Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-11-16

councIls' favorable action upon the move.
rnent to bring the pay OF Philadelphia
arsmen TO standard equal to that pre-
sailing in other cities Of the first and second
c,asa ia necessary 10 avert two serious con-
a,,ions now confronting tho Bureau Of Fire.
declared members OF the department to.
say trnless inducements better than those
rovg held out are offered to the prospective
0reman. Il / declared the morale OF the
service must suffer IL the numerical strength
of the department is to be kept up to Its
proper quota
Tho penson system, one OF the chief at
fractions. inducing enlistment and after
ward tending to prevent resignation, is 50
denleted TO meet the demands made upon
q that unless some speedy relief measure
,s found for its rehabilitation Il must be-
como entirely exhausted within few years.
The situation In these two phases 10
known TO Mayor Smith and to members OF
councils, and the members OF the firemen's
campaign committee are hopeful as are all
of their comrades. that this knowledge will
cause the Mayor to reconsider his previously
EXPRESSED opposition to salary Increases In
the 1917 budget
one OF the members Of the campaign
committee, Of which Battalion Chief John
J. MeslSil is chairman, today summarized
the situation in these words:
At present the Mayor ana COUNCILS
have II In their power to relieve situa-
tlon which IL permitted to continue,
would be little short of n calamity. II
they see Il as we do-and we firemen
hope they do. and will act accordingly
they will not hesitate to grant the
appeal for increased pay and shorter
hours that is now In the Mayors hands.
Just now n young man desiring to
enter the Fire Bureau faces proposi-
tIon that Is appalling in these times IL
he gets the appointment he receives for
the first two years of his service sal
nry OF SIS month. That is little
less than $3.50 a day. or slightly over
twelve cents an hour for actual duty.
Think of It Far less proportionately.
than the street sweeper or ordinary
laborer. And the latter Is employed
only eight hours n day and six days
week
The demands OF the service are such
that not every man can pass the civil
service requirements. and the charRc-
ter of the men In the Bureau OF Fire
was never higher than at present, But
can our citizens hope that this morale
will continue, and that recruits OF the
standard demanded can be obtained II
the salary offered is less than that paid
TO the crossing sweeper or ignorant
laborer. The ordinary workman. after
his days work is DONE goes home, and
on pay day he gets his wages intact.
he can give DOtn MS tlfne ana MS
money to his family.
FIREMEN'S HARD LOT
Now what does the firemen fnd? lie
gets his appointment and is assigned
TO company. Before he can ~ ON
duty he must provide himself with
uniform. The city allows him forty dol
lars year for this purpose. Is II sut-
fc!ent? Certain articles he must
have. His flannel blouse costs $3.50;
trousers. So; cap, s125; overcoat,
SIZES; shirt $325, total of $685.,
without taking into consideration the
rubber equipment which he also must
provide before going on duty. A he'll
met costs 81; rubber coat So, and
boots, $3.50. bringing the total prellm-
mary expense to S54.75. II he Joins
the service near the change OF seasons
he has q summer winter outfit TO
purchase with his first months pay
He must keep these uniform parts in
good condition, and the renewal cost in
the course of year often brings the
expense up to double the original out
lay.
In addition there is his contribution
TO the pension fund, matter of $3.50