The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-06
SAvANNAH'S FIRE SERvIc
INSURANCE MEN NOW KIcx
TOO MUCH POLITICS.

The Claim Made That the MAJ
ment of the Department
Remedied i'm This Respeet-rS
Water supply. the Apparatn
Fighting Fires and the Copd,a
of the Streets satisfactory.
Atlanta, Ca, Dec. 5.-Milton NJ
chairman of the committee Of the soY's
eastern Tariff Association which roo.s
visited Savannah for the purpose 90
vestigating the fire department anda.
water supply has completed the rano.
his committee. It is now in the bans
Charles c. Fleming, secretary of the as,,
citation, who will have it printed
copies sent out to the various came
of the association. This will he a.
some time next week Until the r,ba'
ton of the report Secretary Fleming :
fuses to allow it to go out to the ron.,
papers. Mr.. Dargan, chairman of a
committee, however, this afternoon o.,
the Morning News an interview. in VIII,
he stated the substance Of the reno,,
THE bulk of the report" said Mr. M.
gan, lis composed of facts and statis,o,,
information obtained from the Officials :,
the city government, and which might
obtained by any one interested in the ma,
ter. Therefore, even if it We're pronar ;,
give the report to the press before If Id,
been published to the companies, l do M
think this part would be>of much pub,
interest to the people of Savannah"
When asked about the recommendatm,
of the committee with regard 10 the s'
department and the water supply M
Dargan said: 1T is not the province 4
our committee to attack individual,
Neither our association nor the committa
which visited Savannah desires to be m.
derstood in that light; that is not our bus.
mess. Our committee found that the eOu5.
ment of the department is all that coua
be asked for, and the same applies to Nm
water supply. We found nothing to Grill
else in either. The city has. done and
doing all that could be asked in supplying
apparatus for the fire department, and in
improving and extending the water sun.
ply, and I may say is in these respects
much better off than, for Instance a city
like Charleston. where the Insurance com.
pdtll6S nave always Deen making n0ney,
though we have for years been doing
losing business in Savannah.
1--WE can only judge by results. We have
no reason to believe that the personnel
the fire department in Savannah is nota
good as anywhere. But the management
certainly is not. The results show that
And while J say we do not criticise nd.
viduals, with the apparatus with which
the department is supplied and the So.
perior quality of the streets of the city,
making it easy to use this apparatus, the
fires have been very disastrous.
1.-The trouble with the management Of
tho department is, Think, that it is sub.
servient to political factions. The chief
may be fully qualified for his position
and, Individually, the men under him may
be well adapted TO their work; but thu
fact that they all depend upon poltca
influence to obtain and hold their posi-
tions demorahzes the whole departmn
for effective work when the emergenG
arises. No department can be success
fully organized and maintained under suc
conditions. This is a matter of courst
for the city to manage, but we do no
believe thatthe department can be brough
up to the requisite standard of effective
ness until the system under which it is Oh
Grated is reorganized."
Mir. Dargan does not state what recon
mendation is made in regard to rates. Til
Will be announced after the report is put
liSned to the companies.