Year: 1874

BALTIMORE, Nd, April 18th, 1874.


Editor Enquirer -Southerner:


He is poor man indeed who will not
protect his OWE child and as you have seen
fit to stigmatize one of my children as un-
fit for anything save ''scrap brass, | hope
you will allow me space in your columns
to defend the urchin. The Gardner Fire
Extinguisher" as it is now made was in
vented by your humble servant, and in this
city, by the report of the Chief Engineer it
has proved itself a valuable auxiliary to
his department. According to the reports
of the Engineers of this city over THIRTY
FIRES were put out during 1873 with the
Gardner, two of which were carried on
eaclt Hook and Ladder Truck The small
machines your town has are only intended
for incipient fires, and if they are properly
attended to and used N time they will pre-
vent confagrations. According to actual
tests and long experience they are each
equal to about three barrels (3) of water,
and you cannot consistently doubt this un-
| til you or some one else proves the contrary.
As an illustration will prove one of them
more valuable than all the water in Tar
River. Suppose the roof of the Court
| House was discovered to be on fire, Gust
| little mean) and it was evident to all that
unless barrel or two of water could be
raised Immediately to the spot the house
would have to burn. At this stage one
! Gardner would save the building if handled
properly, and if it did it would prove itself
of more value than Tar River, for one
could not be carried to the roof while the
other could. The great difficulty to be
overcome before Fire Extinguishers will be
generally appreciated is an unfounded
| prejudice against them, which is so blind
that common. sense even cannot open its
eyes. People generally believe that the
name of these machines must be accepted
literally and hence they are silly enough to
believe that a machine which is succeptable
of TRANSPORTATION on a mans back is capa-
BILE of putting out any kind of a fire. If a
man was so unfortunate as to put piece
of hot pudding in his mouth he certainly
would not run to well and drink barrel
of water to step the hurting. He would
SIMPLY take mouthful from his glass and
suppress his condition. Now if your office
was to catch on fire and you had COM
pressed or condensed barrel of water at


hand, you certainly would not run out I'M
til you had exhausted that water. In other


words if the hot pudding was in your


mouth you would not leave the table alb


ruptly and seek the well before you had


exhausted your convenient tumbler full,


which is always at hand. If you would


you had better stop editing a paper, for il


will prove too much for your me al force


This illustrates, poorly though it may be-


the position occupied by fire extinguisher


1t is a convenient condensation of suita
BILE chemical apparatus that is capable O
stopping things from burning too much, i


it is used at the proper time, and alway
, kept ready and at hand. l have put ou
in your streets with one Gardner Extin


guisher fifteen (15) burning barrels twic


that were saturated with kerosene oil ant


fired in open air. Both fires were extin


gl1ished within four minutes. This amour
I of fire could have been put out much easie
: indoors than out, and it seems to me tina
so compact machine that will do so muc


work deserves more credit than it receives


have written this letter because l sol


your town the Gardner Extinguishers it hal
d and am not willing to be classed anon
r. those who wilfully sell worthless apparatr
!, of any kind. If your Gardner and Bal
Ii cock machines are taken proper care {
l. and used on incipient fires, they will prov
l. themselves valuable, but if your people a
ts blind enough to suppose that they can e.
! tinguish house thoroughly burning, thu
!" really do not deserve protection very lon
ne If you buy Hand Engine and Hoop al
at Ladder Truck, they will prove equally
v useless as you seem to think the Exit
, guishers unless sufficient cisterns are bu
. to supply water. .@


lc Yours respectfully, &C.,


W. F. D.