Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-02-17

WASHINGTON. D. c., Feb. Z.
A ROLL Of manuscript as large
~ as a rolling-pin reached the
~ speaker of the house yesterday.
1t carried a pathetic story Of
a nations ingratitude toward
one of it's children: story as inter-
esting as az novel, and one not alto
gether devoid of humor. 1t is a tale OF
troubles that beset the Honolulu fire
department. Hos aft
A chapter relates that the local gov
eminent OF Honolulu saved over $780,
900 for the United States by not charg-
ing the war departments transports
for piIotage and water as all other
ships are charged Another chapter
tells how the United States recipro-
Gated this favor by running all the
hose the Honolulu fire department had
in stock, and then for nearly two years
refused to replace the hose. Still an
other chapter is devoted to narratlng
a plan by which the hose can be re-
placed without compromising the gov
eminent; a petition to congress, IN
fact, for an appropriation for TINS
purpose. n
on November 6, 1900, pile of coal on
the wharfs at Honolulu. the property
of the United States, caught fire from
spontaneous combustion. Some one
saw the smoke and turned in the tre
alarm. The fire department responded
with its usual promptness, perhaps
and turned a stream of water from us
hand pump onto the burning coal pile.
The fire wouldn't be put out by hand
pump 1t refused to quit though the
Honolulu laddies worked incessantly
for several days to make 1t quit.
Then some one, the records fail to
state which one, suggested that the
engines of the United States steamship
Iroquois, then in port, might be or some
assistance in putting out the fire In the
coal pile. The suggestion seemed a
good one. The chief of the Honolulu
fire department adopted 1t. He ordered
the fremen to unhitch the hose, all the
hose he had from the hand engine.
They obeyed. He ordered them to hitch
the hose to the engines of the lroquois.
They obeyed again. This last act OF
obedience indirectly put the brave lad
dies out of business, for.
Three days later the. fire in the coal
pile gave up it's ghost OF smoke, put
the Honolulu fire departments hose
lay ruined. The powerful pressure OF
the vessels engines had thumped 1t
against the ground and wrecked It,
The firemen sadly unhitched the hose
and dragged 1t to headquarters, where
they coiled 1t up like huge dead
snake This was on November 18th,
exactly one week after the fire in the
coal pile was discovered.
Then began the formation of the vol
ume which reached the speaker of the
house yesterday.
Captain A. Shaker, of the Sixth artil-
Iery, on duty in Honolulu, wrote the
first chapter 1t was letter to j.
Hunt, chief of the Honolulu fire de-
partment, commencing the work of the
chief and his men. The chief wrote the
next. II was a letter of thanks to the
captain for his praise, but 1T wound up
with the suggestion that 500 feet OF new
hose would be appreciated In view OF
the fact that all the hose the depart
ment had lay ruined from the hght
which the captain so generously COM
mended.
The subsequent chapters were writ
ten by various and sundry officials OF
the United States government TO
whom the first two chapters were re-
ferred during a period of nearly two
years following the indictment of the
chiefs letter to the artillery captain.
Captain Shaker sent the chiefs letter,
together with another of his own de-
scribing the fire and its fatal result on
the hose to the chief quartermaster
of the department of California at San
Francisco. But ere he dispatched the
epistle the year 1900 had died and the
date of January 2, 1901, had been born.
To the chief quartermaster of the
department of California Captain Sla-
ker confided in his letter the informa-
ton that the local government of Hon
olulu had saved 100000 for the United
States by refusing to accept money for
pilotage and water supplies to trans
ports. He also recommended that the
hose be replaced.
The chief quartermaster or the de-
partment of California referred the
documents, now assuming the proper
tions of a serial, to Adjutant General
Shafter of the department of Cali
fornia, he of Santiago fame. January
was half spent ere General Shafter
kicked the ball from the Pacific coast.
On the 18th of that month he referred
the documents to the adjutant general
of the army at Washington.
At Washington they got lost evident