Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-01-29

Fire Loddtes.'
Foreign Fire Fighters is the theme
of an interesting article by Fritz Nor
ris in the Cosmopolitan magazine.
Americans, he writes, are very prop
erly convinced that their firemen are
the best in the world. Still it can do
4 them no harm to understand that
there are others" even in effete
Europe 1t is, perhaps. difficult to
realize that King Edward was ever an
energetic active amateur fireman. but
there fre members of the London Fire
Brigade who remember him in that
role, as we'll as his friends, the Duke Of
Sutherland, Lord Arthur Somerset and
other young aristOcrats of the sixties
who never missed London fire if they
could help it, and who used to take a
very active part in fighting the flames
On one occasiOn-it was q tig fire at
the King and Queen Grauaries-the
then Prince of Wales greatly dis
tinguished himself, working till the
Precipitation poured down his face
which was blackened with smoke, and
narrowly escaped being crushed to
death when the towering walls, forced
out by the swollen grain, fell with a
crash that might have been heard a
mile away. Scarcely a soul recog-
nized him." my informant said; and
the very men who were working by his
side had no idea that the grimy per-
Spring fir man was the heir to the
throne of England. Captain Shaw, the
former chief of the London Fire
Brigade, has had the king by his side
at many big blaze, and always found
him a willing aid. The National Fire
Brgades' Union of Great Britain, en-
bracing nearly all the companies in
the United Kingdom, is a permanent
and pronounced organization with dis
tinguished membership and royal
patronage. The president, who is an
ardent friend Of the fremen and who
deyotes much of his time to their in
tercsts. is the Duke of Marlborough
The most successful reunion Of the
British Fire Brigades' Union of recent
years took place at Blenheim, and the
American Duchess was hostess to
thousand British firemen.
In Germany the fremen are often
hampered by absurd red tape and
good work is often prevented by the
a most rigid rules, for in Germany rules
are made to be obeyed. A fire started
one night not long ago in the apart
ment of an American who was staying
in Berlin, and the tenant rushed across
/ the street and turned in an alarm at
box. This particular street happened
to be the boundary line between the
city of Berlin and the town Of Chariot
tenburg, which is one of Berlin's SUI
burbs. The Americans apartments
were on the Berlin side, the fire-alarm
box on the Charlottenburg side. The
CharlOttenburg fire department re
spOnded to the alarm and found to it's
Indignation that it had been trifed
with by being summoned to a fire that
was out of its jurisdiction. The chief
hurried to the nearest box on the Ber-
lin side and turned in an alarm then
he hurried his ntan and apparatus
back to the engine house In the
course of time the Berlin firemen ar
rived and put out the remains of the
fire When the excitement was over
the American was arrested for giving
false alarm in the town of Chariot.
tenburg. but as his nationality raised
presumption that he was non compos
mentis. he was lucky enough to get
off with a reprimand.
OF course. discipline is necessary to
the weIIbeing and successful manage
ment of every organization. and a fire
department is no exception to the rule.
But military methods NAV be carried
to excess. even in fire department
and the writer remember. a very dis
trossirg TRAGEDY occurring in Berlin