The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-19
PUBLIC OPINION

PUbLIC OPINlUN ! Editor Of the Farmer:
 Standing first in the proposed char ter amendments of the Taxpayers League Is that one which fixes sal- aries of members of the fire depart ment., Because 1t does stand first, let us consider it first
 To begin with is the schedule of
 salaries itself fair?
 In addition. is the method of fix
 ing salaries fair or does it deprive
 the members of that department of some Of the privileges they now en- joy?
 Was it laid out in the manner in
 Which it was. with intent to be fair
 or was the idea to slash the salaries
 of some men, to leave others untouch- ed. to advance some others. Careful study of the proposed amendment will answer all these | questions. That is all that is neces- sary.
 In answer to the first question, it
 would seem as though the schedule was not fair. Figuring upon a year of S65 days, and firemen are on duty all through the year, the daily rate specified in Section l of the pro- posed amendment would pay the fol- lowing salaries:
 IL. Chief Engineer s1,69625; 2nd Asst. Chief Engineer $1,546.6o; Captains s1.- 397.95: L.eutenants $1,248.30; Engineers
 $1.299.40; Drivers, hosemen, laddermen,
 stokers. linemen, tillermen: Grade A.
 sL1o2.3O; Grade B, s1,00o.10; Grade C.. $901.55.
 In substance, this means that the
 salaries of all officers except the
 chief engineer and his two (new) as- sistants, would remain practically as at present. But the salary of the chief would be increased approximate
 ly $500 while the salaries of the men who do not rate as officers would each be cut $100, without regard to which grade they may be rated in. Assuming that there are 100 men in the department whose salaries will be cut $1OO each and that the officers salaries are to remain at the pres ent rate, the city is to be saved by per year in salaries. A very fine showing, indeed.
 But let us look a little further and see what the actual condition is The
 salaries of two assistant chief engi-
 neers are provided for by this amend
 ment. Together they amount to $3,-
 242.50. To this sum add the sum of
 s499.25 which is proposed to be added
 to the salary of the chief engineer,
 and we have a total salary list for
 the year for the three superior off
 cers of the department which shows
 an increase of $3,741.75 over what Is
 now being pa d. It is only fair, how
 ever, to deduct from this the sS50
 per year which has been paid to
 the acting first assistant chief. Do-
 ing this we get net increase in sal
 aries for chief and assistant chief en-
 gineers of $3,391.75.
 And this is to be made up by cut
 ho cal ria Of ha Ia s100 each. Truly a fine piece of work
 from the standpoint of the man who
 believes in boosting the big fellows
 at the expense of the little chaps.
 But Section 1 does even more than
 this. Careful reading will make one
 department are to be paid cer-
 tain sum per day. Does this not mean
 that the days off now given to the men by ordinance may be refused
 them by the board of fire comm S. sioners unless, of course, they wish and lose their pay for such days? AS I read it, this is what may be done. Of course the Taxpayers League may say that such thing is not intend ed. But the question is not what is intended but what is to be accom- plished.
 I believe that when the possibilities of this proposed law are appreciated by Bridgeport citizens in general there will be vigorous protest against it's adoption. Under present laws. the fremen are all paid a yearly salary. Under those same laws they each receive a certain number lieve with an extra six days during one of the summer months. Does anybody begrudge them that time? doubt it, for every thinking persons realizes that man in the fire de- pertinent is on duty H hours out of 2i and that, unless he is a superior officer he is confined to the limits of the house in which he is stationed during all of those 21 hours. Under present rules a fireman is not allow ed to leave his station for any cause except upon special permission and made from his pay for the time so taken. Do the people of Bridgeport want to go any further than this and make the life of the flren1en more like that of a prisoner in the county jail for all but three hours of each day? Do they favor a law which will com pei members of the fire department to pay for all the time they take off? Let us submit the question to the peo- ple themselves and see what their answer will be.
 Last I criticise the manner in which the Taxpayers League proposes to act A year ago much cry was made because the board of aldermen increased salaries in the fire depart ment without consent of the fire comm: :ssioners. The Taxpayers Lea gue sprang into life at that time and its main object seems to be to punish the firemen for getting that increase of pay. But now the league is ex- posing itself to the same criticism that it passed upon the Board of AL dermen. It is proposing to have sal aries fixed without the consent of the fire commiss' 'oners or of the Board of Aldermen-although the consent of both these boards must be had to make any change in those proposed salaries once they are fixed.
 This is not fair If changes in sal aries can hereafter only be made with the consent of the aldermen and the fire commissioners, the proposed sa!- !