The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-03-29

ings are low and small, as in a small
city ike ours, the occupation OF a fire
man Is not particularly hazardous. II
you viii look at this history Of the de-
partment, you viii find that very few
accidents have happened to fremen while
in attendance upon fires
in view of the small portion of each
year when he is in actual attendance
upon fires, / do not think that bis en-
pioyment is az hazardous as that Of
the ordinary employee in the principal
avocations Of the city. As you know. a
granite cutter, Jumper, carpenter or a
teamster are subjected to risks almost
hourly, and l think that it may be
fairly said that any one OF these avo-
cations are more hazardous than that
Of q fireman in city ike ours
Fourth: The pay proposed is above
the average Of the different callings of
the city. A good fireman, ii in good
health, needs to lose very little, if any,
time. There will be no shut downs
that will throw him out Of employment,
nor viii he have to shift about from one
situation to another on account of scar
city Of work; nor is his calling one that
is dependent upon the different seasons
OF the year, as is largely true Of carpen-
ters and masons and other like callings.
The pay would be in addition to lodg-
ing that would be furnished free Of ex-
pense to him, and this (free Iodginnl
would be in the nature Of an additional
compensation. Ii we take the highest
paid laborer in our city OF any con
siderable body of mentor instance the
granite cutterI think it will be found
true that the average cutter does not
average seven hundred and eighty five
dollars a year, dedueting the time for
enforcd idleness. II we take the other
callings like that of the carpenters,
Jumpers, clerks, etc, from among whom
candidates may be named, and probably
viii be chosen, if qualified, without dis
tinetion Of calling, we win find that
the pay Of sixty-tive dollars per month
is much above the average.
1t comes to this, then, that people
who have not SO desirable calling in
many respects as that Ok fireman. and
whose income Is more meagre than that
proposed for tiremen, will have to pay
taxes out Of 4 lesser income and smaller
opportunities for continuous work, in
order to support firemen on higher wages
in a more favorable employment. We
occupy position OF trust between the
tax payers and that of the employees
Of the city, and we are bound under oir
oaths to d prudential ana economical
administration Of the affairs Of the city
Would we be doing our dirty to support
the ffemen out OF the hard earnings
Of less favored citizens with SO liberal
compensation as Is proposed By this
resolutiong
Fifth. Az we are aware, our city Ii
heavily burdened with expenses ii pro-
portion to its grand list. 1t is probably
/ true that no other city in this state
has SO little wealth per capita Is our
city. We have few, if any persons who
can be called rich people. The result
u, that the common people. working
under common conditions and receiving
less compensation for more lahorious
labor than is required Of the firemen, will
have 70 pay the city employees more
than the average wage Of other voca-
tions in the city. IL Is true that many
Of our citizens feel that the city could
not afford at the present time to incur
the expense that now appears necessary
for building and equipping new fire
station and maintaining paid fire de-
partment. Our sister city of Montpelier,
with a much larger grand list and a
lower rate Of taxation has not yet found
| it prudent to establish such d depart
ment as we have done; and insurance
rates have not been raised because OF
the want Of things that we have sup
piled.
BY looking at the estimated expenses
for 1905, as made by the finance COM
Continued on Fourth Pace.