Omaha daily bee., 1918-05-16
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Better Inspection Needed.

Omaha, May l5.-Io the Editor OF
The Bee: Your demand for the abol-
ishment of the office of fire marshal
and the institution of better system
of inspection of property in Omaha is
we'll made. Our fire marshal has been
of little service, even as an exs post
facto luxury, the Office existing prin-
cipally to keep relative of one of the
late commissioners on the pay roll.
Inspection of property subject to fire
danger should be systematically car
ried on under direction or supervision
Of the chief of the fire department
Each captain should be assigned a dis
trict, and be held responsible for the
conditions prevailing therein. Each
should be made to devote at least two
days week to the investigation of all
premises in his district, so that the
latest possible knowledge of conditions
would be available at all times To
accomplish this little readjustment
may be required, but no hardship will
be put on any. The surest way to Sc
cure a reduction in insurance rates
is to convince the companies that we
are really trying to prevent fires, and
not merely holding post mortems on
them. RATE PAYER.
Doesn't Believe in Secession.
Beaver Crossing, Neb., May 9.-To
the Editor of The Bee: AS a SUBJ
scriber Of your paper and an old
veteran soldier, who, with many
others fought to bring the southern
lseceding states back within their
rights in the national union, I feel
that 1 cannot avoid making a brief
reply to the statements of E. M. Akin,
in a communication to and published
in your paper yesterday morning.
In the first place I will say that, as
la patriotic citizen Of this nation, Vice
President Marshall, nor any other
man enjoying the greatest blessings af-
forded them by the firm foundation
Of national rights, maintained at the
cost Of thousands of precious lives in
the so-called civil war, has a right
to state or even "imply" that those
lives were sacrificed and blood shed
for an unlawful or unjust cause. Mr..
Akin names several of our honored
statesmen who have passed to their
rest as men who held to the doctrine
of states rights. Every intelligent per-
son holds to the same doctrine, and
an error of Mr. Akin exists in the
ldcl lHdt ue ulu not mention ADra-
ham Lincoln in his list of states rights
believers. And Mr.. Lincoln very wisely
stated that the people of the south
ern states had right to go out Of the
union, but had no right to take any
of the United States territory with
them upon which to establish sep
arate government. States rights do not
exist in the right to dissolve this ma
ton.
He makes another ignorant state
ment when he says "Our schools do
not afford opportunity to study from
an impartial standpoint the so-called
civil war" There has been, Ito the
shame of this nation, more unreliable
histories used in our public schools,
written and published by ignorant
and untruthful southern ex-rebels,
than there has been of reliable works
Of union men. This fact has been,
and is yet, a discouraging menace to
the patriotic purpose Of the Grand
Army Of the Republic, which has
made every effort possible to prevent
the establishing of each wrongful in
formation in the minds # school pu-
pills, and if there has been any i'm
partiality shown it has been upon the
side which Mr.. Akin chooses to
stand r TT WAITED MAN