected from the
employment as engineer Of a boy IL years
of age who was in the habit of drinking
whisky. He was drunk at the time the eX-
plosioI occurred. All fatalities of this ma
ture proceed directly from carelessness, and
no warning has ever been sufficiently i'm
pressive to prevent their recurrence.
Chicago Post: Inspectors whose duty It Is
TO look after such matters should take warn
ing from Denver and see to it that no cheap
men are employed to tend the engines in
buildings and that only regularly licensed
engineers are i~ntrusted with these response
bic duties. In this city no man can follow
an engineers vocation without an engineers
license. Whatever the law may be in Den
yer, IL is not likely that young Loescher had
a license. A boy of II cannot possibly get
the experience necessary to entitle him to
one.
Chicago Tribune: The loss of life and
property was increased by the interference
of electric wires. They INSTRUCTED the fire
men. This is only one of many instances of
inconvenience arising from electric wires
strung above ground in the cities. and 1t
ought to furnish another argument for placing
all such wires underground. There has been
no lack of arguments thus far, but they have
not been ~effectual to put the wires where
they belong. To the more simple telegraph
and telephone wires of a few years ago we
now have added the cables which carry far
more powerful currents for electric lighting
and trolley wires for the transmission OF
motor force to street railway systems, and
all are very much in the way when a big fire
is to be dealt with.
Buffalo Express: The terrible loss of life
In Denver seems to have been due to the
fact that the owners OF the hotel that was
blown up had hired as night engineer q
cheap boy, who got drunk. Too many own
ers Of stationary engines take these desner.
ate chances in order to save a few dollars
New York World: The explosion of the
boilers of the Gumry hotel in Denver is per
haps the first accident of the kind on record
in hotel history. In view of the increasing
frequency of accidents Of all kinds the aver,
age citizen is forced for consolation to the
Kismet doctrine of Emerson, who held that
ION two days it steads not to run from thy
grave, the appointed and the unappointei
days; for on the first neither balm nor ply.
siclan ca. save. nor thee on the second the
universe STAY"
Kansas City Times: This should he a
warning to all hotel proprietors and owners
OF large buildings in which heating or me,
chanlcal requirements necessitate the use OF
steam plants. 1t is too often the case that
competent men, DO are addicted to lntem.
perate habits, make mistakes while under
the influence Of ltqpor. Such men rarely
hold a position long, but wander about from
one place to another, keeping a position unit
some bunder OF theirs necessitates their dis.
charge. Again seeking employment. they
ofer their services at lower wages in order
to obtain a position, A proprietor may
think that he has done a good days worl
In reducing expenses by employing them
That this is not so is sometimes rarely ap.
preciated by men whose business It is to Iool
into such matters.