Idaho Springs siftings., 1904-02-13
Hose Company No. Holds Smoker.

at their club room Wednesday night, and
it proved to be one of the most enjoyable
and beneficial of any OF these meetings
yet held. Owing to several counter at
fractions. many of the members and a
few OF the invited guests were unable
to be present. much to their own regret
and to the Company as we'll. Toastnaster
c. p. Puterbaugh presided and showed
himself to be past master in this most
difficult position. and he was ably Sec
| onded by Fire Chief Harry Robinson.
The first topic up for discussion was
Attending Funerals. presented by Chas
Fluke. who contended that in case of
the death of a member, all fremen
should make a special effort to attend
the funeral. Pete Holster and r. p.
Morrison also spoke on the subject and
it was the general sentiment of all that
more special attention should be given
this matter in future.
Should Firemen Be Sober at All
Times" was introduced by S. ]. Varney.
and the matter brought every member to
his feet at once. The opinions expressed
evidenced the fact that the fire laddies
are temperate lot of men, and at all
times keep their systems free from con-
Eliminating influences. There was not a
voice raised in opposition to the belief
that fireman should be perfectly sober
at all times. c. c. Welden, Cliff King.
Chief Robinson and f. J. fluke led in
the discussion.
Ed. COLON contended that single men
made the best timber for fremen when
introducing his subject. "Single Men as
Firemen." and brought out some good
points to subsiantiaie his position. but
George Curnow, Ed. Rouse and others
vigorously combatted the proposition
and defended the b~nedicts. The round
ended in a draw, honors being even.
Perhaps the most interesting theme
discussed was that Of "Our Water Sys-
tem," by B. A. Potter. As assistant
chief of the department. Mr.. Potter has
many good suggestions. The speaker,
in well chosen Language. went into the
matter in detail. not omittipg to pay
deserved compliment to the city council
and the water commissioner for their ef-
fort 10 meet the needs Of the city with
the present equipment He advocated
many radical changes in the system to
meet the requirements Of tina city. and
showed himself to be thoroughly conver-
SAINT with the subject. Chief Robinson
also made some splendid suggestions as
to the water question. and while his ideas
differed in the main from Mr.. Potter's.
still the re- suits would attain the same
end eventually never rfsiling, adequate
water supply for fire purposes aud domes-
tic use. While on his feet the chief de-
parted from the topic long enough TO
suggest some good ideas for the depart
n,ent TO adopt, chief of which was the
wedding out of the ranks the drones and
reducing the city's FIRE. fighting force
from Io6 to So members, thus giving
them really active squad under one
b ad.
John Iveson, .he oldest fireman in the
city. was present and made a few remark
for the good of the department. l.. NJ.
Hupp enlivened the time between
speeches with selections on his talking
machine which added greatly to the
pleasure of the evening. When the ora
tory was at its height. several ladies.
wives and well wishers Of the fremen.
entered the hall unannounced, and thus
contributed large share to the evenings
enjoyment.
And then came the feast. And such
spread it was, Everything the market
affords was there in abundance and most
sppetizingly prepared, and when the
order to face to" was given, il met with
hearty response. and not soul left the
banquet board unsatisfed.
All in ali il was a most pleasant event
and these social gatherings go far toward
holding interest in the volunteer FIRE de-
partmeut