Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1901-12-06
WHY NOT SAVE $4,000?
IN THE REORGANIZATION OF THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT.

Besides would be Dlsorganlzatlon lhsteau
of Reorganization The Comparative Cost
of Permanent and Mongrel Systems, Based
on 10 Years Experience How the Village
Should Proceed.
Local discussion is getting lively
over the bailiffs' plan for the reorgan-
ization of the Fire Department, as
published last week, and there are a
good many aspects of the matter that
need careful thought before the voters
meet to act next Thursday evening.
The bailitfs submit it as plan for a
"thorough" reorganization; but II is
good ways from that. One critic
pronounces it nothing but scheme to
get rid of three or four men in the
Department known as dead wood
whom there is ample authority already
to "bounce" if anybody is willing to
take the responsibility tSee page | of
the Rules of the Department. isued in
SO when it was reorganized into its
present shape. In some respects the
bailitfS' plan is step in the right dl-
rection, but it is such a mighty short
one as to be hardly worth the effort IA
village meeting means to take. More
over, some VI lHC Nttullo plOBN91' "a y
Objectionable.
The bailitfs' plan in short is to re
duce the membership of each com
pany by two or three men, by consoll-
dating the Iositions of assistant fore
men and clerks, by having one stew
ard only for the whole department in
stead of one for each company, cutting
the number of hosemen for each
steamer from II TO 10, and the men on
the Hook n Ladder from l6 to IA, and
of the hose companies TO 10 each. be-
sides the officers, and by increasing the
number of men in the Esteyville Co.
from six to seven. besides a foreman 4;
and then by cutting the pay of the
latter from 80 to s. year, and rals-
ing the pay of all the other tiremen
from $50 to S24 and of foremen from
SO TO $50 to effect a net saving of Just
500 a year.
There is no apparent reason why the
positions of assistant foremen and
clerks cannot be consolidated. But
that is about all that can be said un-
Ioualifiedly in favor of the plan.
Doubtless greater efficiency can be Sc
cured by eliminating "deadwood'
and paying to such less men as are left
/ in each company the extra money for
doing the work but it hardly seems
necessary to 'reorganize' TO bring
that about. and at best the relief is
only temporary, for as tiremen grow old
and move to distant parts of the VII
lape 'deadwood" viii again accumu
late. The proposal about steward does
not appear. we understand. quite as
the bailiffs intend it. Their idea is
/ that one steward should care for the
main engine and the Hook " Ladder
houses. but that of No. g Hose com
panv is so far away that another Will
be necessary there. That means, be
sides No. q, one steward at SO instead
of four at $50 nova saving of Just -.
Considering that besides taking care
of the houses the duties of the stewards
include the serving of coffee at long
and hard fires, it may we'll be ques-
toned if the change is worth while.
The largest total reduction is on the
Hook Il Ladder complement, from u
to 1G men and the simple truth Is that
with so heavy a truck and in village
all hills, there are not men enough
now to get to fires in season. There
ought to be an increase rather than
reduction in the number, unless reg
ular provision can be made for horses
TO draw the truck then 10 men might
answer to handle the ladders, etc.
The cut by half in the pay of the
Fstevville firemen while increasing
that of the others certainly looks IN
vidiouS on its face and Is met 10y
threats of disbandment there: ana that
roupanv was one of the conditions upon
which present insurance rates were OBJ
famed The argument for reduction Is
that the ESteyville company Is only
required to respond to alarms IN that
portion of the village, including the
Rirre street section. and Prospect HILL
But their pay was originally fixed for
that reason at une-half that of the
other fremen. whereas the proposal
now is to cut il to substantially one
fifth. In fact a little more than the
whole decrease in expenses proposed
. $50 to $50 is to come from tins com
pany.
The bailitfs propose that the names
of all officers, including those elected
bv companies, be submitted to them
for appointment that is, that they,
with the chief engineer, have entire
and absolute power over the officerlng.
| The argument for the proposal Is that
as is only the same power as they have
had before. though it has not been
exercised. and that the idea is only to
preserve it as a sort of reserve. But
the fact is that il would be a radical
change. as may again be seen by re
ferring to the Department Rules OF
| 1856. where the power of electlng
their officers is given absolutely and
/ finally to the companies. And 1t Is
true that argument for the proposal
has been made that all the officers OF
the department ought to be absolutely
the appointees of the bailitfs. The
practical effect of that would be prob
ably to break up the companies. Vol
unteer companies, even military. are
allowed 10 elect their own officers ana
there is no reason why volunteer hre
companies shouldn't have the same
right. Even as "A reserve power, while
il might sometimes be beneticlally
exercised. as an average and IN the
long run it would more times do harm
than good: else our whole theories OF
Americanism are a fallacy. The men
of each company are better qualified
than anv outside power to decide who
among them would make the best
foreman. for instance. The chief en-
rineer. always man of long expert
ence. is better qualified to select ms
assistants than bailitfs who are usually
GOOD business or professional men.
When factional feeling runs high, a.
in SiIas Waite'S dav. it can be readily
seen how such absolutism of power
Il. mo E u