New-York tribune., 1919-05-16
Have Legal Right to Quit
on 5 Days Notice, They
Point Out When Discuss.
ing Pending 3-Platoon Bill
Strongest Union in City
Would Be Impossible to Put
inexperienced Men on
Work; Hard to Fill Ranks

What might happen to New York's
eleven billion dollars worth Of COM
bustible property in the event that
fire protection suddenly was withdrawn
became subject for serious consider
alton yesterday.
Prospects that the pending three
platoon bill will not become law be-
cause Of the attitude of Governor
Smith ard Mayor Hylan prompted fire
men to call attention to what they call
gross unfairness to them and the pos
sible result sof continued policy of
retrenchment as far as their pay and
working conditions are concerned.
Although the city's 1856 firemen are
organized to a man In what probably
is the strongest union in the city, the re
was no hint of possible strike to
compel the city and state to sanction
the three platoon system. But the men
did point out that they had the right
to resign on five days notice, and that
such move was the only action they
c9vld take in the event that their
rights were ignored
Won't Strike; May Quit
"a strike of firemen would be incon-
ceivable," said one member of the de-
partment. "Rut the men can quit, and
know they all are of a temper to fol-
low their leaders to the .ast step They
showed that when 1000 of them-all
that could get away for the purpose
marched ZIP Fifth Avenue on Labor
Day."
Still another consideration of which
the tremen's leaders are fully cogniz-
ant is the fact that the work of the
city's tiremen is of highly technical
character and could not be done by in
experienced men even in an emergency
Three years is required to turn out a
firemen. The civil service rolls indi-
cate that the city is having difficulty
in finding anything like the requisite
number OF candidates to take the
places of firemen automatically retired
on pensions.
Although members of the department
refused to permit their names to be
used they declared yesterday that they
had been double crossed" by Mayor
Hylan.
They called attention to the fact
that the Uniformed Firemen's Associa-
ton which includes practically every
member of the departments rank and
file-had supported an ordinance in
troduced in the Board of Aldermen
more than year ago, which provided
for three platoon system.
In the Mayors Own Way
Mayor Hylan asked the men to have
the ordinance Withdrawn until after
the war, saying he would then support
some measure TO relieve their present
working conditions. But secret con-
ference at the Mayors office a month
ago revealed that Mr.. Hylan was no
nearer reaching a decision in favor
of the firemen than before.
The Mayors attitude, as described
by one of the men who took part in
the conference, was this:
His Honor is willing the fremen
should have the three platoon system
if it doesn't cost the city a cent. The
firemen are frank enough to admit that
you can't work the present force of
1856 men in three shifts. But the
Mayor will not sanction any increase
in the city's expenditures by additions
to the force The upshot was the
promise of the Mayor that he would
handle the situation in his own way.
Just what that way is nobody has been
able to find out"
The three platoon system is that
used by the Police Department and
means an eight-hour tour of duty
Officers of the American Federation
of Labor have asked Governor Smith
to sign the bill, as it would establish
an eight-hour day for firemen The
tiremen want it because it would give
them more opportunity to get home.
They say that now fireman may not
be able to get home for ten days at
time.
The iremen estimate that the three.
platoon system would require an addi-
tional 1,200 men and that the cost
would be approximately $1,650,0OO q
year. They argue that the city now is
dangerously undermanned" and cite
statistics to prove it. 1t is shown by
figures that Buffalo has total of $50
men to it's 476,000 population, which
would mean that it had about two and
one-half times as many freighters as
New York, considering the population
Boston, too, has an equally large num-
Der Of firemen, as compared to New
York.
New York's total of wealth is esti-
mated to be exactly twice that of the
entire New England States, and. be-
cause Of its congestion, to require far
more FIRE protection than in snaraelu