Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-07-18
STATE H|REMEN TO ACT
They Decide To Ask For Larger
Appropriation For VOIun.
teerS
THEY NOW GET $1,000 A YEAR
Bills To Be Prepared Providing That Half
OF Insurance Tax Fund Be Given

That an increase in the State ap-
preparation to the volunteer firemen in
the small towns scattered around
Maryland is not only justifiable, but
necessary, was the decision few
days ago by the executive commit
tee of the Maryland State Firemen's
Association, which met at the Hotel
Lexington, Baltimore. AS a result
of their DISCUSSION the legislative COM
mittee of the association will draw
up a bill providing for an appre-
ciable increase in the States allot-
ment to the volunteers.
The present appropriation the State
gives the volunteers is $4,000 a year
and this is taken.out of the fund drawn
from the taxes on insurance companies
with headquarters outside the State
This fund, the volunteer fremen de-
clare, amounts every year to 500, 900
and the Only expenditures from it in
cludes the expenses of the Sta Insur-
ance Commissioner and the S. te Fire
Marshal's offices and the arpropria-
tion to the volunteer fremen.
The fund of $4,000 gran ed the
firemen not used for any Other pur-
pose than that of providing a sort of
pension to volunteers hurt or crippled
in the line of duty. Beyond this none
of the money the State appropriates
can be used for anything else.
AS the money gained by the taxes
works toward the safeguarding of
property from fire and therefore de-
creases the risk of the fire insurance
companies, the volunteer firemen think
they should be inceased in efficiency
and at the same time lessen the risk
of the underwriters.
The legislative committee of the
firemen's association will therefore
prepare bills providing that the
State give about half the insurance
tax fund to the volunteers and re-
peal the law that grants an appro-
priation applying only to those in
jured in the line of duty. Another
bill will be drawn up providing that
part of the increased appropriation
shall be expended in fitting up
throughout the counties, under the
supervision of an officer appointed
by the State, an efficient and uniform
system of fire alarm signals.
The principal contention of the vol
unteer firemen of the State is that
while the fund of $4,000 year for
cripples and injured volunteers can
not be used for any purpose but their
maintenance, the firemen themselves
have to provide the apparatus and
l. 81, 6 81
of the system in their towns.
In most of the small towns of the
State the volunteer companies sup
port their apparatus by the payment
of membership dues, and when some
thing else is needed fairs, dances and
similar money-making affairs are
given. This, they claim, puts a vol
unteer fire-fghting organization on
the same plane as church, when the
community is benefited by the pro-
lection of an efficient force of fire
fighters.
In Maryland there are sixty-fve
companies, and the volunteer member
ship is about 5000. This means
that four-fifths of the smaller cities
from fire only by the volunteer or
ganizations.
The members of the executive
committee who decided on the move
for a larger appropriation were
Messrs c. OBJ. Dehm, of Sparrows
Point; R. P. Smith, Cambridge;
Joseph Abbott, Lonaconing; George
Smith, of Annapolis, and j. Pearre
Wantz, Westminster.
Others at the meeting were Chief
Engineer Samuel 7. Dukehart, of the
Veteran Firemen; Senior Vice-Pres
dent Alexander Slaysman, of the
Maryland State Firemen's Associa-
ton, and Mr.. j. M. Burger, of the Sons
of Veterans.