Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-03-29

bay after day. week III and week out.
the evidences Of Mayor Iarrison's be-
lief that the fire department Is dcscrv-
ing of no special consideration during
these times of municipal bankruptcy.
crop ont AMI multiply.
The men of the department are slow.
ly coming To the conclusion that his
honor j. and has been all along of the
helirf that the iirr.iiglitrrs are more
than sufficiently paid for their services
and that IL any class OF public servants
should suffer H. Il result of the cNtrava-
gancc and Acknowledgement or olir civic
government. that class L. composed Of
the rank and Tile of the lire department.
There. II anywhere. the axe of en-
forced r.trenchment must br welded.
and from the slender pocket hooks of
the heroes. whose work H. of the kind
that cndear~ them Ia all the people,
must come the means to maintain AT the
public crib til" army OF laN.rutrrS
whose work il mainly ~ the primaries
and cndrarS them only to those ward
statesmen who deliver delegates IN CON
an questions Of all kinds In the city
Council
In other words. the payroll of the
non.partisan lire department must h"
cut In order that the payroll or llarrl.
son partisans In all other departments
may not suffer.
All the facts point Ia this as the pol
icy of the city administration just N
present. and the Mayor doesn't even
take the trouble to deny IL.
The Eagle takes the following. for
instance. from the columns "f last
Tuc>day's edition of the esteemed Tri-
bunc:
writers Association ar" still laborlng
To save the fire department from i'm.
pairment as u result of n reduced ap.
preparation. Monday President Tcall,
Chairman Holmes of the Special Com
mlttec. james W. Nyc. and several 9th.
ers had II long conference with the
Mayor. Controller. nnd Corporation
Counsel IN which they sought To have
the money appropriated for the high
pressure pipe system downtown divert
ed tn the salary account. They said
they could get along without the new
system for II year, but had Ia have fire
men.
The committee Is beginning to dcs-
pair Of accomplishing anything. and
some of the members are talking again
about n rate Increase, to stand ill the
department Is strengthened. They SAY
that the men are getting demoraliZed
because Of the dissatisfaction over the
hcicncy Is impaired
The committee is beginning to dies.
pair" Why:
Because Mayor Harrison has given 1t
AMI its mission the cold shoulder as he
seems Ia have given the cold shoulder
10 every other effort that has been
made 10 save and maintain the cfficicn-
cy Of the tire department.
Mayor Harrison has other fish To fry
just now besides thinking of the non
partisan lire department. The members
of the Fire Underwriters Association
are not adopts In practical politics" or
they would have known this.
They would have rccollcrtcd that
there II IN aldcrmanic ana town cam
paIgn on just NJ present, and the
friends, supporters and pets of the city
administration must De supported and
their political existence prolonged at
any cost.
They would know through the col
umns of the press and otherwise that
the reform Mayor Is Interested In the
election of several Of these admlnistra-
lion pets, ana their ward patronage"
must not be interfercd with for the
world. No chances must he run of
losing John COughlln's battle In the
First Ward, the Brennan tight in the
Twelfth, the Kent combat In the
Fourth, aud the other struggles Of al,
minstratlon pets In other parts of the
city by reducing the payrolls and the
patronage in these districts, Not If the
fire department had To be cut In two
and the police force reduced until moth
In Is left Of ii but chief O'Ncill and the
hagpipc brigade
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