Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-18
MANY NAMES ARE
ADDED TO LIST
MERCHANTS EAGER FOR sALv-
AGE CORPS
old.Tlme Fire Captain Points Out
Necessity for Such Protection
and Says That II viii
Soon Come

Eager and anxious to ally themselves
with the many who have already de-
cIared in favor Of the salvage corps
plan as a means of protection from hre'
scores of business men have come for
ward during the past week and have
added their names to the list being
prepared by the Merchants and manu-
faciurers' association
That the time has come when the
business men of the city must take
steps to secure salvage corps Is ac-
knowledged by many prominent men
of Los Angeles who have joined the
committee at work on the plan.
Los Angeles has needed salvage
department for years, according to the
statements of fire chief and fire cap
tains and at no time In its history mas
IL been in greater need of such corps
than at the present time, when build
ings are constantly being torn down
and new ones being built.
Captain Favors Plan
In speaking of the proposed plan for
securing a protective department Tor
the city, George w. Conart, for many
wears one of the best known fire cap
tains of the east and a man who has
been identified, with nearly every hre
department from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, said:
of a salvage corps. That such large
and busy city as this should be with
out such means of protection is mys-
terry to the many thousands of eastern
business men who yearly visit here and
as a matter of course look over the fire
protection offered their brothers in
trade,
Il have been connected with various
companies from New York to Los An
gees for the past twenty-five years. I
spent five years in the local depart
ment under Chief Moore and inciden-
tally a man during a period of time
like that manages to learn few things
about the value of the protection to
stock during a fire. 1 have been with
the New York, Chicago and st. Louis
salvage corps and have seen them at
work and such system in Los Ange-
less would decrease the loss in all fires
more than fifty per cent.
"When q fire alarm is turned in a
protective corps is the first on the
scene Tie members of the corps dash
into the burning building and before a
drop Of water has reached the fire the
tables of stock, exposed to damage by
fire and water have been covered with
heavy tsrpaulins while the squeeges
have been nailed to the shelves.
Value InestmabIe
1.-THE worth of a salvage corps to a
big Wholesale or retail house where the
stock ssexposed and generally piled on
tables for inspection cannot be over
estimatsd, for with a heavy fire near
the root and the water pouring down
through the floors there Is bound to be
a total ioss to the company. A salvage
on Oat a
stock in such shape that not more than
quarter of 1t will be damaged. In
every big fire in Los Angeles during the
past few years a protective corps would
have cut the loss in two.
Another good feature of such a de-
partmelt is that as soon as fire has
been pit under control the men from
the corps station take charge of the
building and stock, post night guard
and arc absolutely responsible for the
building until the insurance adjusters
have gone over the building and have
completed their work.
z'T account for the fact that Los An
geles has been so long neglected in Sc
curing a salvage corps by considering
the situation of the city.
Los Angeles Safe
ut is a well known fact especially
among insurance men, that Los Ange-
les lis one of the safest cities in, the
world and insurance men will take al
most any chance here while in another
city they would demand all sorts Of
rates. AS a result Los Angeles receives
all the benefits of small insurance rates
under favorable circumstances to the
merchant. The hills about the city pro-
tect it from any winds while the down.
town section is so dotted with fireproof
buildings that 1t would be practically
impossible for a big fire to gain any
headway. 1t would burn one or two
small buildings before hitting a fire.
proof and that would be the end of it.
For that reason the insurance men
have paid but little attention to the fire
question in Los Angeles. but now be-
lieve that they, too, are seeing the ne
cessity of a salvage corps to protect
their own interests as we'll as those of
their, patrons. There is no doubt but
that this city will have protective
corps in the near future"