The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-01-23


Copeland disaster should fall upon
him"
These were the words of Mayor Will
liam Green at the city hall this morn
the criticism placed upon the fire chief,
George o.. Wilmarth, and says that it
is altogether uncaIed for.
ut is the opinion of practically all
of the city officials that this talk about
ropes in the hotel rooms is a poor ex-
cuse for the alleged ineficiency of the
fire marshal Ropes in hotel rooms TO
be used as fire escapes are worse than
nothing and in some cases they have
been the cause of the loss of more
lives than the fire itself. Here is the
proposition: There is not one woman
in a thousand or one man in a hundred
who could crawl out over the ledge or
a window five stories from the ground
and grabbing hold of a loose swinging,
slippery rope slide to safety. Standing
around the street corners and sitting
in front of the fireplace a feat of this
kind can be imagined and people make
it possible III several different ways,
but when there is a fire raging around
the tranSoms, and a little half inch
rope bangles out of your window to
unknown depths below there IS a fear
that plays havoc with all former skill
of the childhood days.
The rope that the law requires is
a little half inch affair. A half inch
rope does not lok very much like safe
ty to the average man who weigh close
to 200 pounds In the first place
man will unwrap the rope from the
rolled up position under the window
sill and throw it out of the window
He would do all of this if he had the
right presence of mind and was cool
headed. The next question iS-where
will the rope go if you throw 1t out
the window? There is a big chance
of it wrapping itself around the near
by telephone and electric light wires
and then it is absolutely worthless. 1t
bangles among the wires and the more
it is tugged the bigger the tangIe.
Here is one chance for the rope to be
useless. No one could climb out on
an inclined swaying rope, crawl along
the wires and come down to safety.
The rope would either jerk away and
he would be thrown to the pavement
or mixture of human flesh and live
wires would cause less desirable
death. Now for a second lasso con-
test from the room. A rope that has
been in a coil for a year or so soon
are stretched. and shrunk and when
the man who longs for his life throws
out the coiled rope it will roll slowly
down about twenty-five feet of the
the space below. Another slim chance
for the man who desires to retain pos
session of his skin and bones
The Chances Against Ropes.
But disregarding all of the million
chances against the proper throwing of
d
rope did fall gracefully over the ledge
of the window and aIight safely on the
pavement five stories below. Give the
man in danger all the favorable condi-
tions possible, even a cool head and Il
steady hand. Are there many men who
can climb out of their window, let their
feet bangle in the open space five stor-
les above the hard pavement. and then
by main strength and awkwardness let
themselves down to the beginning OF
the life line 1t must be remembered
that the rope is hugging the wall of
the building and it is not possible to
get a hand hold until a place is reached
below the window-say about six or
eight inches and possibly more-accord-
ing to the thickness of the Hndel stone.
Now it takes d man in the Strictest
sense of the worldwide is able to throw
upwards to $50 pounds out of win
dow and down to a place foot below
the level of the opening. 1t is necessary
first to support the whole weight of the
body from the tips of the fingers and
then like a spider leap to the little half
inch rope below. Talk the matter over
with any man who is not ashamed to
admit his true weakness and he will
say that he could not perform stunt
like that-even if the fire itself was
burning the window siHs. Combine this
natural weakness with the nervousness
the light Medicines at such a height,
the burning of the hands caused by
contact with the rope and a hundred
other things that happen to a man
when he is half crazy-and everyone is
half crazy at a fire.
"All of the above circumstances are
is there is supposed
to be nobody else on earth during the
But take the natural
course of a fire. A man rushes to his
window the first thing. He has been
given the dreaded alarm of fire He
throws on slipper and a grim look of
and makes for the hall
way. 1t is full of smoke and he dares
not attempt to pillow his way through it.
Back to the window he rushes in
frenzied haste and throwing it open he
Deholds a rope dangling down to the
ground directly in front of his window.
He sees his chance. Leaning out of the
window he grabs the rope and swinging
mis- limbs around it like he did when
4 boy he starts on the downward
course In the story below the same
Incident happens and before. a word
can be mentioned or warning given
The little half inch rope is grooming I'M
Ter the weight of two, three and four
people who are climbing out OF every
window. Then the rope breaks and the
pavement below lessons the work of the
fire in snatching away human lives.
Then there is the danger of the rope
burning in two and rubbing against
the sharp cOrnices. Practically all of
the states in the Union who had adopt
ed the rope in the room theory have
ordered revision of the law and this
was to pull the ropes out-they were
more dangerous than helpful. Chief
saw the Intellectual work of
the rope fire escape and he did not or
der them in the Copeland hotel. He
simply usurped the law-and there are
times when the law is impractical in
every sense of the word unless substi-
tuted with common sense
Mayor Green and the city officials to
the man believe that Chief Wilmarth
was right in his actions and they will
stand by him on any charge that is
has been too valuable man
in past years to be accused of making
such a bad mistake at this period.