The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-20
CHIEF BENNETT
 MEANS BUSINESS
Sends Another RecOmmen-
 datiOn to EXum
WANTS AN INSPECTOR
Detailed Story of Just What Hap- pened to People Who Thought Old Fire Scrapper Ben
 nett Was Joking

"When you move. you must leave your place in a broom clean condition and receive the assurance that the place into which you move will be in the same condition," is Fire Chief Bennetts rec ommendation for a proclamation to be issued to the people by President Gull pepper Exum of the city commission.
 Chief Bennett states that 1t has long been regarded as a time honored GUS tom, privilege and traditional require 1nent that when merchant vacates inc store in which he has been doing busi- ness to leave all the trash and rubbish for which he will have no use In the old place and when the new man moves in he has not time to clean It up ana the consequence is that a fire breeding place is started.
 Now Chief Bennett proposes to break up this practice and start things going on new plane. If this recommends tion is put into action, the city attor- ney will be instructed to draft an ordi- nance with severe penalty attached, re- quiring those who Yacate house to . clean it up before the new tenant takes possession thereby insuring the fire department that the place is in free from fire condition.
 For some time Chief Bennett has been
  ing their property clean from rubbish and debris of all kinds that the time would come when they would be made to do 1t, but it seems that they thought that he was joking about the matter However, when he announced his fire prevention day idea several weeks ago many of them took him at his word and began to clean up. But there were a few doubting Thomases left who oh hal tho chief Qnnd natured to do anything stringent. tc them at any rate, but developments within the past two or three days have shown them that they have another thought coming. Those who did not regard the edict as final went along as if nothing had happened, and when the foreman went around inspecting and found things in a deplorable condition they informed them kindly of the con dition of things.
 But this was merely a "stall" thought they, and they paid no attention to it A second inspection trip was made by each foreman and in many instances they found that their calling attention to things had been disregarded, so they were warned by the foremen that the premises must be cleaned up. The third trip was made and still there was nothing doing.
 Then things happened.
 The matter was reported to Chief Bennett by his foremen. His usually peaceful eyes flared up and snapped like electricity. Tell them I will give them until tomorrow at noon to get their places in shipshape." The words came like the snapping5of a. .3S special Smith x Wesson. This edict was conveyed tc the recalcitrdnts and the dust began to fly. They saw that the old fire scrap per meant business, and there never has been but a few people who dared brave his official edct when they saw he meant business.
 As a result, the biggest part of in flammable rubbish and highly combus- tib1e materials were moved and the de, gree of fire risk was reduced to a min . imum.
 But the chief did not rest by merely getting them cleaned up this one time He sat down and wrote a letter to Com missioner Culpepper Exum who is al the head of the fire department, ano asked that a fire inspector be appointed to keep things like he wanted them He also made 1t plain that he did noi want a man who would work this in spection business as a side line but q man who would work it as if he meant business. To this end, he asked that the salary be made as much as $S5 peI month. which would enable a man tt give his whole time to it.
 It seems that he means business about the whole thing and intends to gel results.