The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-06-27
WHERE "HEART" COUNTS MOST
How F1RE-F1GHrERs ARE MADE FROM
THE ROUGH.
Qualities the Medical Men Can't Find But Which Are Absolutely
Necessary -Fnemen Must Stand Punishment and tx
posure-The White Plague and Whiskey
Hard to Avoid

classes. AS boys they have had clean,
comfortable homes, or they would not
be made of the stuff" demanded. To
their mothers and fathers they owe
not a little of their training. Often
times you will find the father in the
department as we'll as the son, and
both of them contented and happy.
Those who go in to fight fire have no
ambition to hoard money and become
rich. There is very little gold saved
by fremen. Most Of them live up to
their incomes, and not few with fam
lilies have hard work to keep out OF
debt. The single men, however, can
save money, and some of them DO.
Wise investment helps toward the ac-
emulation Of a pile" and before he
knows Jack has bank account.
There are men in the department
whose fathers are we'll fixed and ready
to put their sons into business, but
the sons prefer to wear the helmet.
The writer knows instances of fire
men in the service today who come
of substantial, well-to-do families, and
who have themselves, saved their
wages and doubled them by profitable
investments. One of these men has
father who owns big ranch in the.
west, and the ''old man" Is just as
proud of his boy as though he were
back on the divide counting cattle.
There are college graduates in the de-
partment, and high school boys with
out number.
eve get lot of youngsters crammed
full Of sentiment and romance" said
a lieutenant the other day. The lieu
tenant himself is not more than 80.
''They read trash in the newspapers,
trash in the novels, in the magazines,
and they've got it fast in their heads
that they're cut out to rescue some
beautiful daughter Of the rich owner
Of a brownstone front! Those boys
are absolute 'nutty'-something loose
up here" tapping his head. "Why, if
the old man didn't keep an eye on
them. they'd get lost at every lace
curtain blaze. Not that they wouldn't
be just as eager in a tenement, for
they would. 1t is hard to hold them
anywhere, but they certainly are
blessed with the idea that they are
cut out for a sensation. 1t al comes
out of them by degrees, though. Doesn't
take long to get you level in this de-
partment."
Cutting Out the "Booze."
Whiskey is the hardest thing fire.
men have to contend with. In the
vernacular, it is referred to as ''booze."
More men are stripped for this t.an
anything else, and it is the cause OF
knocking out more men than consump-
ton or fever. Firemen take to drink,
primarily, because they are the class
Of men who demand excitement, and
if they haven't a. hard enough head
to see the folly of it, their taste final
ly gets the better of them. The de-
partment, however, will not stand for:
drunkenness, and a ''boozer's" life is
a very short one in an engine or hose
company. Exhaustion, the cold, par
tial suffocation, and decline Of spir-
it's bring the men to drink, but If
they begin it too strongly they find
it difficult to stop. Many will refuse
to touch it, even at q fire when they
are numb from the cold. Instead, they
almost invariably ask for hot milk or
coffee. Nevertheless, fires have oc-
CURED in the wine and spirit district
where "booze" flowed about as freely
as water, and men have stood for
hours at the nozzle on nothing but
liquor, which they used alike for food
and stimulart. This is reason why
the department demands temperate
men among the applicants, and why
one indulgence is responsible for such
severe penalties at trials on charges.
The department is constantly on the
lookout for good drivers. Good driv-
ers are rare, and the congestion Of
traffic in the streets is max
ing it more difficult each year
to keep enough of these men
on hand. They are continually
being hurt, if not fatally injured, and
a constant change in drivers works
bad results with the horses. Green
men with good nerve" make the best
drivers They must like horses and
become the animals masters. Then
they are taught to swing corners and
cross a track. Next they get the job
of assistant driver, and when their SUI
perior gets hurt the berth is vacant for
them. Veterans say teamsters and
draymen lack the nerve" and dash Of
the trained green hand" The city lad
krrows too we'll the dangers he is mp
against to make him daring enough
in {. crowded street, and as time is
ev>ything in answering an alarm, too
cautious drivers are not wanted.
Downtown, where vehicles take to
| the sidewalks to get out of the fire.
| mems way, is a yellow haired lad from
| the country. He comes from one OF