The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-26

Ine G i o D e sincerely hopes Cnat the
popular subscription started for the bene-
fit of the families of the surviving fire
men will be successful in the extreme.
Rarely have the people of ST. Paul been
so stirred in their feelings of sorrow and
sympathy by local incident as they
have by the awful catastrophe which be-
fell these men. There is now no posi-
hle way by which anything like adequate
provision for these mems families can be
made save in the manner suggested. And
while the response which has been made
by our people to the recent call for aid
from Galveston has been Of the most gen.
erous character, there is little fear but
that they will meet the sad requirements
of the recent disaster in manner CORE
spending with their action whenever an
occasion of that general character is
presented to them.
No matter how generously our people
contribute to the relief of these dis
tressed people, the fact remains that the
burden does not belong to them and
would not be imposed on them were il
not that no adequate public provision ey-
lists to meet such a sad contingency. The
G b has expressed the belief that
the municipality has a duty in such a
contingency to make provision for the
families of men who die in its service
as these men did That view will be
shared in by all humane people. How
ever, such provision can best be made,
it ought to be made 1t is always FEAST
BILE to establish fund to meet such
cases. The city should at least contrib
ute literally to such a fund maintained
for the care of members of the fire de-
partment who may become disabled in
their performance of their duty, and for
the protection of the families of those
who are killed ..~----t 81 {.
Fifteen hundred dollars is indeed 4
small sum to be placed at the disposal
of family, no matter how small, which
has been deprived of its head Within
a year Of the death Of the head OF sucn
a family the battle of life remains to be
unaided, for such an amount, when dis,
posed of in the maintenance of wife and
children, soon disappears in the indis-
pensable demands which are made upon
it. The public has a short memory at
best, and the rush of events soon blots
out from the popular mind all thought
of even an occurrence as sad as that
which took place within a few days at
the Transfer
1t would represent sound public poll
cy, and be an entirely humane proceed
ing, were provision made at once where
by the city and county could become COR
tributors in the future to fund to be
established to meet such cases as this.
The relief fund established by the men
themselves could thus be supplemented
so that, instead of receiving a paltry
sum inadequate to do more than meet
the most distressing needs of the imme-
date future, provision could be made
whereby every member of the fire de-
partment would be conscious when he
was called on to do some piece Of duty
which involved the risk of his life, that
the community and his fellows would in
case of his death take care of those who
were dependent on him, not for year
or any other brief period, but until the
work which would be incumbent on him
were he to survive would be adequately
performed.
If there is no warrant in the new char
ter for the setting aside of the public
funds to such a iaudable undertaking,
the legislature should be appealed to next
winter for the passage of a general
law which will enable the several NUM-
cipalities of the state to make such pro-
vision for the protection of the men
who risk their lives daily in the discharge
of their duties as fremen