The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-08-19

| iSllcL dSSOClaIlOn III COuISSlioh "i'h l this association beg leave to report that;
 l Whereas, The fire departments or the United States are body or men more numerous than almost any other class, amounting to hundreds Of thou- sands, yet they have never formed any national association for their mutual benefit. They are a class who take greater risks and their lives are more constantly in danger than any other class of citizens, therefore the greater the importance of banding themselves i together for mutual protection; there Tore would recommend the organization Of national relief association, the ob- Ject of which shall be to provide fund for the relief of sick and disabled fire men, their widows and orphans; ana would further recommend that com- mittee of four be appointed to carry out the plan as suggested"
 In accordance with the recommenda- ! ton, Chiefs Stockell, Hills, Hendrick and McCool were appointed commit tee to carry out the suggestions con- | tained in the resolution.
 At subsequent meetings of the asso- citation reports were made and this | topic discussed.
 The general opinion of the associa- tion has been favorable to such an or 1 Sanization but the necessity for thor ough investigation as to the best meth cd has delayed action. We are now full ly prepared to consider this question | intelligently and arrange for such an organization as shall be an honor to us and lasting benefit to our member ship. l therefore recommend that | committee be appointed to review the actions of previous conventions and formulate plan for adoption at our | next meeting.
 The association voted to order the paper on file. A few contrary votes were registered.
 The next paper. was on What Sys- tenn of Government is Most Productive of Good Discipline and Efficiency in Fire Departments? It was prepared by Chief G. w. Burris of Columbus, Ga, and was in part:
 This question is one of the most inn | portant that confronts us, and there 1 fore should be participated in by every one that could throw any light on the subject, and should be dissected to the utmost meaning of the word Since I | became a member of this association l I have heard, at every meeting, of some absentee being deposed of his office by politicians.
 Politics, as we are well aware, is the greatest stumbling block to the govern ment and efficiency of fire depart ment. I am glad to say that I have ] had no experience in that line, but I have read and heard of it being prac- ticed in many cities, and always result ed disastrously to them. My opinion is that the whole subject should be left to the chief, who should be, as his name indicates, the head of the department, and subject to the orders of no one, and to be in absolute control of the men, with power to hire and discharge them; and be. responsible for his conduct to the city authorities.
 When a chief is clothed with such authority he commands the utmost re- spect and obedience of his men, as they know full we'll that their situation is in his hands and any violations of the rules governing the department will subject them to be dismissed or pun ished in accordance with the enormity of the breach committed.
 '"The principle drawback to volunteer organiza tions is the election of a chief l every year from different companies of the department. It would be better to continue him in office as long as his record as commanding officer is good, as it is well known that every good | fireman does not make a good officer. Besides as chief he needs experience in that capacity, and if they are changed annually the man elected will have to gain by experience what his predeces- sor already knows, therefore, the effi- ciency of that department is somewhat impaired. As a volunteer I served 20 years, and during that time we had only five chiefs and two of them were only for one year each, and the conse- quence was the entire department loved and respected them and was always anxious and willing to obey their com mands and never afraid to go where they directed. I recently read in the Firemans Herald "that company positively refused to obey the orders'' of their chief and would only receive orders from the committee on fire de- partment. The question naturally arises in my mind that the said com- mittee must attend all fires so as to make that company effective, if not, are they fit for anything but an orna- ment, and an ornamental fireman is, as we express ii in Georgia, a knot on a log That chief should order that company disbanded or his department will soon go to pieces, as the other companies will cease to respect his au- thority, as the other one has done, and receive the sanction of thei- ire com mittee
 with this outline I leave the matter 1 to the general consideration of the con- vention, and ask if any member has given the subject any study and can add in any way to the advancement of the subject, I most urgently ask that he give us the benefit of his research | and assist us in bringing the fire ser vice to it's highest degree of discipline ] and efficiency"
 Upon the motion of delegate the as- sociation voted to strike out that part of the paper making personal allus- ions
 Secretary Hills read a paper on What constitutes well equipped and efficient fireman in the volunteer ser vice?" This article was prepared by ex-Chief J. A. Crawford, and provoked a general discussion over the method of obtaining the best results with volun- i teer man.