The Arizona sentinel., 1901-04-03
Is Much Superior to Its Fire Service. Thinks the Sent.nePs Censure Un;ust--Shifts. Blame Cn Volunteer Fire De-
 partment.
WOULDN'T THIS JAR YOUa"
"A Word in Defense" etc., etc

at the power house net having been started.
 ''The lack of pressure came from mud in the hydrant pipe line, which had not been flushed out for mCnths. The hvdrants are leased to and are | under the care of the department, and should be flushed out weekly. While it is not our duty to attend to | the flushing of hydrants, we shall in 1 the future attend to it in order that it | may not be again overlooked. If the i Sentinel would only make. fair inves- tioatiOn before 1t assumes the position | of fudge and critic, it would get nearer | to the facts anl not do us so much in- justice.
 ''H. w. BLAISPELL, Manager.
 The above. which was printed in the Sun last week, is 8 feeble attempt to de- fend CT extenuate the water company's almost criminal negligence as regards the so-called fire service as furnished to the city of Yuma, which every man, woman and child in the town knows has never been of any earthly accou nt in time of fire.
 It will be noticed that Mir. Blaisdell does not attempt to deny the Sentinel's charge of the insuiIiciency of the water pressure at the recent fire, but attempts to throw the responsibility for hy- drants belng clogged (with tar, mud,
 or what not) upon the shoulders 0t the Yuma volunteer fire department. His statement that the hydrants are leased to and under the care of the fire de-
 partment, and that it is their duty to
 see that the pipe lines and hydrants
 are flushed out and kept clear, is ab- surd. The Yuma fire department is composed of body of men who give
 their time and efforts to saving proper
 ty whenever there is fire, absolutely
 free. They get no remuneration for
 their services, and we must say that
 when they have a chance they do mo-
 ble work, as was evidenced by the Post
 house fire. The contract for water service is between the company and
 the city of Yuma, and not with the
 volunteer fire department; and there Is nothing in the charter requiring the
 city to flush the hydrants, or keep the line clear of mud, tar or any other sub stance. The Yuma Water and Light Company has contracted to furnish eff fcient fire service, and this duty as a
 matter of course devolves upon that
 company.
 The trouble has always been with
 Mr. Blaisdell's water company that it's
 great efficiency was always absent
 when fire broke out, but after the property was destroyed, then the wa ter pressure was demonstrated to be ample. The fact that the pressure was sufficient the day after the fire tC
 throw a stream over the moon might
 be interesting to the spectators, but
 mighty poor consolation to the fellows
 who were burned out the day before
 because there was no water pressure. The SENTINEL could perhaps fee
 more charitable about the matter i the Post house fire was the first eXhl bitiOn of ineficiency on the part of the : water company. But there are others First the big fire on the west side O Main street, between First and Second | about three years ago. Thousands O. t dollars went up in smoke because there was no water. Second, the GandOlf( building burned and six persons per } ished in the flames. No water. Third 2 in July, 1909, a whole block destroyed 5 bv fire on the east side of Main street : No water. Fourth, the recent fire i March 22nd. when two houses would Q have been burned instead of one had : not been for the Southern Pacific : switch engine.
 For the manager of the Yuma Wate1 l, and Light Company to insinuate tha the SENTINEL is unjust in its criticism : is not the truth. The SENTINEL l ,, more inclined to praise than to crit e else. It always desires to give credl e where it is due, and wonld be proud t. r chronicle the news that Yuma's wate e service was second to none in ef1icienc e and would take great pleasure in doin, 'f so if the facts justified it; and we cal e nestly hope both for the credit of tn It town and water company and for tn t sake of lower rates of insurance an e safety for property that we may yet b
 able to publish this as happy trutt Is To show that the SENTINEL is nc 1T alone in it's criticism we would respect d fully refer Mr. Blaisdell to the repol K of the late grand jury on this wate ], question, and trust that the compan 1t will profit by reading it carefully. is The SENTINEL certainly has goo Of cause for criticism of this compan. SC because through it's inefficiency, negl IS rence. or whatever it may be termed IT. the office has not only suffered in a le nancial way, but also in the loss of il as valuable records which money cOul 10 not replace.
 ey -
 e. Go to Geo. PaxtOn's store and get a m kinds of fruit, vegetables, cigars, es baccO. bread, cakes. pies. ct