The daily sentinel., 1909-05-08
A VERY BREEZY LETTER
FROM DEAR OLD NEW YORK

| New York's varied population dis
J. agree on nearly every topic or situa-
/ ton that may be presented in the
flight of time, but on one subject they
are united. They admire. and at
some periods almost worship, the
firemen of the city. They are GER
tainly a splendid lot of men, ready
at any moment to answer a call, and
: stopping at nothing to get there
| Only recently one arrived at the
scene of the blaze with his face COW
cred with lather. The call caught
him in the act of shaving, but the
razor was dropped, and in the wagon
he jumped with his face lathered.
pulling on his coat as he was whirled
along, but not thinking of the inter-
rupted shave until the boys made fun
of him for his incomplete toilet. Near
| ly every day presents some such in
cident. When the fireman gets
there" he rushes for every point of
danger, searches for persons in peril.
risks his life, and in many cases loses
it, while performing seemingly i'm
possible feats in saving human lives
Real heroism is a feature of nearly
every fire of consequence and the
papers of the next day are filled with
pictures of their carrying women and
children down ladders, of their TAX
ing them from windows by chains OF
human hands. of wonderful leaps
that bring rescue, of, in fact. any
thing and everything that can be
done to save life. Throughout it all
the fireman, at the tap of the bell.
seems to become almost semi-god,
goes out an employe of the city, comes
back an uncrowned hero, and yet a
modest one, content if no mention is
made. No wonder that New York
loves her firemen. with human faults
and frailties perhaps, but taken as a
whole the best body of men in the
world.
Another body of men, more numer-
Gus and more constantly under the
observation of the public, is the po-
lice force Compelled to meet all
classes, to mingle with all kinds of
citizens, to brush against humanity in
all possible ways, the police strike
differing opinions, not only of their
own actions, but of the beneficence
of the laws they are called upon to
enforce, the police are blamed by
many, and in some cases justly. In
some cases brutality takes the place
of cool, deliberate action, and the
policeman mistreats a prisoner. but
these cases. upon investigation, die
down to very few, compared to the
heavy force employed in the aggre-
gate. 1t can be truly said that New
York is proud of its police, especially
as it sees them maintaining order in
the street without any manifestation
of force. But when the annual pa
rade comes around, and the average
citizen sees the great army of its de
tenders marching along on magnific-
ent Broadway, it applauds them with
the utmost gusto, and no disparaging
word finds its way to his lips or ap-
pears in the newspapers. Observers
get a sense of the embodied power of
the forces that make for the protec-
tion of themselves, their families and
their properties. Burglars escape
corrupt things are charged, and some
times proven, but the public believes
that the great mass of its policemen
are true devotees to duty.
New York has just been passing
through its annual contest between
the weather and the trolley lines. The
chief trouble lies in the fact that the
flexibility The cars go out and come
in according to the calendar. Once
on the run no regard is made to
tempest, storm or cold. If open cars
are on the schedule, they run, no
matter III a snowstorm blocks the
tracks. The rubber slides in most
cases, do not fit, and the passenger is
kept in a draught of air that in cold
weather thoroughly chills him to the
very bone. A large increase in the
number of cases of pneumonia and
ordinary colds can be looked for by
the running of open cars in April and
May. 1t doesn't seem safe to take
down stoves. change underclothing or
run open cars until the Fourth of
July