The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-08-21

Chief Zizelmann, the new head of
the fire department, has decided that
to pull the department through the
year in any kind Of shape and not pile
up large amount of deficiencies to be
provided for in next years appropria-
tion ordinance. he will have to see. that
the most rigid economy is practiced
by each and every member of the de-
partment.
With this end in view he has, himself,
already instituted several reforms He
announced to Tribune man, yesteT-
day, that he had commenced the pur-
chase of hay, straw and oats in car
load lots, and maintained that by this
means alone he expected to save the
city, at the lowest estimate, $1,000 a
year.
The custom heretofore followed in the
purchasing of horse feed has been to
buy it in small quantities, from num-
Der of small retail dealers, without
having any special standard price.
Mr. Zizelmann, when member of
the auditing committee protested Wig
orously one night against the passage
of about a dozen assorted feed bills all
from different firms, and the price
charged verying about three or four
cents in each instance. He then said
that councils should order the pur-
chase of all feed by the carload lot,
but councils never ordered it and the
old system was kept up until Mr.. Ziz-
elmann assumed office.
About two weeks ago he purchased
carload of oats from George Easterle
& Co., the price charged being 311R
cents a bushel. The average price
paid under the former system was
about 80 cents bushel, so that pur-
chasing by the carload lot means q
saving of ~ cents a bushel or of
$l12.50 on 1900 bushels. About 5000
bushels Of oats are required every year
so that the annual saving on this item
alone will amount to about $400.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE SAVING.
The chief also maintains that by pur-
chasing straw and hay in a similar
manner he will be able to save even
more than with the oats. a bill for
a carload of oats may look big at first,
said he, but purchasing it this way
will pay in the end. The oats are
kept stored in the dealers warehouse.
| subject to order from the chief, so that
the objection of there being no room to
store them is thus done away with.
The chief also stated that there
would be no parade of the depart
ment this year so that the appropria-
tion of $1,000 for this purpose may be
| diverted to other uses. He says he
will have the various pieces of appa-
ratus and the permanent men from
| each company assembled on Wyoming
avenue for inspection by the mayor and
| cOuncilmen. This will dispense with
| the expense of bands, and extra horses
| needed for a parade.
| These are not the only ways in
which the chief intends to economize.
| In the course of a conversation with
| Tribune man yesterday he said:
You would be surprised if you could
see the harness and equipment of all
| kinds that has been discarded to make
| room for new. Some of it can be
utilized for years with the expenditure
| of few cents. There are horse col
| lars, for instance which can and which
| will be made to last for a consider
| able length of time by eXpending 20
| cents on them; there are play pipes
| which have been thrown aside for new
| ones when they could have been re-
| turned to the factory and have been
credited up for 81 each and there is any
amount Of small stuff which 1 shall
endeavor to have repaired and put in
| use.
| WON'T BE BULLDOZED.
| There has been too much of the
men from various companies coming
| around and threatening what they will
| have done by councils if they don't
| get something new which they don't
| need for their house. If anything new
is needed and needed badly I'll see
that it is secured If possible, and if
it's not needed they won't get it. Talk
of threatened councilmanic action
won't have anything to do with it,"
The ordinance providing for the
transfer of $2,125 from various unex-
pended balances to the use of the fire
department will be reported favorably
by the fire committee of common coun-
ell, Thursday night, and will undoubt-
edly pass first and second readings as
|