The Mankato free press., 1911-09-22
NOTES OF FAIR.

hhC, S.GOT2 Got 600 "a
NOTES OF FAIR.
F. NJ. Washburn, proprietor Of the
Sunny Slope farm, formerly known
as the Can" Piper place near Gar
den City, has three pens of Duroc
Jersey hogs. One large SOW with
seven small pigs make a pretty pic
ture. The Jersey pig is red and is
a new breed in this section. Mr..
Washburn also breeds. full blood
Percheron horses on his large farm.
From Fridays Daily.
During the past twenty years
Mankato has expended many thou
sands of dollars in the improvement
of her streets, has beautified her
parks and boulevards and added to
the number of her public and semi
public buildings; also has devoted
much time and money to civic beau
attention to the needs of the fire
department. The policy of the peo-
pie has been: Any old thing is good
enough for this branch of the city
government. The same apparatus is
in use now that was housed in a
livery stable twenty years ago and
served as the protection of the pub
lie against one of the worst elements
of destruction to life and property.
Whatever else Mankato may contem.
ir,,r,r mo G
the fire department now has first
call on the public funds.
Equipment Is Obsolete.
With the present inadequate ap.
paratus it is practically impossible
to prevent a big fire and these are
the ones that are felt the most. A
small fire can be quenched, but
should a real blaze start in one OF
the modern buildings the department
would be helpless and the building
doomed.
A look into the needs of the de-
partment as far as equipment and
apparatus is concerned will convince
the most skeptical that something
must be done in the way of making
additions To begin with, the depart
ment has a few old trucks that are
a "joke" as far as fire fighting quail
ity is concerned. Thus it will be
seen that the requests that have been
made by Chief John Lulsdorff are
not only urgent and necessary but
are of such. nature that they should
be granted i'm order to protect the
community from serious fire.
Same Old Trucks.
The apparatus now in use is the
same as that used twenty years ago;
the same trucks, the same carts
and other paraphernalia that goes
with a truck, and last, but not least,
the same water mains. Often at
fire, criticising people make remarks
about the poor pressure, but could
they once obtain some idea of the
water system, different size of mains
and their connections they would
be almost ready and willing to get
down and enlarge the mains them
selves. Of the two most important
pieces of apparatus that is needed
is combination motor and hose
and chemical truck. When one fig
ures the usefulness of machine
like this the price, ranging from
$4,000 to $4,000, would not be as
large as it seemed. This kind of
a machine would be a time saver.
Minutes required now to reach a
fire would be cut to seconds, and
whenever the flames are raging in
a building every second is val
liable factor and is an assistance in
saving property from destruction.
Aerial Truck Needed.
Another machine that is neces-
sary is an aerial ladder truck. Now,
when the fifty foot extension ladder
is to be raised it requires the SER
vices of six men and takes five
minutes to raise it, while an auto
matte steel ladder can be raised by
three men in one-half of minute
and when a big fire is raging, min
utes count. 1t is true that these
machines would cost several thou
sand dollars, but city of this size
can afford to buy them. Because Of
these conditions the only thing for
the city to do is to begin at once to
take up this problem. The equip
ment must be purchased some time,
and, therefore, might as well be
bought in the near future.
AS it is now equipped the depart
ment is not in physical condition
to fight a fire that may start in Sec
tions of the city where there is no
water supply. Even with their water
supply there is no guaranty that such
structures as the Lutheran semi
nary and the Catholic Mother house
could be amply protected, if the
obsolete apparatus now at the COM